Join a Bay Area CSA
Farm-Fresh Foods Delivered
You don’t have to live on a farm to enjoy farm fresh produce in Silicon Valley. The farms in and around this region offer a bounty of quality organic food, grown by farmers who are committed to bringing nutritious, sustainably grown fruits and vegetables to our tables.
While visiting our local farms is highly recommended, you can also join a community-supported agriculture (CSA) harvest subscription program and have locally grown produce and goods delivered directly to your door or a nearby pickup location.
What’s a CSA?
Community-supported agriculture connects the community to local farms. Farmers sell customers a share of their crop before it’s produced each season, giving the farmers guaranteed income before and during the growing season. In return, customers receive a weekly box of just-picked nutritious food delivered to your home or to a nearby pickup location. There’s also an intangible benefit: the bond created between the farm, the CSA members and the community, who all share an interest in sustainable agriculture and good food.
Not sure which CSA to sign up for? We did some research to help you get started.
Greenhearts Family Farm
The husband-and-wife owners of Greenhearts Farm personally farm, pick, choose, pack and deliver boxes to homes throughout the Bay Area. Organic produce from this CSA comes from their own Half Moon Bay farm as well as from the fields and kitchens of other locally trusted sources. Customers can add eggs, bread, honey, kombucha, meat and flowers to their order and will find recipes and notes from the farm in each box. Weekly home delivery boxes are $38, with 17- and 34-week seasonal shares available at a discount.
Fifth Crow Farm
This organic Pescadero farm grows 100% of the produce CSA members receive, including produce such as dry beans, specialty salad greens, root crops, berries, herbs and sometimes home-canned goods. Members can opt to add pasture-raised eggs and cut flowers. Neighboring farm partners offer their own shares of honey, chicken and meat that you can conveniently pick up with your weekly box. Weekly blog posts connect members to the rhythms of the farm and to wider sustainable food topics. A regular-season produce share is $702 for 27 weeks and a 14-week winter share is $252. Pickup locations range from San Francisco to Santa Cruz.
Pie Ranch
Known for its education programs aimed at teaching youth about sustainable agriculture and social justice, the nonprofit Pie Ranch offers a CSA that directly supports two programs for emerging farmers from regional high schools. The CSA features a variety of organic seasonal produce grown on the Pescadero farm. You can also participate in their periodic workdays that are followed by barn dances. Shares are $26 per week, with choices of 12-week fall or summer shares or a full 24-week share. There are five pickup locations along the coast, from San Francisco to Santa Cruz.
Blue House Farm
You can find Blue House Farm produce in area restaurants and farmers markets, and you can also join their CSA. They specialize in diverse varieties of strawberries, tomatoes, leafy greens and peppers. Other vegetables, dried beans, flowers and produce are also grown or available through this small farm tucked away in a valley in Pescadero. Since the year-round staff delivers the produce and works the farmers markets, you can meet the farmers who grow your food. CSA members can choose a winter ($207) or yearly ($690) subscription or a pay-as-you-go option, delivered to one of 25 Bay Area neighborhood pickup sites.
Eat with the Seasons
Multi-farm Eat with the Seasons has a slightly different CSA model— they partner with a network of local farmers and artisans to create a “customizable” CSA. Each week, members choose the produce for their box from among available fruits and vegetables from partnering farms, primarily located in San Benito County. Members can also add on a staggering array of local products, including grass-fed meats, eggs from pasture-raised chickens, seafood, olive oil, nuts, breads, herbs, pasta, cheeses, jams, syrups, granola and more. A CSA with a strong family and community legacy, their produce boxes come in several sizes, ranging from $76 to $196 per month. Pickup locations span San Francisco to Hollister.
