Best CSA in the city?

Submitted by Lolotopo t3_114wnvl in philadelphia

With spring just around the corner, I'm thinking about getting a csa to save money and eat more of a variety of vegetables. Wondering which ones people like?

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99centstalepretzel t1_j8ybi4q wrote

Highland Orchards. Best bang for your buck. I've been with them for close to 10 years, and others do not even come close in terms of price and quality.

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ponte95ma t1_j8yezl7 wrote

Their website explains:

>Purchase a CSA gift card to support our farm when financial resources are limited. Your gift card purchase (Dec-May) makes funds available for us to plan, prune, plant, and prepare for the busy growing season (May-Nov).
>
>Unlike traditional CSAs, you choose when, which kinds, and how much fruit and vegetables you want to take home. Your CSA card can be used on fresh in season produce, or any other great items offered in our Farm Market and Bakery.

Maybe I'm missing something: you buy a gift card ... to spend ... only at Highland's farm market ... in West Chester?

How often/far are you travelling for that CSA?

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99centstalepretzel t1_j8yfs18 wrote

Highland Orchards CSA - NOT the farmer's market. Their farmer's market (what you found), and the CSA are based out of two different locations. It's run by the same family.

Pick-up locations.

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ponte95ma t1_j904820 wrote

Okay, that makes more sense. It wouldn't have occurred to me to scroll past the top search results, down to the Highland Orchards in Wilmington.

And it turns out that they deliver on the same day ... to the same place ... where I pick up my CSA that is not Highlands Orchards.

Between their SEO and their brick-and-mortar marketing, I wouldn't have known about Highland Orchards (DE) -- so thanks for the tip, Reddit ftw again!

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demography_llama t1_j8yc77m wrote

I had a Taproot CSA share last summer and just signed up for a spring share. I pickup in Old City on Wednesdays.

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fkdkshufidsgdsk t1_j8yupkq wrote

I am a loyal taproot customer as well, though I don’t do the csa (just doesn’t work for my schedule). They are the BEST

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monkeymaxx t1_j8zo0l2 wrote

I love Taproot as well!! I add on a half dozen eggs, and the cheese and fruit shares. I also did the Pasta Lab add on but didn’t use the pasta quickly so I didn’t add that on again. I already signed up for the spring!

I’ve done Philly Food Works and Greensgrow in the past. I think Taproot is the best quality and value by far.

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fkdkshufidsgdsk t1_j926fun wrote

FYI pasta lab stuff all freezes super well and you do t loose any quality, always have something of theirs in my freezer!

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monkeymaxx t1_j926p8r wrote

I buy their stuffed/fresh pastas often and have a bunch in my freezer at all times. But the ones in the CSA are the shelf stable dried pasta shapes and I don’t use them as much. I’ve put in a suggestion to have Pasta Lab move towards the stuffed/fresh pastas for the CSA but it hasn’t happened yet.

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Karineh t1_j8z0a81 wrote

I loved this share so much

I also added Cheese and Egg shares

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demography_llama t1_j8z4tlo wrote

I agree. I did a summer share and fall share last year. I loved being able to add on an apple share. The shares are generous in size and force me to eat veggies that I wouldn't normally buy at the store.

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Luna_3000 t1_j8ygbr7 wrote

Weavers Way farm share at Saul

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butterandbagels t1_j9368k0 wrote

I've been a Philly area-CSA subscriber for 4 years and have tried 4 of them. Here are my thoughts:

  1. Highland Orchards: This one will forever be my favorite and I was crushed when I had to cancel my subscription because I moved too far out of their drop-off site radius. They are based out of Wilmington, DE and have been in operation for over a century. What I love about these guys is that it's the best bang for your buck, you can pay week by week, you have more flexibility with deliveries, and they have the best variety of produce. Each week you'll get an herb, 4-5 veggies, and some fruit. Back when I was a subscriber in 2018-2020, it was $16.50 to get my veggies dropped off at my work site (this was back in Delaware, but it was only an extra $2 to pick it up in Rittenhouse if I recall correctly). I loved their veggie offerings and it turned me on to stuff I would never try, like celery root. You also have the option to get deliveries weekly, biweekly, or monthly, unlike most CSAs that lock you in to prepay up front and do weekly pickups. Plus they run year round, which is HUGE. Pretty much every CSA I've looked at is seasonal only, and you have to sign up for the different seasons and the pricing may vary. Rating: 10/10
  2. Crawford Organics: Another small family farm. I did their spring share last year. It was okay. One thing with spring shares is that spring is lettuce season and you will get soooooo much lettuce. So much lettuce. Did I mention you get a lot of lettuce? Hope you like salad. They do offer repeat subscribers early sign up discounts when the next year rolls around, and they send a cool newsletter each with with what you can expect, explanations of what is going on at the farm, and recipes based on what you get for the week, which I liked. Rating: 5/10
  3. Taproot Farm CSA: This one was decent, and the summer season was pretty long, running from June to the first week of November. They have different sizing options, and I liked the variety of what I got in the summer. They don't give you weekly herbs, which I missed, and you have to buy a fruit share on top of your veggie share to guarantee you get some fruit. I did a medium share of veggies and a regular fruit share last year and while it was all very good, it was too much for a two person household, and so I'm only doing a small veggie share this year and ditching the fruit share. I also like that you can add on a bunch of other shares, like tea, coffee, pasta, eggs, and more. You pay up front and it's pretty pricey, but like I said, I did enjoy it. I am probably going to sign up for this again this year. Rating: 7.5/10
  4. Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-Op: This is a unique share because it's sourced farms all over the region and not one main farm. They also offer tons of cool add ons, like eggs, cheese, meat, flowers, etc. I did the fall share last year (right after my summer Taproot CSA share expired) and really enjoyed it and will do it again. The fall veggie share was 5 vegetables, and I splurged to add on the omnivore share (1 meat item is enough for 2 people, 1 lb of cheese, and 1 pantry item like tea, honey, pasta, grits, etc). I'm definitely doing their fall share again. They have fewer convenient pickup sites for me compared to Taproot though. Rating: 8/10

Others I haven't tried but have heard good things about include Philly Veg Works, which lets you customize your box, but imo that kind of defeats the purpose of a CSA since it's to try new vegetables and support local farms regardless of yield for the week.

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The things I would consider when looking at a CSA share are (1) pickup locations (is it close to where you live/work that it won't be a slog to grab it every week), (2) pricing and availability (how much is it per week? do you pay up front or per week? do they have payment plans? do you have to pick up every week? what happens if you go on vacation?), and (3) realistically, how many veggies per week will you eat and do you have time to cook (this will determine your share size that you should get)?

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rightbeforeimpact t1_j8ycq3v wrote

Crawford Organic delivers to the city and offers several box sizes and also fruit and eggs. Its great!

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uptown_gargoyle t1_j8yjfly wrote

+1 for Crawford

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rightbeforeimpact t1_j8z1619 wrote

I usually like everything they send except the red frills mustard greens

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uptown_gargoyle t1_j8z2ife wrote

Ooh I love mustard greens! But moreover I really like how the CSA has forced me to learn how to cook and store veggies that were previously unfamiliar to me.

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Karineh t1_j8z06xh wrote

Taproot Farm

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A_Wild_Nudibranch t1_j91gtio wrote

Lancaster Farm Fresh has pick up at MOM's on 11th and Market.

I work with LFFC and their stuff is consistently really good. Even better when pick up is before a holiday weekend and in the burbs no one picks up their box, so we get the goods after 3 days...

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No-Track-627 t1_j9262fi wrote

Philly Food Works is amazing for me and I highly recommend them.

You can decide how much to put in your prepay account (I think the min. is $100) and then each week you can order the things you want through their online portal. They also have traditional shares (which they call subscription boxes) where they will choose for you, but I love the option of picking it myself and only getting what I need/want/will use. The prices are the same or better as what I would pay at the farmers market and they carry pretty much everything I would buy at the market too (produce, cheese, meat, coffee, flowers, etc.) and from most of the vendors I love the most (shoutout to Beechwood!)

Oh and big perk for me is that they do home delivery, perfect for those of us without a car. They also do have several drop off locations in most neighborhoods, and they will pick up your boxes and containers for reuse.

I also love their approach to CSA and their support of neighborhoods and organizations that may be underserved. So yeah, I'm a fan.

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Glystopher t1_j8yc2wh wrote

Holy shit CSA’s are expensive and I’d rather just buy based on what I’m cooking… me, after browsing Lancaster farms offers…

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Brahette t1_j8za0rc wrote

Check out Hungry Harvest! I subscribed during covid to cut back on store trips and you get to select your options every box (out of whatever list they have). My mini veggie box is $18 every 2 weeks and it's more than enough for one person. They also have an awesome marketplace for add ons (the pasture eggs I always buy never increased in price with the egg shortage and are way cheaper than the store)

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Glystopher t1_j90n8q7 wrote

I am cooking for two, for a week, forgot to add that tidbit but thanks

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Brahette t1_j9177ih wrote

HH has several different options. I pick the smallest veggie box but there are medium and large sizes as well. Also ones with both fruit and veggies.

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[deleted] t1_j8yoeyv wrote

Highland Orchards lets you pay weekly! You can even cancel if you are going away for a week.

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Glystopher t1_j90nbnd wrote

I go to camping fests during growing season so yeah

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[deleted] t1_j921nzk wrote

Highland Orchards grows all year round. It is a really great, affordable share. We pay $17 a week for a small share that works for a family of 3.

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thecw t1_j8yk09r wrote

CSAs are a scam to give you thousands of pounds of bitter greens on the promise of some good tomatoes twice a year.

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