Donate-A-Box
CSA customers give the gift of healthy food
CSA members and others can donate fresh produce from Capay Organic to local food banks. (Photos courtesy of Capay Organic)
By Thaddeus Barsotti
Farming is a job that connects natural resources and people. Our farm, Capay Organic, is blessed with our region’s early springs, hot summers, cool falls, and tolerable winters, which together yield a year-round, seasonal selection of produce that is second to none. It is a farmer’s job to know how to manage the ground and seasons to maximize the selection of produce. But as some farmers become more connected to their communities, it becomes their job to further connect their harvest to people—especially those who find it difficult to pay for the healthy food they need to nourish their families.
For me, the planting schedules are the easy part. Seasons are amazingly predictable. The greater challenge is understanding how to get this food to people throughout our community. Our CSA and produce delivery service, Farm Fresh To You, has developed an amazing group of paying customers. These connections have created an economically and environmentally sustainable food system that helps keep my farm, farm team, and our customers healthy. But what about those families who find that this healthy food is out of reach?
Our solution to this challenge is our Donate-A-Box Program. When our customers go on vacation or need to skip a delivery, we give them the option to donate that delivery to their local food bank—it is that simple, and it works. Customers can also make $5 donations that go toward more boxes. Since we started Donate-A-Box in August 2014, we have donated almost 10,000 boxes to six regional food banks. This program gets produce directly to people in their community who can now eat the healthy, seasonal produce our farm team grows.
During this season of giving, don’t forget the precious gift of a healthy diet as preventative medicine. Food banks are doing amazing work, and we are grateful to be able to partner with them on Donate-A-Box.
P.S. You don’t have to be a Farm Fresh To You member to donate a box of fresh produce. Simply go here.
Capay Organic grows more than 130 varieties of fruits and vegetables for local restaurants, retailers, and farmers’ markets.
