Ever wondered how all those fruits and veggies find their way into your farm box?
It’s quite the process, filled with hard work, challenges and surprises every week. But first, let me tell you why we do it at all…because we LOVE farmers and want to help keep them going in California.
Often people think we’re a farm. We’re not. We exist to support hard working farmers by providing an extra stream of revenue and to bring local, organically grown produce to hard working people that can’t get to a physical farmers market.
Is it Local?
Local has become such a distorted word. Every supermarket has “Local” banners, even while the tangerines are from Chili. The term “Local” can be defined from your own county to 400 miles away. If you truly buy local, you also eat with the seasons. Apples in fall, citrus in winter, berries in spring, stone fruit in summer.
Here’s exactly what we do. We buy directly from farms right here in San Diego like JR Organics. We also buy direct from farms in other counties such as Sweet Tree Farm and meet them at the farmers markets. Because most farms in Central Valley do not deliver directly to San Diego, we use a certified organic distributor called Charlie’s Organics to supplement our farm boxes with a larger variety produce.
Why do we source outside of San Diego? While San Diego is great for citrus and avocados, areas like the Central Valley do better with apples and pears because of the climate. Plus, we just don’t have as many farms as we use to here in San Diego. We used to purchase from many that are now closed. The only items we purchase from out of the country are bananas and, during certain times of the year, avocados. We get organic avocados from Mexico when avocados are out of season in California.
Is it Organic?
We source from certified organic farms such as JR Organics and some smaller family farms that do not use harmful chemical pesticides, though they are not certified organic, like Dassi Family Farm. We also use a certified organic distributor, Charlie’s Organics who brings organic produce from Central Valley.
The Cost of Local and Organic
Farms operating in California cannot operate cheaply. They must pay the same wage, workers comp and payroll taxes as any business, plus expensive water. Many of the local farms we work with have scaled down operations because they can no longer afford to sell wholesale. For example, the very least a local organic farm can wholesale a cauliflower that took 3 months to grow is $2.50. Retail is at least $4. Compare that to the cost of a Venti Mocha Soy Frappuccino.
The farmer needs to be paid fairly to survive, yet how much is the customer willing to pay? Every day we compete with the price of cheap produce from outside the country. And sometimes cheap produce masquerading as local.
Allow me to say without naming names…no matter how it’s advertised, if it’s super cheap, it’s not grown here or anywhere in California, especially not organically. Most likely, it has been grown conventionally in Mexico and bought on the cheap from the LA Market. Unfortunately, this type of deception is happening and does great harm to local food producers while giving people the false security of thinking their food is organic and locally grown.
Save Our Food System
“People want to be able to feed their families with safe, healthy, nutritious food,” Top Chef Tom Colichio wrote recently, “COVID-19 has shown that shorter supply chains and local production are key to a more resilient food system, and he now has an opportunity to proactively shift power to local, small-scale farmers who will best serve their communities.” Now, more than ever, we are seeing that a decentralized food system is the key to ensuring food security for our future.
As the saying goes, we are willing to pay for what we value. Every dollar you spend at Daily Harvest Express is saying that you understand the benefits of locally grown produce, and you value the lives of the farm owners and their workers.
Saving our local food system takes people like you, doing what you do.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!