Timptations Vegetable Boxes

$ 18/​small vegetable/​fruit box. Trial for one month and then it will start charging my CC. I like how you can substitute items.
Week #1 peppers and celery which I dont like

Bought a box on livingsocial.
Stone fruit and celery looked great.
Kale looked OK.
Broccoli was rubbery-​limp and safeway quality and there wasn’t much of it to boot.
There are several CSA’s, I’ve ordered from a couple and Timptations would not be at the top of the list. I probably wouldn’t buy another box.

We’ve enjoyed the experience of being able to purchase farm fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs, many of which we tried for the first time. It’s also been fun to try new recipes from the weekly newsletter The real benefit of Timptations is that you are able substitute, making your delivery truly suited to your family’s liking. The staff is dedicated to great customer service. The family outings each quarter are the icing on the cake! You won’t regret giving Timptations a try.

Timptations is awesome! My family and I have been picking up our weekly large box for just over a month now. It’s so exciting for my young kids and I to drive down the hill on Thursdays to pick up our box and rush home to see what’s inside. I already know what we’re getting because of my Monday Newsletter which shows me what will be in my box and also allows me to switch out anything that we do not want. I keep it a surprise for the kids and it seems to really be working as they are so eager to see what is in our box and they are eating more veggies than ever. The quality of the fruits and vegetables have been really good and I find that for a family of 5, we get plenty for a week. If we have a lot of something, we use it. We’ve yet to to throw out anything or have something go bad. Yes, we’ve had a lady bug or two but, that’s just part of the adventure. The quality and taste of everything is well worth it.
I did not know until reading other reviews here on Unilocal that they have a quarterly BBQ for their customers. I can’t wait!!! How cool is that? And, a great way for my kids to see exactly where some of their food is coming from.
If eating good quality food is important to you and you are interested in a CSA program, I would definitely check out Timptations.

Timptations’ CSA program has had its ups and downs over the past year. CSAs are familiar to me, as I used to work on the organic farm at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, when I was a student there, and both Tim Chiala and Ian Teresi graduated from Cal Poly as crop science majors. So, I trusted the quality of Timptations, and the farm is multi-​generational.
In a nutshell, Tim’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program can be one of the easiest decisions of your life. Vegetables and some fruit are picked on the morning of your chosen pick-​up day (ranging from T-​F) and delivered to designated pick-​up locations all the way to Palo Alto and even Hollister/​Gilroy. There is a large box and a small box, and these can be delivered once a week or bi-​weekly. No grocery shopping, just get a box either with the standard items or substitute out items you don’t enjoy (like beets, yuck). The farm is also 90% organic, and I’ve heard the farm manager, Ian Teresi, is THE guru on insects. They do organic intelligently — Ian will know all the natural ways to rid the vegetables and fruits from pests. There are new bugs getting shipped to this farm everyday (must be gross for the workers).
PROS:
— Vegetables and some fruits delivered every week relatively close to home and many other locations.
— Two different sized boxes, once a week or bi-​weekly deliver — you’ve got options.
— Allows for substitutions!
— «Exotic» vegetables and fruits (ie. santa claus melon, swiss chard, etc.)
— I think the portions are quite large,
— Peggy Brenneise delivers A++ customer service. If you have any problems, she will take care of you to make things right. EDIT (Nov ’12): I recently had an incident where I couldn’t pick up in time, and Peggy arranged for a driver to bring the box to my workplace the next day! The customer service at Timptations is legendary. EDIT (Feb ’13): Almost a year, and still with these guys. I missed my box pickup last week, so I called Peggy, but found out that she moved to a different department. Peggy always made me feel like she would do anything to make it right, but this new rep makes me feel like I have to argue to get a good solution. I miss you, Peggy. :(EDIT: (Oct. ’13) New Peggy got much better. :) EDIT (Mar. ’13) Missing more boxes, that I’ve had to redirect to Los Gatos for a Friday pickup during my lunch hour. For busy people in the Bay Area that can’t get out of work until 6 PM, Timptations only offers two locations to pickup your box before they leave at 7PM (Campbell and Silver Creek). For those of us who work in MNCs, meetings often occur on Thursday evenings, since it’s Asia’s Friday. It’s very inconvenient.
— The farm is 90% organic (see cons). That means no pesticides, genetic alteration, etc. They also reuse their boxes.
— Free Quarterly BBQ to go and see their farms in Morgan Hill. If you’re suspicious of organic labels, then it would be a good idea to visit … and eat some delicious tri-​tip and ribs. EDIT (July ’13): So, I thought I should correct this, since it’s not always a BBQ. Timptations recently had a strawberry pick instead.
— Update: According to Timptations’ member appreciation event in March 2013, membership stands at 260 persons, an impressive feat for a local farm.
CONS:
— Lettuce comes in every other box. I hope you like salads. Also, squash and cherry tomatoes seem to be prevalent.
— Some vegetables seem to spoil very quickly, even when stored correctly in a crisper (especially the carrots, for some reason). For example, zucchini does fine, but leafy greens like lettuce start to get wilted even the day after pickup in a crisper.
— Tim’s quality control has some issues. As an example, ~25% of the cherry tomatoes are picked before they get a chance to become ripe.
— The farm is organic. Consequently, they can’t use pesticides, and so they use natural predators (ie. ladybugs eat aphids) to keep the pests from the goods. Sometimes, these bugs get shipped with the boxes, well HELLLOOooo there, ladybug! But they can’t catch all of them, and I have found worms in an heirloom tomato before. It’s just a part of nature, BUT if you’re squeamish about this kind of stuff, then you may want to reconsider eating organic food. That being said, Timptations (ie. Peggy, now Christina), will always make it right (ie. send a replacement box with your next delivery, refund your money, etc.), and you won’t have to fight them for good service.
— EDIT (Oct.’13) I’ve noticed that their drivers are becoming more and more apathetic. I get a new driver about once every 2 months. I used to talk to the drivers at pickup about their family and how they’re doing. Now with these new guys, it’s just, here’s your box, see ya. Today, the driver just left the back of the truck open, and I serviced myself while he was passed out in the front seat.
BOTTOM LINE: If you like organic vegetables and fruits, with all the birds and the bees, and hate shopping at grocery stores, give Timptations a try.

I was missing an item from my box. Hey, we are all human, we make mistakes! Timptations’ customer service went above and beyond my expectations for forgetting my box of blackberries. Chuck came in and hand delivered not one, but TWO boxes of blackberries for their small mistake. They also offered to refund my box. That is what I call quality customer service. Thanks again for continuing to provide excellent service– I’m always looking forward to delivery days!

Timptations has gone Above and Beyond recently, so I thought it was worth mentioning.
It all started with Chuck. Good ol Chuck. I pick up my box in Campbell every week and recently in the last couple weeks, my co-​worker/​friend/​carpool buddy has been coming with me because we can skip traffic. :) Anywho… so the first time I brought her with me, Chuck gave her a trial box. She was absolutely stunned, as was I! But how awesome is that!?? The best way to get a new customer is through trial though. I’ll tell you what!
She came back in the office the following day and RAVED about how awesome the box was. Well, duh! I’ve been getting the box for almost a year now, so I’m fully aware.
I decided to contact Matt to see if he could come in and give all the admins a presentation (so we could have them deliver to our office and because I think everyone should participate in a CSA).
Matt showed up with a full sized box and strawberries to share with everyone in the office. It was awesome. He gave his presentation and I chimed in. I couldn’t help it, I love them. By the end, 3 people in my office said they were super interested.
Cut to today… Chuck at my office at 10:20am with boxes of veggies. Oh so awesome! Now I get fresh veggies at my office! And people are loving it! Can’t wait till next week to see if more folks sign up! Why wouldn’t you!!? Great quality, great quantity, great program!

I don’t always Unilocal,but when I do, it’s because I’m Unilocaling about something I’m really passionate about. In this case: local, sustainable, and best of all, affordable fresh produce.
If you’re not familiar with CSA programs, here’s the deal:
You give them a certain amount of money at the beginning of the month, depending on what size box you want and how frequently you want it (weekly or bi-​weekly for the big box, weekly only for the small box), and they send you a box of fruit and vegetables. I say «send you» because they actually deliver to my office building. If you’re not at a delivery location, they have various pick-​up spots for you to go to depending on the delivery day.
It’s amazing, really. Fresh, locally grown, seasonal produce, for a price that, if compared to farmers markets/​grocery stores, is very affordable.
Also, they host a quarterly (i believe?) customer appreciation bbq/​gathering at the farm, where you get to meet the growers and mingle with fellow like-​minded CSA supporters.

I have wanted to participate in a CSA program for several years but was worried about receiving produce that my family wouldn’t enjoy. One day, I rode my bike to Specialized to meet my husband after work. Right there was the Timptations truck making deliveries that looked amazing. After discussing the program with the driver, and researching on the web, we became bi-​weekly users. I will admit that some items we give away to co-​workers but most items are happily incorporated into our familiy’s diet. It is high quality produce at a much lower price that Whole Foods (where I shop for most items). There drop off locations are convenient, and I love the fact that they give a recipe that uses the ingredients. They also seem to cluster the items for recipes. For example, we received tomatoes, peppers and cilantro… salsa in a box!

Fresh, seasonal, local produce… yum! And by participating in the CSA we get to support our local farmers. The quality of their boxes is top rate. Lots of organics. Plus, it is less expensive than the other CSA programs, not to mention the grocery store. I would highly recommend this program.