Two Small Farms

Totally love this CSA. They go above and beyond, sending recipes and goodwill along with their wonderful veggies! I am a fan.

For the longest time, I’ve seen a bunch of SF folks wandering around the city with fresh produce boxes/​bags each week after work. I always wanted to commit to a healthier diet, but my only hesitation with getting a share from a CSA was the hassle of picking up the produce, planning out what to make each week, getting something I didn’t like, etc.
I did all my research on Unilocal and thought, maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as I thought. For $ 22 a week, Two Small Farms provides fresh, delicious produce, which is much less than what I would have spent at a grocery store anyways. So I sent in my 4 week trial period money to Shelley, arranged for a pickup location 2 blocks away from my apartment and started getting my first share. Let me tell you, those four weeks flew by QUICK! Each week, I look forward to the newsletter in my inbox and think about the items I would be getting that week. I would come home each week with enough produce to feed a family of 4, begin cleaning and packing them into my fridge and start cooking recipes I had thought of when I received the newsletter. The strawberries were either devoured quickly or cleaned/​stored in a container in the freezer for future use (strawberry milkshakes)!
The key with getting the produce is to plan a few dishes ahead of time. After awhile, you get the hang of it and don’t need to constantly look up recipes since most of the produce stays somewhat consistent for a few weeks (as they are mostly seasonal). You won’t get bored with it either as long as you have different carbs/​proteins to throw it with.
The best part of it so far is that I’ve been able to make food that even my boyfriend, a carnivore, can enjoy. He’s even had more recipe ideas than me and I’ve definitely discovered an Iron Chef in him :) Not a surprise that we’ve decided to sign up for another 9 weeks!!! Thanks Two Small Farms for providing such amazing produce!

I am currently doing a 4 wk trial and simply love getting my box each week. For $ 22, a box of really fresh vine ripened strawberries comes in the box along with as assortment of veggies. I have never had such good beets, corn is sweet and juicy, carrots crisp and have you ever had purple cauliflower? I love the concept of supporting local farms, the organic produce, and the fact that none of this was shipped from across the country.
I had tried another csa farm before this one, and Two Small Farms takes the cake — so much stuff in the box! I highly recommend it. There are a lot of pick up locations so you can find one that is convenient for you. It has made me eat so much healthier, and also has prompted me to be adventurous and try some new recipes.
Besides, it is really fun being surprised at what you will get each week.

David Chang says, «every restaurant in San Francisco is serving figs on a plate with nothing on it.» By golly, you can do the same thing at home if you join Two Small Farms’ CSA! Well, maybe not the fig part since this is mostly a vegetable CSA, but you can cook delicious dishes with little fuss since you are getting the same stellar stuff supplied to rock star chefs around the Bay Area.
I’ve been a loyal member of this CSA for 5 years because the produce is awesome! Previously, I was a member of Eatwell Farm’s CSA but I quit due to quality inconsistency. I switched to Two Small Farms’ CSA because I was a big fan of Mariquita Farm’s veggies at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market.
For about $ 20 a week, you get a really nice assortment of vegetables with the occasional melon or box of strawberries thrown in. I used to waste a lot of the vegetables (gasp!) because we were eating out so much (pre-​kids and pre-​Paleo diet) but now I can finish the box in about 3 – 4 days and actually have to supplement my box with trips to the farmer’s market.
Join this CSA and you won’t be disappointed. Seriously, you will look like Alice F-​ing Waters just by roasting your veggies with olive oil and a little S/​P.

After almost one year of having happy veggies, I am still 100% satisfied with my purchase.

I’ve been a member since ⁷⁄₂₀₀₈ — and in the 1.5 years of receiving weekly boxes, I have never had any poor quality produce. (Maybe a lot of cabbage one year, but I got to try out every single cole slaw recipe possible) They do a great job of keeping the boxes interesting and diverse — not likely to get the same items multiple weeks in a row.
Even within produce — beets, radishes, potatoes, etc, you’ll get lots of different varietals. Not a good CSA for people who don’t like to experiment — every week, I get new produce that I’ve never cooked before, from agretti, to sorrel, to padron peppers.
Favorite things to receive from them: corn, strawberries (best ones I’ve ever had), beets, delicata squash, and the occasional misc. fruit (cantelope this year was nuts). Oh yes — this is a vegetable CSA. You get herbs, vegetables, and in the summer, strawberries. Not much fruit otherwise, although last week there were apples and avocados earlier on in the year.
I did a lot of research before choosing a CSA, and I repeatedly read from other subscribers that this one was the most diverse and inexpensive ones around. ($ 22/​week, but if you pay in full for the year, you get a discount that makes it equivalent to $ 20/​week) Everything is organic; I recently went on a farm tour at Thomas Farm (they supply the flowers), and they don’t use any pesticides, herbicides, etc, whatsoever.
I only use the share for myself, but think it would probably be a better idea if this were for 2 people. For one, it requires a lot of meal planning and eating at home to avoid wasting anything.
+ for having a great newsletter that also gives good recipe tips.

Now that we’ve been subscribing for almost 3 years, I can attest that Two Small Farms has staying power. I’ve seen other friends join CSA’s with more choices, like a large or small box, and fruit + veggies or veggies only or fruit + half veggies or whatever, but I still love TSF one single offering. Andy’s newsletter every week makes us really feel like we’re getting a part of the farm, and we headed out to a tomato U-​pick last weekend that was so fun! We loved getting to get out there and seeing the farm and getting our hands dirty!
The price has gone up a little, I think it’s about 22 bucks a week now, but I have no question its still a huge bargain.
I love Two Small Farms!

Two Small Farms’ CSA program is just wonderful. Their vegetables are of impeccable quality. They provide kitchen staples, like cauliflower and chard, as well as more unusual vegetables, such as green garlic and pimientos de padron. Plus, late summer, their Ladybug Buying Club offers items such as San Marzano tomatoes for bulk purchase. Pickup sites are plentiful, and the hours for pickup are long.
I want my food dollars to support more sustainable agriculture. Two Small Farms CSA makes that not only possible but a pleasure.
As a bonus, I actually enjoy going to a Farmers’ Market now that I don’t need hustle to buy a weeks’ worth of vegetables.

Simply amazing fresh vegetables. The quality and quantity of our weekly share of veggies for $ 22 has to be one of the best deals out there. It also inspires me to cook healthier.
Even a simple salad from their lettuce mix and tomatoes tasted better than anything I’ve ever had from an upscale restaurant. Everything is just so fresh that it’s easy to create a delicious, simple and healthy dish.
I cooked up the Tokyo Market Turnips in a white miso broth along w/​their greens and it came out so good (see pics). We’re all turnips fans now. Hopefully we’ll see them again next week. Who knew it could taste that good?
Shelley does an amazing job when you sign up. So helpful and always friendly.

This is THE BEST thing I’ve ever done when it comes to buying food.
The Two Small Farms CSA (community supported agriculture) program is absolutely awesome. I am so much more than satisfied by my experience.
I originally signed up for the 4 week trail. (how great that they offer a trial)
Week 1. I forgot to pick up my groceries. I panicked. Then cried. Then called them. Then emailed. Then called again. (I was having a real «crazy girl» day.)
They returned my numerous communication attempts, via email, saying that they called the host of the pick-​up site to see if I could come by late, and she said it would be fine. (They have a million options for where you can pick up your giant box! You’ll find one that works for you, easy.)
Sweet. So I went to get my box (late). I walked up to the house of the pick-​up site, thinking I was going to have to ring the doorbell and apologize for being late. Nope.
I see that old boxes from previous weeks are folded neatly in a pile. And my lonely box is stacked next to the house and a little table with a clipboard. Poor box. Looked like the last kid to get picked up from soccer practice.
So I gather from the looks of things that you put a check mark by your name on the clipboard list, grab you box and go. No doorbells involved.
HOLY COW! GIANT box. Packed with goodies. I also elected to get the bunch of flowers in my trial. Beautiful, bright happy flowers. Ahhh…
Every week since, I have been excited to get my box and flowers. I even do a little joyful dance while I stand in my kitchen and unpack.
The variety has been awesome! Different every week. And, I mean, I’m getting veggies I’ve never seen before! Different kinds of onions, peppers, melons, etc. I love that I’m learning to eat new and different things. It’s a bargain for organic, local food. And I love supporting local farms, and eating this fresh, healthy variety.
I just renewed for the next 6 weeks. I can’t imagine a better way to spend my grocery budget.
I’m vegan and eat a TON of veggies and this is too much for just my boyfriend and me. So if you don’t have a family, I’d suggest going in with a friend. OR. Do what I do. Throw BBQ’s and dinner parties. :)

Lots of reasons to like getting veg from these guys:
–the products are GOOD! Super tasty.
–price is great.
–it’s fun to have to figure out what to cook based on the fresh produce that is available.
–you are supporting your local farmers.
–not buying the «sustainable» stuff that is shipped in off-​season from South America (sorry, I could not stop myself from that sarcastic comment).
Two Small Farms is set apart, for me, by the email we get the day before the weekly delivery. It tells you what you are going to have in your delivery, but there is also usually a story… about the veggies, the farm, the farmers, something interesting and terribly creative and fun to read. The writer loves food, loves the farm, loves the life he has created and does a great job of communicating his enthusiasm to the readers-​consumers. After I read the email, I can’t wait for his vegetables to come to my kitchen so I can cook something up with his produce…

I want to buy local and organic but the prices in the store or farmer’s market are so high that I ended up spending a lot more than I am comfortable with.
Enter Two Small Farms. I’ve been looking into CSAs for a few weeks and they by far had the most attractive mix of options for me — trial membership, large variety and excellent ratings.
They were incredibly helpful and answered all my questions, and I got my first box last week. The thing that I appreaciated very much is the email giving me a heads up on what was coming and a variety of recipes for each option.
For $ 22 you get an ENORMOUS amount of veggies and some of them (like baby turnips and parsnips) are new to me, so I’ve been having a great time experimenting this weekend. I absolutely loved it and am very excited about the next week’s box.

I joined the Two Small Farms CSA this year, and I couldn’t be more pleased. There’s a lot of variety in the boxes. I think one thing that has been especially fun for us is planning what we eat around these ingredients so we don’t fall into a culinary rut.
Their strawberries are super sweet — I don’t think I can ever buy strawberries from the grocery store again because I’ve been so spoiled with the CSA! We’re not vegetarian, so we’re splitting a box with our neighbor, and it’s worked out beautifully. We still get a lot of vegetables and split the cost — $ 10 a week is nothing!
Among the CSAs I researched, Two Small Farms had the best price and most convenient pick up locations available.

Two Small Farms is a delivery service that brings a box of organic fruit and veggies to 63 different locations from San Francisco to Monterey. You pick up your box on somebody’s porch on a particular day of the week.
I had to Unilocal about them because it’s such a game-​changer. Like most Unilocalers, I like to try new things. Since starting my subscription eight weeks ago, I’ve tried six new vegetables and cooked a dozen new recipes. Like most working people, I always intended to cook more and try new things, but good intentions make your cookbooks dusty and your tastebuds stale.
Lacinato kale! Moroccan collards with couscous and raisins! Some kind of chard that absolutely sings! (even better with that expensive balsamic vinegar I got in a gift basket) And everyone’s favorite elitist vegetable: arugula. I even discovered that I like fennel in salad, and I was sure I hated it. This organic box is a miracle of discovery, delivered right to me!
We split the box with another family, and still have so many vegetables it’s hard to keep up. I stopped eating at the mediocre strip-​mall places near my office a couple times a week, instead eating an awesome salad, soup or something else I cooked at home. It’s also made potlucks really, really easy, because I’m always stocked up with enough veggies to make something awe-​inspiring.
There is a wait-​list this year, get on it and discover something healthy and amazing.

I love my weekly veggie box from CSA! I pick up my box at a nearby neighborhood location. The seasonal produce is organic, fresh, and delicious. They enclose a recipe sheet which forces me to be creative with some veggies that I do not normally eat (e.g. radishes, lacinato kale, mustard greens, etc.). It is a great deal ($ 20 a week) and I do not have to deal with the Farmer’s Market on weekends. It is also good to know that you are supporting your local farmers through this arrangement as well.
Eat me!

I have been a member of the Two Small Farms CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for about 6 months now, and it has absolutely changed my food life. This is the most convenient, economical and tastiest way to eat local organic food I have found.
In my «share,» I get a box of assorted fruits and veggies, straight from the farm, delivered to a pick-​up point less than a mile from my house in Potrero Hill (they have drop-​offs all over SF). There are enough veggies to make my home of 2 people feel quite bountiful in vegetables, all for about $ 20 a week ($ 24 if you participate in the organic flower share, which I just couldn’t resist this season). If you are a single person, I would recommend sharing a box, as I think it might be too much, unless you like to share your creations with friends. The veggies are GORGEOUS, fresh and different every week.
The farms also sell the same produce to some of the best restaurants in San Francisco, so the quality and variety of the the boxes is well beyond what I pay an arm and a leg for at Whole Foods.
These veggie boxes have transformed my kitchen and eating habits. I love food, but get pretty non-​creative during the work week. My home fell into the slump of making the same 5 – 6 dishes every week, no matter the season, for lack of inspiration and energy. Now, a box of gorgeous, seasonal veggies arrives in my home each week, and I get excited about what I will make each night. Each box also comes with newsletter filled with recipes, which is helpful for veggies I’m unfamiliar with.
Some highlights have been strawberries bursting with flavor (which happens when they aren’t shipped for 4 days before they make it into the grocery store), sunchokes (also called Jerusalem artichokes, neither of which I had ever heard of, but taste similar and better than a potato with the crispness of a water chestnut even when cooked), a huge variety of greens and baby carrots with taste so sweet and earthy they hardly resemble the flavorless little nubs in the store. I could never go back to grocery shopping as I once knew it.

This CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is comprised of Marquita Farms and High Ground Organics (I’ve seen these farms listed on the menus of Boulevard and Kokkari). Two different farms, one located close to the coast, the other more inland (Hollister and Watsonville, respectively). The result of 2 different locales is a boon to you the receiver as you get a wide breadth of different produce that thrives in each area each week.
CSAs, the little darlings of the Alice Waters paradigm are no mere projects of vanity. Real farms, really great stuff. Pre pay, no standing in-​line and waiting to check out, pick up from a local spot one usually close to our house. What you get is the freshest available thing to harvest that week — straight from the farm. It’s the best of the farmers market pratically brought to you. Price wise it works out less expensive than Whole Foods. And you can pick it up until 9pm.
It really stretches you to try different things you didn’t know existed or didn’t know what to do with: cardoons, romanesco, tomatillos, celery root, fennel. It’s an amazing journey every week. The news flyers give helpful recipes using the ingredients each week if you are completely baffled.
Best thing is the option to get flowers. Flowers each week spanning from April to Thanksgiving. Awesome!

I joined the Two Small Farms CSA a few months ago and loved it. The fresh, local produce was excellent. For $ 20 a week I was consistently surprised with delicious produce and wonderful recipe ideas. The problem is that there was actually TOO much food. I wish they offered half basket sizes, because my girlfriend and I couldn’t finish our produce each week and just wound up wasting it (and our money). A shame.
When I have a family to feed I’ll definitely rejoin. For now I’ll have to stick to farmers markets so I can buy the right amounts of produce for our needs.

My wife subscribed us for a Two-​Small-​Farms weekly delivery/​pickup.
Now I probably wouldn’t do this on my own. I consider the fact that I’m picking up produce that I might or might not know what to do with, and that I cannot predict each week what is going to be in my bag to be one big pain in the behind.
Add the fact that while Susie is insistent that we continue to subscribe… and *loves* to read the newsletter that comes with our pickup… («this farmer. He’s so literate!» — she actually said that) I’m the only one who actually cooks the stuff up (she hates to cook), I view our participation in this enterprise with more than a little resentment.
So why the five stars? They’re for the undeniable quality of the produce, plus the fact that their strawberries and other fruits and mushrooms and basil and fennel and baby potatoes and carrots and even their kale deliver surprising. astonishing. unexpectedly zingy taste bud pleasure. I mean I never knew that plain old ungarnished potatoes could taste so rich or that *raw* carrots could taste so sweet and fresh and crunchy, or that mushrooms could be tasty enough to just eat raw by themselves. Add the fact that of necessity I did read their newsletter for some cooking tips and *did* learn a few new culinary tricks. And yes, I appreciate what these people are giving us and what they are trying to do. And because Unilocalers are for the most part Foodies. well, the avid chefs among you would probably be estatic with your deliveries.
NOTE: I *could* do without so many damn sugar beets each week with our delivery. Our vegetable bin is beginning to fill up with uncooked beets from past weeks. *I* am not going to use them for anything, so either Susie will have to find a use for them, or they will eventually end up as compost. Also, I will never find a use for regular parsely — who does?- so why do they keep trying to give it to me? Cilantro, on the other hand, is the essence of God. They’re truly doing the world some good in that department.
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Update 9÷9÷07
OK Two Small Farms — Thank you for forcing me to sample your *tomatillos* good stuff! … They have a habit — the providers of Two Small Farms produce … to occasionally spring WTF produce on their subscribers. that is vegetable items that one never before knew existed until ones pulls them out of the distribution bag and screams «WTF is this… WTF do I do with *this???*» Tomatillos were one such item that I have grown to treasure… Looks like little green tomaoes but with a slightly firmer texture and a taste that is at once sweet, salty, and a little citrus-​y. Gives your taste buds quite a kick. I just cut it up and mix it with regular tomatos, bell peppers, and a little olive oil…
Yay for WTF produce (occasionally).

Two Small Farms is a collaboration between Marquita Farm and High Ground Organics. Marquita used to sell at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Building Saturday Farmer’s Market, but found that it was no longer in their best interests in doing so and decided to take all orders online/​over the phone, where those of us who live much further away, can designate from a variety of pickup points throughout the Bay Area. For a reasonable fee, you get farm fresh organic produce picks of the season, once a week.
Old info, but I thought it was amusing. By the way please send a barrage of «you’re hot» and «you’re cool», «you da man» compliments over to Toro E now. He was quoted in Marquita Farm’s blog/​newsletter as to why they are no longer selling at SF Ferry Plaza!
(What does this tell you about Farmers who know what’s going on and Unilocal!!!)
Subscribing to these CSA (community supported agriculture) forces you to eat healthier, save money on gas, parking, as well as higher cost of groceries compared to say Whole Foods or any of the über posh Farmer’s Markets.
We recently joined and started subscribing. The first pickup batch of produce was superb (this past Wednesday).
Kale — Big thick lush dark greens that normally I stay away from because it tastes hideous (yes even from Whole Food). But we all know the yucky tasting stuff is good for you (like natto). This one from Marquita Farm was SUPERB. A hint of sweetness and best of all the stuff did not shrink even when I stir fried the hell out of it.
Carrots — This are the small nubbins, about the size of an ovular golfball, with really long carrot leafs. Super sweet, as good as those even uglier looking ones at Berkeley’s Farmer’s Market.
Scallions — never seen such HUGE and long scallions. After the e-​coli Taco Hell scare of Mexican grown scallions, no thanks I’m not buying this from Chinese supermarkets for a while. These look very similar to those but are very long. Have you ever seen Tokyo Negi at Nijiya Supermarket? Well not that big, but maybe ½ the size, which is still pretty big.
Strawberries — Delicious. I can only imagine how much better the strawberry mochi at Benkyodo would be if strawberries like THESE were used.
zucchini — (I probably didn’t even spell it right). Looks like the organic kind from Whole Foods but a bit bigger. Sorry I don’t have any feedback on this, because it melted in the soup I made yesterday.
While you don’t get to pick whatever they prepare for you, it forces you to be creative with how you consume these groceries.
Yesterday I made a mean pot of soup. Pork bones, chicken bones, threw in all the carrots (and the carrot leaf, tons of vitamins), zuchini, tomatoes, potatoes, amongst a few other things. 4+ hours of major boiling and more. What a great way to melt the stuff down and consume it. Great for the family, and you need to take care of yourself.
One can only indulge in so much sugar, alcohol, drugs, and debauchery.