Phat Beets
We got some bad news recently—J&P Organics, the farmers we’ve been buying our CSA veggie box from, are pulling out of Oakland. I flailed around a little looking for other CSA choices, and settled on Phat Beets—mostly because J&P is one of the farmers they source produce from. I also liked what they say in their FAQ: “Phat Beets Produce and the Beet Box specifically support small minority farmers, and connect them to inner-city communities. This means that we seek to promote the work of farmers who have been historically marginalized, who haven’t used farm subsidy programs, or haven’t had access to local markets.”
We picked up our first “Beet Box” today—it had basil, red onions, sweet potatoes, radishes, kale, a big Purple Cherokee tomato, a watermelon, three green bell peppers, a big hunk of ginger, four peaches, two nectarines, and, yes, beets. It also had a little flyer identifying exactly which farms had contributed the various fruits and veggies: Firme Farms, Vang Family Farm, J&J Farms, and Morning Glory Organic. I was curious enough to look up the first farm, and found a nice little story about who they are. So, thumbs up to Phat Beets!
Tonight we’re eating black-eyed peas with bacon and beet greens, and a side of roasted and mashed sweet potatoes. Robin is dancing around saying “I love black-eyed peas!” It makes me super proud.
August 3rd, 2011 at 9:09 am
Ohhhhhh, thank you so much! I saw a flyer for the produce box just yesterday outside the laundromate and got all excited, especially because I’ve recently heard about Firme Farms and how intense the flavor of their produce is and it looks like they’re included too. (So there’s another good one!)
I was really interested but the way they talk about the box on their website makes it sound smaller than it is! I couldn’t tell if they meant 11-14 KINDS of fruit/veg (seems like a lot) or 11-14 actual pieces of fruit or veg (doesn’t seem like enough)! And of course there are no pictures. I finally googled it, looking for reviews from people who had tried it, and this is the first one I’ve found. It sounds like a really good, hefty box! I think I’ll sign up for it!
P.S. your house is gorgeous!
P.S. 2… I also just discovered the laundromat it was in front of, which is right by the Phat Beets farmers’ market. I have to give it a plug here, even just for the big bedding-and-cushion sorts of things that are hard (or impossible) to wash at home. 85 cents a pound wash-n-fold, the cheapest I’ve seen, and if you live in their area they’ll pick up and drop off your laundry for free!!!?!? Dropped off a bunch of leftover-from-our-move, doesn’t-fit-in-the-washer stuff last night and they were SO friendly and excited to see me, despite never having seen me before! I love Oakland.
August 5th, 2011 at 5:52 pm
Hi Dani! I’m sorry it took me a few days to fish your comment out of moderation — you shouldn’t run into that problem again. We’ve been really happy with the beet box; it does compare in size to the CSA boxes we were getting before, and it’s competitive on price too.
Do you live by the Phat Beets market? We’re in Maxwell Park…