This is the produce I received in one small Unity Farm box. This smallest box is now only $17.
Unity Farms is on Crestmore Road, which means it's right across the river from the City of Riverside. With a great view of the south side of Mt. Rubidoux behind it, Unity Farms grows lettuce, herbs, peppers and other vegetables on a full-sized family farm.
You must give this farm a call at (951) 318-4261 first. Then give them two hours, and they will have a box of produce ready for you. Depending on the needs of your family, you can choose a $17 box, a $25 box or a $35 box. These prices are for boxes of assorted vegetables they choose. If you would prefer, you can work out a price for the vegetables of your choice.
I have planned entire meals for several weeks around my box, but you also will want to think about adding salads or steamed vegetables to previously planned meals if you have a Unity Farms box in your refrigerator. This is the only way you will use up the entire box before the food starts to spoil. It is organic, so it is delicious when first picked, but starts losing flavor and crispness after, at most, a week. You may be able to live with that if you are cooking the vegetables, but some more than others, and no one after awhile.
If you think a medium or large size box every week would meet your needs, you will have another option soon, at least you will if you actually live in Jurupa Valley. In September 2014, Unity Farm is expected to bring into Jurupa Valley a monthly co-op with at least one other farm. This will offer a greater selection of vegetables, and also fruit. Co-op participants will have to commit to purchasing a $25 or $35 box every week, but will be able to choose which fruits and vegetables they want. The potential downside, especially if you live in Riverside and not Jurupa Valley, is participants will have to pick up their boxes at the Jurupa Unified School District office, which is quite a bit further from Riverside than the farm itself. (This isn't really a drawback if you're one of my San Bernardino County followers though, because you can simply take the 15 or the 215 to the 60, go from there into Jurupa Valley, and exit Pedley Road. School district is at Pedley and Jurupa in Jurupa Valley.
The co-op is a development in my young city, Jurupa Valley. A year ago the city formed Healthy Jurupa Valley, which strives to improve the lifestyles of our residents. One aspect of this is to improve their access to fresh fruits and vegetables. It has been promoting Unity Farm since nearly the beginning, since organic vegetables fits in perfectly with this mission.
As a farmer's daughter, it is shocking to me that many children in Jurupa Valley and Riverside grow up not knowing where food comes from. Riverside Unified School District is working with Unity Farm on an educational awareness program, in which speakers from the farm come to the schools, or the children make an actual field trip to Unity Farm. Healthy Jurupa Valley leaders are working with Jurupa Unified School District to help Unity Farm provide the most local children a similar opportunity.
Healthy Jurupa Valley also has planted a demonstration garden at Granite Hill Elementary School, so that students at that school will have first-hand knowledge of where food comes from, and the rest of the public can see examples of how to grow food in their own back yards.
As a wanna-be serious food blogger, I have been somewhat following Healthy Jurupa Valley's efforts to make sure people in my city have access to produce. It has an action team called "Farms and Gardens" which advises the city on this. I haven't been as involved with "Farms and Gardens" to a great extent, and when I was serving as the Jurupa Valley Chamber of Commerce marketing manager, I was too busy to deal with Healthy Jurupa Valley at all. However, in the last four months, I have been more involved, and have been following the activities of Farms and Gardens a little more closely. However, I cannot say for sure if I will become more involved in Farms and Gardens, because Healthy Jurupa Valley is kicking off another action team, Economic Prosperity, at its meeting this Tuesday. For many reasons, it is my intention to give far greater energy to this action team. But you can be on two action teams, so I will, at the very least, promote our city's farm.
If you're not from Jurupa Valley, please do what you can to make your own city (or unincorporated place) a healthier place by promoting healthier dining choices, such as Farmer's Markets, community (of for-profit) farms, and restaurants that give you better choices than burgers and fries. And also any food education programs your community offers.
