Fresh vegetables - and by that I mean usually organic produce as straight from the farm as possible - seem to have grown in popularity even since I made this blog about fresh produce a few years ago. For instance, at that time, my home city Jurupa Valley had only one option besides its limited number of local grocery stores. Now it has three. I'm going to review these here, and discuss options for the rest of you as well. However, option 1 is available to almost all Californians, and options 2 and 3 are open to anyone who can travel to Jurupa Valley at the appropriate times.
Our local options
1. Farm Fresh to You - This isn't just local to Jurupa Valley or a surrounding city, but it's the one option here that has been around longer than my blog. This is an online ordering service for a package of fresh, organic and often exotic vegetables and fruits. You arrange to have as many fresh fruits and vegetables delivered to your door as you want or need, once a week or even less. When I first started using the service, you had some choices about box size and contents. Now you have even more, and can even customize your box. Check out http://www.farmfreshtoyou.com/ for more info.
2. The Patch - This is the newest option in Jurupa Valley, having only started in April 2015 (this month as I write this). The Patch takes place from 9 a.m. to noon at the Jurupa Community Center (4810 Pedley Road, Jurupa Valley). It's a partnership between Adams Acres Farms in Rialto (including Gabriel, the former owner of Unity Farm locally) and Healthy Jurupa Valley's Gardens and Markets team. While just the two farmers using Adams Acres at this time, they are working on agreements with other farmers to bring even more in. With two farmers, they already both offer organic fruits and vegetables that are as good or better than Farm Fresh. If you can make it to the Patch, you can pick up a box that you pre-ordered at least 24 hours in advance by calling Reach Out at (909) 982-8641, or you can pick and choose the produce while you are there that will meet your needs. The only drawbacks - no home delivery, and you must be able to come to the Jurupa Community Center during the hours the Patch is open.
3. Unity Farm - This farm is located on Crestmore Road in Jurupa Valley. Give them an hour or two notice by calling (951) 318-4261, then travel during normal business hours (weekdays only) to the farm at 4800 Crestmore Road, Jurupa Valley. (It is located on Rancho Jurupa Park, in between the campground and administrative entrances.) This farm has lovely organic vegetables, but the box they pick for you has been typically heavy on peppers since changing owners, and has never offered fruit.
If these options don't work
1. Farmers Markets - The Patch evolved from many Jurupa Valley residents' desire to have a local Farmers Market. Since it's only coming from one farm, it's still not quite that. But many cities do have Farmers Markets. Our nearest neighbor, Riverside, has one on Main Street by its convention center on Saturday mornings. It also has one on Arlington Avenue on Friday mornings, but why go there when you can get even better at The Patch? Many other cities offer Saturday morning or weekday evening farmers markets. I think the absolute best one I have seen is in Santa Monica on its Third Street Promenade, which is also a Saturday morning market.
2. The grocery store - Jurupa Valley's Fresh & Easy has just closed, otherwise I would have listed it above for its fantastic organic produce. While I don't know that our remaining locals, which are Stater Bros. and Wal-Mart have quite as interesting a variety, they do actually have more fruits and vegetables than you will see in the boxes or at many Farmers Markets. If you still have a Fresh & Easy, a Sprouts or possibly a national chain store like Albertson's or Von's, even better chance of having a wide variety of produce.
However, these fruits and vegetables aren't quite as fresh as even Farm Fresh to You's options, because there are middle men - the warehouses these grocery stores own, and then the grocery store itself. Their produce therefore is more like three days old, compared to about two days old for Farm Fresh, and picked just that same day or the night before for The Patch and most other Farmers Markets, and within hours at Unity Farm.
