A land of lush vineyards and fertile fields, the Santa Maria Valley produces an enviable bounty of fresh edibles, from crisp broccoli to succulent strawberries. Though many area growers still farm conventionally using petro-chemicals and fertilizers, a full 1,000 acres of area cropland have been certified organic.
“There’s actually more organic land here than most people realize,” said Ron Labastida, a second-generation farmer. “Most people don’t have access to this organic produce, though, because it’s all shipped out. Only about five percent stays here, and you can’t just go to these companies and buy it from them.”
An enterprising businessman striving to keep his R and D Farms financially healthy, Labastida decided to market some of that organic produce directly to customers. Three years ago, with the aid of his wife, Denice, he launched Farmer’s Garden, a service that provides subscribers with a weekly box of freshly harvested organic vegetables.
“My background is conventional farming,” Labastida explained, “but we also have organic acres. We grow broccoli, leaf lettuce, cilantro, bok choy, a mix of varieties. We grow 50 percent to 60 percent of the produce that we put in the boxes, but to have more diversity, I get produce from other organic companies, too.
“All the spring mix is from our neighbor, Babé Farms, and is part of their organic program,” he continued. “I get strawberries locally and work with a grower in Ventura to get oranges, because we don’t grow them here.”
Each Wednesday, April through November, Farmer’s Garden subscribers can pick up their harvest boxes at Testa’s Bistro in Santa Maria, or at one of several convenient drop-off spots. For a small fee, they can even have them delivered to their door. Weekly charges range from $18 to $23, depending upon the size of the box and the payment schedule.
After rigorous price comparisons, Labastida and his team—which includes his son, Tracy—determined that not only was the food that Farmer’s Garden provided fresher than grocery store fare, it costs substantially less.
“If you get the same items conventionally grown,” Labastida declared, “they’re more expensive than what we have in our box, and our box is all organic. If you tried to get them organic, it would be really expensive.
“Because we’re growing a lot of the produce ourselves,” he continued, “we’re able to pass on the savings. Some of these items just don’t have to be as high as they are in the grocery stores.”
Farmer’s Garden is what’s called a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program, an early 1960s concept that grew into a movement to keep locally raised food on local tables. Concerned with food safety and the urbanization of arable land, ordinary citizens in Europe and Japan organized to encourage farmers to grow quality food using sustainable methods, and agreed to support local agriculture by buying directly from neighborhood farmers.
Introduced to North America in the mid-1980s, CSA programs have evolved into a subscription service that supplements farmers’ cash flow, while providing home cooks with super-fresh goodies. Local Harvest (localharvest.org), a U.S.-based website that links farmers with local buyers, currently lists 2,500 CSAs in its database.
“Most people don’t realize what a CSA is,” Labastida said. “Cal Poly has a large one, there’s one in Arroyo Grande, and a couple in Santa Barbara, but most people don’t want to drive that far.
“We just gave it a shot,” he added, “because whatever can be direct marketed is more beneficial to the grower. So far, we’re getting a pretty favorable response.”
In April, Farmer’s Garden kicked off the 2009 growing season with a food and wine reception at Testa’s Bistro on College Drive in Santa Maria, where Tracy Labastida works as manager when not attending classes at Cal Poly.
“The turnout was a full house,” Labastida beamed. “Tracy had the bistro set up kind of like a farmers market. I couldn’t believe how many people signed up!”
In order to showcase the produce and share innovative recipes, Labastida and his family plan to host regular receptions at Testa’s Bistro throughout the growing season. A budding chef, Tracy will stage food demonstrations using seasonal produce and serve samples to inspire subscribers.
“Down the road we’ll also have more herbs and cut flowers,” Labastida said, “just to have more diversity in the box. It’s not like the grocery store, where you have everything 365 days a year. A lot of our products are seasonal, and you’ll see the changes in the box.”
Why not put an element of delicious surprise into your menus by subscribing to a harvest share of Farmer’s Garden produce? You’ll be rewarded with weekly boxes of fresh, organically grown produce, and enjoy life even more knowing that your food dollars lend direct and vital support to our hardworking local growers.
K. Reka Badger knows the best spots to pick up the goods. E-mail comments or ideas to rekabadger@hotmail.com.
This article appears in May 7-14, 2009.
