I really loved my CSA. It was great – they delivered year round, even through the winter (I signed up last fall or so), and the food I got was pretty much always fantastic. I really enjoyed knowing that I could count on some great fresh produce, every other week, and that I was supporting a family of farms that used sustainable methods to produce that food. It expanded my palate, and pushed my cooking boundaries, since I could never know quite for sure what would be coming in my delivery or what I should do with it.
But it still left a lot of holes – a lot of gaps – in my food supply. My CSA gave me about 30-40% or so of the food I needed for my wife and I, and it was always wiped out quickly. And it only accounted for produce. I wanted to be able to get as much of my food as possible like this. Things like meat, poultry, and seafood. Grains, flour, nuts, and dairy. Everything, really. Not to mention the fact that fresh produce every two weeks just wasn’t enough.
So I found some farmers that I liked who came to local markets to supplement my CSA, and I would see them every Saturday morning. And sometimes they’d have what I was looking for, or sometimes they’d be sold out. If I overslept a bit, forget it. I generally had to rely on my CSA, Saturday morning market trips, and Whole Foods to fill in the blanks in order to purchase all the food I needed. I wanted the best food, but I was starting to hate all the running.
Then I hear about Arganica Farm Club. Arganica is a local source food club that delivers once a week, to your doorstep if you’re within delivery range (I’m not, so they deliver to my office instead). They make buying sustainable and local food simple.
Image: Arganica / Arganica.com
I first signed up with Arganica in September, for a one month trial membership at a cost of $30. This money covers the cost of delivery and any overhead costs accrued for operating the club, but it doesn’t pay for the food itself – that’s an additional cost. And I can say, after those four deliveries and that one month, I had absolutely no hesitation in signing up for a full year.
The way it works is that you pay a membership/delivery fee based on how many months of food you’ve signed up for. $30 gets you a month, $250 gets you a year, and there are all kinds of divisions in between. And for an extra $20, you can tack on a partner membership – so you and a friend can both get your deliveries for the same membership price, as long as you get it delivered to only one spot. Once you’ve paid that, you then get to order whatever you like off their order sheet – which changes and gets updated every week, depending on what’s available and what new producers Arganica may have recently brought into their fold.
Honestly, what really sold me was their order sheet. So I have to share that here. The 365 Club order form has slightly reduced prices for members that have a year-long membership. You will notice, probably first of all, that yeah – the food from Arganica is likely going to cost you a bit more than you’re used to paying for food. But as we’ve recently explored, cost should not be the bottom line under consideration here. I get nearly all of my food from Arganica now, and I’m spending roughly 8-9% of our total household income on it.
But after you notice the prices, you will notice the wide variety of amazing food offered. All kinds of fantastic options here. I was sold. Great produce, extensive meat selections, all kinds of Chesapeake and mountain seafood, local and artisan foods and desserts, locally roasted coffees, seasonal choices, all kinds of dairy options, really just anything I want – and even stuff I didn’t yet know I wanted. Quail eggs, elk steaks, guinea hens, lamb sausage, wild gathered mushrooms, local wines. I can even get meat from Joel Salatin’s famous Polyface Farms. Honestly, it made my head spin. In such a good way.
And if I still want the random surprise of an unknown delivery that you usually get from a CSA, I can get that here too. They have assorted produce boxes you can order which they will fill with whatever there is an abundance of that week – grab bag style.
Unfortunately, I still don’t have a camera at the moment or else I’d offer up some pictures of some of the fantastic things I’ve gotten from Arganica so far. But rest assured, it is some amazing food. And it’s so great how easy they make things for me – I still go to the market every once in awhile if I need to, but being able to have all my meat, produce, dairy, etc., delivered every single week – well, like I said I am able to get about 95% of my food through this now. And really, that’s just awesome.
UPDATE: The friendly folks at Arganica have offered a free month trial for readers of my blog. Just enter “MSCK Free Month Trial” in the gift card/coupon section of your membership form and you’ll be all set!
