Growing Washington

We joined for the first time this year, just to give it a try, but won’t be renewing for next year. Primarily, this is because of the per-​item price that is really quite a bit more than buying the identical produce (from the same grower!) from the food co-​op, and even more sometimes than buying from the farmer’s market. I guess I expected some sort of price break since I was paying nearly $ 700 in advance. Definitely won’t be doing this again.

This will be my second year as a customer of Growing Washington Local Choice Food Box Program. Have been very happy with the choice of products, the quality, and the OUTSTANDING customer service I’ve received. The produce was some of the best I’ve ever eaten, and took me back to my childhood home where my siblings and I thoroughly enjoyed the good eating from the large family garden. Eating ultra-​fresh, chemical-​free fruits and vegetables… nothing like it!

So so awesome to get my Farmers Choice Mini Box every week. It’s like a gift full of wonderful surprises that absolutely make my week. I did my research of all the CSAs in the Seattle Area and this one is the most affordable ($ 15/​wk for a lot of stuff). I’ve gotten so many dinner parties out of just the mini box, and all my friends love this CSA because it’s fed them well. The vegetables and fruits are really good, organic, local, and so flavorful. Because I get the Farmers Choice, it’s always what’s in season so sometimes there are repeats (a lot of corn in summer, a lot of squash in autumn) but hey, that’s what eating seasonal means. Plus the staff send out a list of what’s in the box a few days ahead of time so you can plan your menus. And the customer service is really great!

After two years, I still love the quality and flexibility of GWLCFB, but a recent price increase led me to unsubscribe. Why would I unsubscribe when GWLCFB still offers amazing fresh produce, dairy and eggs?
1) Cost analysis leads me to believe that I could buy directly from the local farmers market for less. The Growing Local Choice minibox (6 items) that I was looking at comes to about $ 4 – 5 an item. For example, I can get a head of lettuce, half dozen eggs, or bunch of radishes at the farmers market for much less than $ 5.
2) They do not deliver. Before I didn’t mind, but combined with the price increase it leads me to try a CSA with a delivery option.
GWLCFB isn’t the right choice for me this season, but if you do not live close to a farmers market, or just don’t mind driving to pick up your produce, GWLCFB is still a great CSA with amazing variety and quality!

I love you, Local Choice Food Box. It’s been a great season (my 2^nd as both a member and the host/​organizer of my workplace members) You make my life healthy and tasty and sweet and savory and just all-​around delicious! Thanks for a great summer and fall… can’t wait til next year!

This is my second year with Growing Washington’s CSA box program and I can’t recommend it enough! The produce has been beautiful and delicious, and they have a wide variety of fruit and veggies which changes over the course of the season. They also have dairy products, grains, herbs, and even beautiful flower arrangements. Everyone I’ve spoken with over email and in person has been extremely friendly and helpful. They are always on time with deliveries and have even been nice enough to change my pick-​up location on occasion when I’ve needed someone else to pick up my order for me. I always look forward to receiving their food. My only complaint is that the season should last longer!

This is our third year and we love it.
They are quick to replace anything that doesn’t meet our standards at no cost, I get to choose what I want, and the produce is great. We are a host site this year and love getting this great food delivered right to our door.
It’s fantastic!

This is a wonderful CSA! They have a great variety of locally produced organic veggies and fruit, grains and flour, eggs, and butter, as well as flowers. As previous reviewers mentioned, you get to pick the contents of your box each week.
They have small and large boxes for veggies and for fruit and new for this year they have combo boxes where you can get any mix of fruits and veggies (grains, etc.) that strike your fancy. I got some of the excellent farm fresh eggs almost every week last year, and while the tomatoes lasted, especially the little sungold cherry tomatoes, I gorged on them as well.
The couple times I got something that was past its prime, they replaced it the next week with no problem. This year I’ve signed up for the flowers as well, as I often found myself looking at other boxes wistfully.
They also have a plethora of pickup locations, including one near my office building. It’s very convenient to swing by and pick up my box on the way home.

Totally awesome, local veggies!
I’ve been getting a growing washington CSA member for 2 years and I’m always stoked to get another fresh box of veggies. Now they have eggs, fruit and flowers too. It’s easy to pick what kind of produce you want.
Awesome people, awesome service.

The first week of our CSA at Growing Washington I cooked up some golden beets that arrived in our box. After one bite, my husband (who mostly ate spinach has his primary veggie), announced, «I never thought I liked beets, but these taste sooo good!!!»
Growing Washington changed the way we cook and eat!!!
We’ve been members of this CSA for three years and have offered our front porch as a hosting site. They provide 100% LOCAL and ORGANIC fruits, veggies, and even butter, flour, fresh flowers, herbs, and eggs. All the products are fresh and unique.
The BEST thing about this CSA is that they provide a LIST of all the FRESH stuff on the farm that week, and you CHOOSE what works best for your taste, cooking style, and needs. You can be adventurous one week, and conservative next week. It’s all so flavorful and delicious.
I’ve been particularly impressed with the service. We’ve been going with the CSA for three years and anytime there has been questionable quality they always replace it, no questions asked. Two weeks in a row we got some icky misuna, and the third week they sent us FLOWERS. I always feel like I end up on top.
Just another reason to love summer in Seattle.

I believe Christina B. stated all the reasons I love this CSA already, so I won’t write it again. Because of how the program works, I’ve been able to use a small box by myself (occasionally having to give away an item or two, but that’s it). It has made me cook a lot this summer, and I’ve been really happy with all the yummy stuff I’ve gotten to eat. My personal favorites this season: sungold tomatoes (so sweet!), corn, great variety of heirloom lettuces, French fingerling potatoes, fava beans, shelling peas, and farm fresh eggs. There’s a Bellevue drop spot that is pretty close to Microsoft main campus. They also take quality really seriously. If you get something that’s unsatisfactory in your box, they will replace it. Doesn’t happen often, though!

We are on our fourth week of getting the growing Washington local choice food box and we love it! There are so many reasons to love it too! 1) They really, really are local. We have had experiences with other companies where they are ‘mostly’ local and a lot of times we felt that it was less local than we would like. With Growing Washington, it is truly, truly local. 2) They are able to still keep it local without giving you a box of just bok choy, or only chard, or just potatoes, you know what I mean. They have a great winter variety. They will even add grains, eggs and butter to the mix that you can add to your box if you would like. 3) You get to choose your box 100%. They tell you what is available and you get to choose all of your items. There is nothing pre-​set, or trades, you get to choose all of it. 4) They have pick-​up locations in many, many many neighborhoods and they will deliver to your home for an extra fee. 5) They occasionally send emails with info and there is usually something in those emails that makes me chuckle.