Abundant Harvest Organics

So disappointed! I loved this company in the beginning. But recently I have had problems with old produce or just not enough produce for the price. I get that it’s local, farm fresh, organic, but lately I didn’t feel like I was getting my money’s worth.

We used the service for almost two years, sometimes we would get the big box, but the majority of the time we would get the smaller one. One thing that would annoy me is that the greens almost always looked old, but what really disenchanted us that we could not choose what to come in our box and the variety wasn’t that great. But the cherry in the cake is the non-​refundable fee for the box. I mean, I understand giving a deposit in case we break a box or something happening, but it seems like they are in the businesses of selling boxes too. Very expensive collapsible boxes.

I have had 2 subscriptions with AHO. I recently came back a second time to see if things had improved. I’m committed to organic or locally grown and the pick-​up spot is close to where I live. Here are the problems:
As noted in other reviews, they are most often inconsistent. You can find out a week ahead of time what is supposed to be in your box but, it won’t be there. There will be things that aren’t there or things that have been replaced with something else. You can work with this by going to the store to supplement your box after you get it.
The quality is way off sometimes. I got some spinach where half of it looked like it had been thrown on the ground and trampled and the other half had holes and lacerations. This is not the only time. Quality has been a problem all along. They will replace it for you, but it’s something you will constantly have to cope with. You will talk to the person where you’re picking up or you’ll email the company and you will get a replacement in your next order — and it may not be much better.
You cannot sub out for something you don’t like. If you don’t like kale, buckle up, because it’s coming and often. But, this is true for almost all CSAs.
Summertime is better. That’s where the lovely photos are coming from. There is abundance in the summer. However, I still had quality issues. Sometimes, some of the fruit was already spoiling. I can kind of understand if it’s peaches — peaches are soft and probably go quicker than, say, apples. Which reminds me, I got 4 apples a month ago and 2 of them were soft. I just don’t understand that. Apples stay good for WEEKS and sometimes months after picking. So, were these fresh? Nope.
I am looking into the Farmer’s Boxes from Specialty Produce. I’ve seen them and they’re very nice. Also, their box is only $ 20. The problem is that they only deliver if you get a group going in your neighborhood (4 minimum = a group), otherwise, you have to drive down to pick up and they’re on Hancock St. However, there is no subscription fee, you don’t have to order every week — you can order when you want to. If you live close to there, this would be the one to get for sure. Also, when you’re picking up, you can shop for other produce that they sell. The warehouse has refrigerated sections so bring your coat. I love the french breakfast radishes and blood oranges! Lots of «specialty» items there — hence «Specialty Produce.»

It saddens me to write this update. I will be nice and let them slide by with three stars. I loved Abundant in the beginning but things went South. They would post the box contents online about a week in advance. I always had issues with this and rarely got what was listed online, which messed up my weekly supplemental shopping. For example, if I saw my contents would included oranges, asparagus and cucumbers, I would go out and buy apples, green beans and carrots. Then my box would come and it would be nothing listed online and all I stuff I just bought. So I would have twice as many apples, green beans and carrots b/​c at the last minute they would totally change what was in the box without telling me. I think they have since stopped listing contents. Now it’s mystery. Not sure if that’s any better…
My second issue is that the items were too weird for me. I prefer to get salad ingredients and other stuff I could eat raw. The majority of my boxes were mainly stuff you had to cook. Very little fruit and very little snackable veggies.
The pros: it’s pretty reasonably priced. The contents were never overripe or old… Everything was fresh. The customer service was actually pretty good. They were nice and would give me a little extra if I would complain about the changes in items last minute.
I’ve moved on to Farmer Steve’s box. It’s $ 50 every other week for like three times as much stuff.

This is my first CSA subscription, and I have been a customer of Abundant Harvest for about 8 months now. First, I love getting local, organic food. Second, I love learning all about vegetables and fruits that I barely, if ever, have had before. I’ve now enjoyed apriums, daikon radishes, chocolate mint, parsnips, rainbow chard, kholrabi… and among many other things, the biggest cauliflower I have ever seen! Every week we get a fresh herb, many vegetables, and one or two types of fruit. Potatoes, lettuce, onions and tomatoes are some of the regular items, but vary in variety. You can add on lots of other items if you want to, but I usually don’t. The small box (not very small) is now $ 22.80. There are pick up locations all over San Diego. The above address is one of the, but I go to a different one. I agree with another reviewer… I am glad that I don’t have to park and walk through a famers’ market to get the box. I found a convenient location for my weekly schedule, and I don’t even turn my car off when I pull up to pick it up. One of my favorite parts of this CSA group is that they give you a newsletter every week with info and recipes. You can find more recipes online. My favorites so far are chocolate zucchini cake and squash lasagna. I’ve also made zucchini slaw, corn bruschetta, and often make cocktails with the fresh herbs.
Why not 5 stars? During the summer, much of the stone fruit had gone bad due to the heat. They were great about replacing it, but it was still a bit disappointing as it happened several weeks in a row. We also still get too many potatoes, but I guess that would not be bad if you ate a lot of potatoes. Another positive thing is that they took customer feedback and only do potatoes every other week.
I definitely enjoy Abundant Harvest and recommend it.