I appreciated the comment from one of my favorite bloggers, Chatting with San. It reminded me that I never told you about my pantry box, or better yet described what the hell a pantry box is, or why one should sign up for one. If you love the farmer’s market and miss it as much as I do, you need a pantry box.

Since many local farmer’s markets now have strict restrictions like reserved time slots, no sampling, no lingering to talk to farmers, and the worst- farmers must pick your bounty. I understand safety, but this all took the fun out of the farmer’s market. I figured if these were now the rules, I would looked for an alternative method to get fresh produce delivered straight to my door. I investigated traditional CSAs (community supported agriculture) as they are excellent ways to revitalize your meals at home, up your vegetable intake, learn about new types of produce, and support local farms. The issue is many required a six-month weekly subscription or do not deliver. Those were deal breakers for me.

Upon further research, I landed on Kinfood. While not a traditional CSA, they won me over as they are a women-owned business working with local farmers and producers to offer a curated produce and artisan products box each week. What makes them nontraditional is one does not need to become a subscriber, they deliver, and they alert you a week in advance about what would be in your box. Their star quality is the idea of the pantry box web store which includes items like sourdough bread, natural wine, pasture raised eggs, flour, granola, and Tahini (all of which I tried and are delicious), and much more. Each box is curated with a little booklet describing the vegetables, recipes, and the farmers and their beautiful seasonal bounty. I have ordered several boxes since April and none of them have disappointed me. Each bax has been full of fresh fruits, vegetables, and artisan products. Albeit if Kinfood had a downside, it would be they only deliver locally, and it could be argued they are pricey, but I have justified that by knowing I am supporting local farmers and eating locally. Do you belong to a CSA or pantry box? Tell me all about it.