A variety of produce is grown for Baja Farm Fresh boxes. (Image: Baja Farm Fresh)
A private garden is about the only way to get fresher produce than what Baja Farm Fresh provides.
This Todos Santos-based company is a co-op of four farmers who since 2016 have been growing vegetables and fruits that are delivered right to the consumer—including hotels, restaurants and individuals.
The concept is what is known as community supported agricultural, which in the last decade has become a popular model in the United States for small farmers to bypass grocery stores and for consumers to know where their food is coming from. It’s working in Mexico, too.
These goodie boxes vary seasonally, evenly weekly, depending upon what is coming out of the ground. In December, some of the delectables included cabbage, a variety of greens, turnips, green beans, watermelon radishes, heirloom tomatoes, bouquets of herbs, squash blossoms, and more. More varieties of produce are expected to fill boxes this month.
Nicolás holds a bunch of freshly picked beets. (Image: Baja Farm Fresh)
Baja Farm Fresh farms are in El Carrizal, La Matanza, and Pescadero.
“We have very nice micro-climates in Pescadero,” Jorge Guevara, chief farmer for Baja Farm Fresh, said.
It can be fun and daunting to open a box because it’s always a surprise of what will be inside. Boxes are designed to sustain three adults who eat vegetables in all their meals. About 350 are delivered each week. Cost is 500 pesos, or about $25.
Instead of requiring a seasonal subscription where people pay upfront, Baja Farm Fresh allows customers to come and go. Boxes are delivered as long as the weather permits. The first boxes went to individuals in Los Cabos.
“After 1½ years we got calls from chefs because we started growing specialty items that were not conventional here,” Guevara said. He did not share what those items were.
Restaurants received daily deliveries until the pandemic struck, which forced many to close and others to serve fewer diners. Baja Farm Fresh pivoted by expanding availability to individuals beyond Cabo. Because the response was so good, deliveries are continuing to individuals in the expanded area. Restaurants in the growing area as well as Los Cabos have started wanting this fresh produce again. La Paz eateries will soon be in the rotation.
Four farms contribute to Baja Farm Fresh community supported agriculture boxes. (Image: Baja Farm Fresh)
The farmers are putting together a website (www.bajafarmfresh.com) that should be up this month. (For now, reach them on Facebook at Baja Farm Fresh.) On the website people will be able to place orders, add items from local producers like eggs, chicken and bread, and decide if they want a subscription, which would mean a discount on the box price.
Baja Farm Fresh is also working on changing pickup locations and having a wider range of times for people to get their goods. Last season deliveries were made almost every day. Now it’s more manageable with Tuesdays being Todos Santos, Pescadero and La Paz, and Wednesdays for Todos Santos, Pescadero and Los Cabos.
Boxes are recycled, with the goal that people return them so Baja Farm Fresh can use them again. The farmers are thinking about charging a fee if they are not returned.
In February, the plan is for the farmers to set up a display in the back of Doce Cuarenta Café in Todos Santos. The boutique farm will host four-, eight, and 12-week long courses for children about organic farming. On Saturdays, produce will be sold there as well as seedlings, seeds, compost and more.
