Several weeks ago I received an email from North Carolina company Bella Bean Organics. They are a farmer grown and farmer owned GMO-free, organic food delivery service based out of Hillsborough. They work with farms around NC to deliver produce, meats and artisan goods to consumers in NC, SC, VA, DC and Maryland. They’ve also recently launched another site, Heirloom Provisions, which ships their artisan goods and meats nationally.
Bella Bean Organics offered to deliver a box of local, organic foods to my doorstep. I accepted because I really love the idea of this service. In recent years, I have made an effort to buy local meats and produce at the farmers market each week and I’ve also tried to support more local food artisans. I think this service is a great way to do that, especially if you don’t have the time to get to the farmers market or access to local farmers.
It was so nice to come home from the gym one morning and find a cooler full of delicious, fresh, local and interesting foods.
My Bella Bean box included the following…peanut butter (I think they did that on purpose! ;)), a half gallon of whole milk, multi-grain bread, granola, lettuce, soup, pork chops and cheese. The pork chops were from Coon Rock Farm in Hillsboro and were very thick and juicy. A nice mix of foods!
The lettuce was grown hydroponically and was a tender butterhead variety.
The roots were still in tact and the lettuce was perfect in my lunch salads and as an addition to tomato sandwiches.
The cheese was from Chapel Hill Creamery and was similar to a brie. I have enjoyed eating it on crackers with dried figs. (My fig obsession continues.)
This Kale, White Bean and Tomato soup from Slim On Soup was good once I doctored it up a bit. It was FULL of veggies which I appreciated. They specialize in vegan, gluten-free, no salt added soups that nourish the body.
Let’s talk about this peanut butter! OMG! It’s from Big Spoon Roasters in Durham, NC and features a mix of peanuts, wildflower honey, coconut oil and sea salt. Be still my heart. It’s perfect. Y’all have to check out their site to see all of the other amazing sounding nut butters they make.
I really like having granola on hand for a fast snack so I was excited to find this La Farm Bakery Hearth Baked Granola in my box. What I loved most about it was that it was broken into big generous chunks and wasn’t all crumbs.
My preferred method of eating it is with a little peanut butter and banana. So good!
It was so great to receive this box of farm fresh local foods from Bella Bean Organics. It’s a fun and easy way to try out new products and support local farmers and artisans. I think this would also be a great gift to send someone!
Have you ever participated in a farm delivery program? I keep saying I want to join a CSA but I’m nervous about the commitment and using it all. This seems like a nice way to get it when you need and know you will use it!
The delivery from Bella Bean Organics was complimentary. The opinions are my own!
For Christmas this past year, my husband gave me a membership to a local Charlotte CSA, New Town Farmers. It was truly the best Christmas gift I ever received! New Town Farms delivers to tons of local restaurants like Roosters and Good Food. Farmer Sammie is amazing to work with and the weekly deliveries are amazing! It’s so much fun to play in the kitchen with tons of fresh new veggies. I would HIGHLY recommend going this CSA. You could split your share with a friend if you’re worried about using it all. Best part of my spring/ summer!
laura – thanks so much for the info. it’s super helpful. i know it would really help my creativity in the kitchen! 🙂
So jealous! That sounds like a fabulous service and love how everything is local, fresh, and so delicous 😉 Wish I could find something like that here in NJ!
That all looks so delicious!
You had me at the peanut butter.
I KNOW!
I love this concept! I’m going to see if there is anything like this where I live.
This looks like an amazing service! I used Green Bean Delivery Service which is a midwestern produce delivery service and loved it, but I haven’t committed to making it my routine simply because I like to go to the grocery 🙂 That PB looks awesome!
i’ve never done anything like this though i’m not really sure it exists in my area. i cant eat gluten at all so this kind of thing doesnt work for me since several of the foods i wouldnt be able to eat and thats a huge bummer. i would love to join a produce CSA though but most of what i have found in my area you have to go to the farm and not delivery and most of the places are obviously more out in the country. even the farmers markets by me, although some have decent variety, are very very expensive compared to regular grocery store so it can be hard on the budget. its so interesting though to see different parts of the country and how there are pockets of great availability to these types of items vs. pockets were not so much. i love the way you eat your granola w pb and banana !!!
So I saw your post earlier and stopped in Whole Foods today to pick up a few things. I went over to get some nut butter and right there in front of my eyes was the Big Spoon Roasters! They had several varieties but I’m starting with the peanut butter. Can’t wait to try it!
What what goodies! The peanut butter sounds amazing. My partner and I have been part of CSA for the last six years, with a few different farms and love it. We’re lucky here in Eugene, Oregon to have a ridiculous number of CSAs, farmer’s markets, and even an online farmer’s market. We split a CSA that could feed a small family so it’s a lot of food, but we eat a lot of vegetables! It’s good to find one that fits your needs and lifestyle. If you’re concerned I would ask around your area and don’t hesitate to talk to the farm about it, too! Sometimes farms offer small/partial shares, and often they can give you a good guess on how much food you’ll have. Also, if you travel a lot, it’s not always a good fit…best bet: shop around and ask around 🙂
That peanut butter looks so good – I really like the packaging on it too!