The Produce Box

Down2Earth Farms began in 2011 in Rougemont, North Carolina, on a former dairy farm surrounded by protected forestland. After 25 years in the food and beverage industry, owner Cecilia Redding and her family finally realized their dream of owning and operating their own organic farm. Today, Down2Earth grows many of the fresh, organic fruits, vegetables and shitake mushrooms you order each week from The Produce Box! From the beginning, Cecilia’s team used only organic growing practices, but USDA regulations require that a farm be exclusively organic for three years before it can be certified organic. Down2Earth is proud to have recently achieved their organic certification through CCOF. CCOF is a non-profit that certifies organic farms to ensure that the food being grown meets all organic standards. CCOF is accredited by the USDA and was the first organic certification program in the United States. In 2014, Down2Earth added a greenhouse to their already busy farm and in 2015, th

We love our members at The Produce Box. Y’all are awesome at spreading the local love with us! This week, we wanted to introduce you to Pantea Dougani, a Produce Box member and co-founder and managing director of Excel Body Fitness in Cary. Excel is a fitness center that offers classes and group personal training to help clients push themselves and achieve their fitness goals. In addition to being a fitness enthusiast and business owner, Pantea is passionate about volunteering and served as the Vice President of the Laura Holland Uzzell Foundation, which is a governing board for Sterling Montessori Academy and Charter School in Morrisville. She also somehow manages to do all of this while being a mother – you go girl! When she does finally have some down time, some of her hobbies are cycling, hiking, camping and reading. Here we’ll share our conversation with Pantea, so you can get to know a bit more about our member community: You joined The Produce Box in 2010. Why did you

The Produce Box deliveries aren’t just for home doorsteps. We also deliver healthy, local produce to companies across the state as part of employee health and corporate wellness programs. With a third of Americans struggling with obesity and healthcare costs rising every day, corporate wellness programs can be a very effective way to improve employee health, increase employee productivity and engagement, and offer a valuable tool for companies focused on recruiting and retaining top talent. From tastings to lunch-n-learns, health fair booths and on-site deliveries, our corporate wellness program has helped North Carolina companies and their employees create healthier eating habits. Our first corporate wellness partner was SAS in RTP, beginning in 2008. Since then, we’ve grown to The Lending Tree in Charlotte, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Quintiles, Howard/Merrell, and now Fujifilm. (Fujifilm’s new program buys 8 weeks of Produce Boxes for employees who sign up for a Produce Box m