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Showing posts from June, 2016

Know Your Farmer: Sweet Peas Urban Gardens

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Microgreens Add Big Nutrition to Your Produce Box Tami Purdue and Julie Gauthier of Sweet Peas Urban Gardens grow 30 to 40 delicious varieties of nutritious microgreens for you to add into your weekly Produce Box. But just what ARE microgreens, some of our members have asked! They're tiny vegetables and herbs harvested at the formation of the first leaves, at their maximum nutrient density. Studies have shown that microgreens contain between 4 and 40 times the nutrient density of the full-grown plants. So a tablespoon of raw microgreens is a full serving of vegetables! In addition to their superfood properties, microgreens also give tremendous fresh flavor in a small bites. And where these microgreens grow at Sweet Peas might surprise you! The farm is actually a Crop Box, which is essentially a trailer engineered to act as a greenhouse. "By growing the equivalent of an acre of field grown crops or 2,200 square feet of greenhouse space within just 320 square feet, th

A gift for Dad from TPB!

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It’s almost Father’s Day, and you know what that means - dads need to be spoiled! This week, we are featuring something special in the Breakfast Box: Joe Van Gogh’s Honduras Finca Mogola to keep Dad going for his busy Father’s Day of golf, grilling, fishing and other dad stuff! (And don’t worry, that Honduras Finca Mogola can be added to ANY Box if another one catches your eye!) What makes Joe Van Gogh (JVG) coffee special? Not only do they roast our coffee when we order it so you are receiving some of the freshest flavors the coffees can offer, but Joe Van Gogh also has a strong commitment to community -‐ both globally and locally – through their charitable and farm partnerships. Globally , they are committed to enhancing the lives of the farmers they work with by participating in direct trade. Locally , they are bringing sustainable and direct‐trade coffees to the Carolinas ‐ a place where it’s not grown! And, like The Produce Box, their efforts to create a thriving local comm

The Produce Box vs. The Produce Aisle

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If you’re trying to decide if a Produce Box membership is for you, you may be wondering, “Can’t I get this stuff at the grocery store? And is it cheaper there?” Well, the answer to both those questions would be sometimes. The grocery store doesn’t always have everything the farmers of North Carolina can offer.  And sometimes, you may not like the reasons WHY the grocery store is cheaper. Farmers make pennies per pound from the grocery stores, and they often have to wait 30-60 days (or MORE!) to get their payment. At The Produce Box, we pay every single one of our farmers when they deliver the food to us.  In addition to this, the produce at the grocery stores often comes from across the country (1500 miles on average!) or even other countries, and has traveled for days or weeks to get to you -- it's definitely not the most fresh choice or LOCAL by any means! Keep in mind, too, that by buying from us, you’re also supporting their effort to DO GOOD in our communities.