Produce and meat delivery services

Keeping kitchens full of fresh & health food

Living in San Luis Obispo affords a healthy lifestyle and residents can reap the benefits from the locally grown foods. A number of farms and services connect farmers directly to consumers via food subscription and delivery services. Within San Luis Obispo, there are a number of fruit and vegetable subscription/delivery services as well as meats that provide fresh, locally raised foods and at the same time offer convenience for busy residents.

SLO Veg is a service that delivers totes of fruits and vegetables to County residents. With three different size options and the choice to get wither weekly or bi-weekly deliveries, there are options for a variety of lifestyles. Their literature explains the importance of local food sourcing, “Produce is just plain healthier. “Supermarket” produce travels an average of 1500 miles from the farm to your dinner table and who knows how long it’s been since it was picked from the farm where it was grown? Our farmers are from Goleta to Coalinga. Nothing is more than 48 hours removed from the supplying farm.”

Kiler Canyon Farm in Paso Robles offers a one-day a week pick up service in both Paso Robles and Atascadero and all of the produce in their baskets are directly from their farm. Located just outside of the city limits, the farm is a family owned and operated establishment as explained through their website, “Our farm is comprised of one extended family and lately the help of two fantastic apprentices.  The combined talents and interests that we bring to our work create a dynamic and deeply impassioned environment. We all share an appreciation for fun, problem solving, enjoy getting dirty, and are alive with what we do. A major tenet in our farm philosophy is keeping the farm a manageable size. By doing this we stay in touch with the farm as a whole organism and are better able to anticipate the changing variables that each new season brings. We believe that stress and hard work do not necessarily have to go hand in hand and that just like any crop we might tend, maintaining the health and happiness of the farmer is one key to a successful farm.” 

Grass fed, local meats are available for delivery and the animals are raised and harvested in a responsible and gently farmed style. Nick Ranch in Santa Margarita is a family fun ranch founded in 1918 and producing meats for six generations. Their grass-fed beef products are delivered or shipped and customers appreciate the connection to the ranch. Atascadero resident and Nick Ranch customer Marta Block explains her gratitude for the local product, “I know exactly where the cow spent its entire life - and exactly what it was fed! And I can take my 3-year-old on a field trip to the ranch to see where our food comes from. It’s great to have ongoing contact with the rancher as well - and she delivers right to my door, either work or home. On our last delivery she included some beef tendons for our dog. It is so thoughtful and personalized.”

Block enjoys the financial benefits to the beef delivery and adds, “It seems like it’s more affordable to purchase grass-fed beef in bulk straight from the source.

Buying from a market automatically adds several dollars to each purchase due to packaging costs as well as everyone having to make a profit. Cutting out the middle man and going straight to the farmer keeps our costs down and our freezer full of local grass-fed goodness.”

Adelaida Springs Ranch in Paso Robles is another extraordinary ranch supplying customers with healthy, local meat options. They explain via their website, “Our beautiful Angus cattle and Dorper sheep are bred naturally here and graze freely on the ranch for their entire lives. We believe our approach is better for the animals, better for the environment and makes tastier food that’s better for you.” They offer tours of the ranch to educate consumers and also sell their meats locally at J&R Meats in Templeton. The philosophies and well-planned farming techniques of the ranch are fascinating to learn, giving a meal not only great flavors, but also a good story.

As the concern for what goes in our food grows and the list of grocery store products detrimental to our health gets lengthier; the options for locally sourced foods delivered to your doorstep is exciting. Celebrating and supporting area farms while at the same time creating a healthy dietary lifestyle is something incredibly unique to San Luis Obispo County and as residents, we are fortunate these well-run services exist.

Brandi Stansbury - local writer and photographer

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