Considering the amount of coordination it must take to work with 5-6 farms and gardens throughout the city, I think City Commons does a great job. The pickup time was convenient for us, on days that we were late we were still able to get the produce. Each box was full of produce, and compared to other CSAs I've been a part of we got a considerable amount of vegetables each week. In terms of the produce, we loved it! There was great variety in every box. Over the course of the CSA we got lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, kale, collard greens, carrots, apples, apricots, herbs, mulberries, bell peppers, hot peppers, swiss chard, arugula, celery root, and more. The assortment of veggies changed each week, but it was always a good mix. I do wish there had been a little more kale/collard greens, though we did get swiss chard regularly (which was awesome). I think with a few more cooking greens I would give the CSA five stars. Obviously, we still needed to go to Eastern Market for other produce because not everything we wanted to eat is being grown in Detroit, but the CSA was a great deal and a great way to get us to eat seasonally. I do wish there was a list with each box that documented the weeks contents (esp the herbs), I was slow on discovering the blog, but even so I was always able to find ways to use the produce in each box. My partner and I had a full share with City Commons and paid half with work trade. Especially with the work trade, we thought the price was very fair and do-able for us. Also the hours of work trade were very reasonable. It was fun and rewarding to work at the farms that we got our food from and meet the farmers who were growing it. Another benefit to this CSA was that their growing season lasted pretty late into fall and the amount and quality of the produce was very consistent throughout the CSA. I would definitely do the CSA again and recommend it to people who are interested in getting fresh Detroit-grown produce. read more

Although I was originally very excited to join City Commons' CSA, I was ultimately disappointed with my commitment due to low value per box (each box comes out to a little over $20 and there is no way there were $20 worth of vegetables inside there) and misrepresentation of the vegetables included (many vegetables perished VERY quickly, and there is no way they look anywhere close to the vegetables they post photos of on their website). I wish this hadn't been the case, as I would love to support local business and urban farming, but my income does not support this sort of habit any more and I would urge those running this CSA to offer better all-around value to their customers (e.g. deliver? more than two options for pick up days? boxes based on preference? include more than 6 types of vegetables over the course of the season? give a recipe sheet for the items in the box WITH the box instead of asking your customers to go online days after the box has been picked up to view the (all-too-obvious) recipes (e.g. salad? Are you seriously recommending that your insightful growers have suggested making SALAD with arugula??) at which time half of the produce in the box is already on its way to wilt heaven? partner with other CSAs to offer better value and more variation?). If you're thinking of joining this CSA but you don't have money to burn, perhaps consider instead a quick trip to Eastern Market or even your local Meijer once a week for better value and selection. read more

My wife and I are starting our third year with City Commons, and we love the service and quality it provides. There is nothing wrong with City Commons, but you'll have to adapt yourself to what they provide. That is not for everyone, but you can change if you try. Every week we pick up a big box full of vegetables for the week. If you schedule that night as salad/stirfry night, boom, you've got a healthy and easy meal made. Additionally, schedule the night two nights before as soup night, and just chop up what's left and cook it forever, and boom, you've got another healthy and easy meal made. Cook whatever special vegetable you want as a special meal in the middle, and life is good. The half-flower share is one of the best gifts I get for my wife. 10 sets of flowers for $50? You'd be crazy not to do it! They're not that expensive, they're beautiful, and they're local. Plus, you get that benefit of bringing home flowers every two weeks! City Commons can do wedding or special event arrangements (they did them for us) at VERY reasonable prices. The cooking plan above will help immensely to those who struggle with the CSA life. The only thing which could improve City Commons would be an egg-share add on, but I imagine they're working on it. read more

i ordered from city commons for two or three summers, and only stopped because i moved far enough away to make it impractical. i ordered a half-share, and for a single person that was more than enough. the prices are a lot, if you're comparing them to meijer, but in comparison to other CSAs, city commons is actually very affordable. i'll be honest - it's something you have to work with. i had to learn which things to eat first, and which could sit. and you have to make something out of whatever you get. it isn't a grocery store. some weeks that was awesome - it gave me the opportunity to try kohlrabi, which i'd never had before and really liked. other weeks it meant trying to give away eggplants, which i will *never* like. you're also at the mercy of the season. if they get a lot of tomatoes, so do you. if conditions kill the tomatoes, you don't get any. but on the whole this was a positive experience for me. it broadened my horizons. i liked seeing the pictures of the harvest on CC's site, and i appreciated that they would make suggestions for cooking and storing. i tried new foods, and everything i ended up with tasted great. as long as you go into this realistically, it's a great way to get some fresh vegetables and support community agriculture. read more

I had a half share with this CSA for the summer and it was great! What's better than fresh, local veggies? Beautiful flower bouquets too! The snap peas are AMAZING, I hope they keep doing those. The season is long, the CSA goes into the fall. I've done CSAs that end in Aug/Sept but these folks keep it coming. There are lots of different kinds of tomatoes that put supermarket tomatoes to shame. I think it was a lot of good for the price, and what I found to be special was that it super fresh. Like, just a few hours from the plant fresh. I'd never had potatoes like that - it's a whole new experience. Maybe that's the secret to the snap peas too? Anyway, the veggies are delish, the price is reasonable and the folks are friendly. read more