This is my third year being a CSA member. Not only is the taste of the vegetables amazing, but…read morerecently it's been significantly cheaper than shopping organic at the big box stores. I go to the farm for pickup every week, and I love the variety, that I can pick and choose between over a dozen different herbs and veggies, the extras they often have, the UPick tomatoes and beans and etc. It's also such a relief to know where my food is coming from, that there are no chemical fertilizers or pesticides in it, that it's not downwind a feedlot so no chances of salmonella outbreaks in their leafy greens, that it hasn't been sprayed to ripen -- the peace of mind itself is invaluable. They have three seasons (spring, summer, and fall) that you can sign up for (that often sell out early, especially the summer season), as well as Thursday farmstands in the afternoon. Also, at the beginning of May they sell seedlings, with prices cheaper than The Growing Place, and most of the plants I buy from there thrive in my garden with no additions required (I put compost in the hole and around the base when I first plant them, mulch around the seedlings, and that's pretty much it, by mid-July I'm getting more tomatoes and basil and etc than I know what to do with).

Well-established CSA with a pop-up farmstand on Wednesday nights. Organic produce grown all from…read moreseed resulting in 28 weeks of pickups from Mother's Day to Thanksgiving... wow! Why settle for a grocery store tomato when you can have these beauties??

Have been using Tomato Mountain weekly and have always had great experiences with them! Fresh farm…read morevegetables and it's really nice that you can choose what you want in your box and they partner with a lot of different other local farms for additional products.

Veggies and fruit was great. It nice to have these items straight from a local farm. My husband…read moreloved the apples, mushrooms, and potatoes. I loved the mushrooms, corn, and garlic and of course onions all from a local farm. I look forward to trying many more items. Love, love.

This is a great CSA. A half bushel every week of great local vegetables from a vegan farm, and at…read morea nice price. Excellent communication by email and post, and the weekly newletter is informative and not overwhelming. Tried other CSAs in the past, and this is the best. No month long beet avalanches. The amount and variety worked out well for a family of four, including small, picky kids. Remember to sign up early in the year, they sell out. Then you'll just have yo hunt them down at farmers' markets.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have Fresh Picks in my city. Essentially, they connect city dwellers…read moreto local farms by delivering organic produce and meats right to your door. Though you can find some grass-fed beef and organic products at regular grocery stores, certain items are almost impossible to find in most stores in Chicago. For example: pork & chicken raised on pasture; bones, lard, and eggs from non-factory-farmed animals; many different cuts of grass-fed beef (including liver, various steaks, tongue, etc.) I don't use them as a CSA or get the boxes; I just place orders for whatever I need each week. Some favorites that I regularly order include: eggs, bacon, vegetables, raw cheddar, ground beef, bones for stock. I have been a customer for years. If there has ever been an issue or a concern, the staff is quick to offer help or a solution. (We once received the wrong delivery, for example, and they arranged to bring ours the next day.) Eating well is very important to me and I'm so grateful to have this resource, which makes all this healthy food available!

If you want the best of local purveyors of food and produce, delivered to your door, contact Fresh…read morePicks! Last week I had BangBang Chicken Pot Pies from them...the best I've had in my life. So yummy! They find the best of the best and literally bring it to your door! And the produce so fresh...you can taste the difference.

A very cool working organic farm that is taking big steps towards connecting community with their…read morefood. They offer workshops and camps for the kids but also provide education for adults interested in farming or just self sufficiency. I helped last year at one of their volunteer events and we planted all sorts of trees for the estabilshment of a food forest. Apples, Pears, hazelnuts, horseradish, asparagus, plums... and more. Can't wait until that matures!

From the owner: We operate a 60 member CSA, host a Farm Camp for 2 months during the summer and offer adult…read moreeducation for sustainable farming and gardening.

We were greeted with a welcome drink - the gin and tonic (made from grains from the farm) was…read morerefreshing and smooth. Our evening began with a short farm tour where we walked among the vegetable patches from which our meal would be prepared. The tour host highlighted various foods which we would be tasting (buckeye, kohlrabi, carrots and garlic to name a few). After the 15 minute walk about, we were seated at long tables with other guests and the 6 course feast began! Fresh baked bread, crisp veggies with unique sauces, and perfectly prepared mains with interesting flavors were paired with wines and spirits from the farm. The sun setting over the 6 foot high corn surrounding us was beautiful and capped off a wonderful evening!

Unbelievably cool Farm-to-Table event surrounding a local artist's showcase. Each dish was…read moreincredibly fresh, and was paired with either their own wines/spirits or locally created beverages. Very clean, neat, and timely in their presentations. A truly memorable experience.

Call before you go!!! The store was VERY limited. The prices…read moreare the same or higher than those in Chicago stores. For example: 4oz goat cheese was $9. That's pretty outrageous. It was only us (myself, 2 kids and grandma). It took me a min to find where the actual store was. After the store, we let the kiddos run on the grass and play on tractor tires. I get the idea of a family farm, but the prices should be more accessible.

I have been a member for 3 years getting vegetables in spring, summer and fall and fruits in…read moresummer. They even started a winter share with fruits they froze from the summer harvest. This CSA has a great variety of vegetables and fruits. They partner with other organic farms or local orchards to deliver their customers more variety. They even have eggs, meat, dairy, honey and jams. I would pick up my shares at the Grayslake farm every Thursdays and that was always a time I looked forward to. Always friendly staff, helpful weekly emails that would tell you what was in your share and recipes to use them. I had to move out of state a few months ago and this CSA is one of the thing I miss the most.

Great products, they even offer some gluten free things. Fun to interact with animalsread more

I always purchase from them at the Wheaton farmers market. I love their soups and chocolate chip…read morecookies. I stopped by the farm in Elburn. They have tons of goats and give you veggies to feed them for free. My son loved it! There's meat, veggies, desserts, soups, and some premade dinners for purchase.

This is my third year signing up for a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm share, and my…read moresecond year with Genesis Growers. Following a less-than-satisfactory experience with a different farm, we switched to GG because we wanted something that was a little more local and had more of a community feel to it; we also wanted a place that offered pick-up locations on the South Side. Last year's pickup at Hyde Park worked wonderfully, but to save trouble and to bring CSA produce to our own area, we decided to host our own pick-up point at our place in Bridgeport. Last year were were amazed at the massive amount and variety of produce we received (greens, fruits, berries, veggies, herbs, eggs, etc), and how late in the year we kept getting boxes. Our last boxes came sometime in november, and were stocked full of crops that could overwinter (squash, pumpkins, potatoes, beets, onions, etc), and even some items that had been canned for us! Our experiences working with Vicki have been nothing but positive. My husband and I both love the emails she sends out just before the dispatch of every week's boxes - telling us news about the farm, tips on what to do with the produce, and more about her work. Having had a chance to email back and forth with Vicki about the progress she's making, I have to say that I am seriously impressed by her forward thinking attempts to collaborate with other small farms in her area. Currently Vicki is working on educating other farmers about growing crops to overwinter, and helping them find other venues at which to sell or donate excess crops/foodstuffs that haven't been able to sell. I love the idea that not only are Genesis Growers trying their best to bring me the highest quality local produce possible, but they are also striving to find ways to collaborate with their neighbors to create access to local products that can be distributed even in the non-growing months (or saved up to fill out the boxes in the usually-leaner spring weeks). It will be interesting to see where things lead with the farm, and what other new plans Vicki makes. This year other CSA members decided to put together an email list for discussions, which has already proven to be extremely useful in getting recipes for lesser-known spring crops. Aside from the internet presence of GG and those involved, there are also parties held at the farm a couple times per season in order to get everyone together and feeling more connected to where their food is from. I can't recommend this particular CSA farm more highly; I hope her following continues to grow.

This is my first year participating in Genesis Growers's CSA program and I am certainly pleased so…read morefar. I did a fair bit of research before choosing Genesis for it's long seasons, diverse crops and competitive pricing. Our farmer, Vicki, is very organized and has great communication with us. I'm looking forward to the rest of the Spring and Summer!