I've generally been pretty pleased with Papa Spud's. I've been seeking to purchase organic and…read morelocal now for maybe about seven or eight years now. I switched from Whole Foods to Weaver Street Market back in 2012, and then when the Durham Food Co-op opened I started going there also; however, without a car the distance just got to be too much. It was nice sometimes to read the news on my phone while on the bus system, but I decided it just took too much time, energy, and effort to go from Raleigh to Chapel Hill or from Raleigh to Durham for food shopping. So the system I have now is to buy grains and other non-perishables from Thrive Market and then fresh produce via Papa Spud's. The first order that I made from Papa Spud's was in February of 2017. I like the newsletters that they include in every box and I read them when the box arrives. There's news about farms in the area and farming, recipes, storage tips and other content. So other than that a few times I was away and forgot to cancel the order in time. But I still remembered before the actual delivery. So I just let them know that far enough in advance and they could just donate the box to charity. I had to pay for the food, but I didn't have to deal with a box of spoiled food when I got back that could attract bugs, etc. And plus the box went to charity. Overall I'd say it's been good quality. In terms of quality I remember that Papa Spud's ran a newsletter piece about food waste and people's expectations of what food ought to look like. They pointed out that a lot of food that wouldn't be likely to cause a health problem in a human nevertheless gets thrown away (or possibly eaten by animals) because people don't want to buy it and eat it. Or when they are at a grocery store they decide to pick something else. Maybe say for example because it is oddly shaped. Or another example would be that purple carrots may not sell as well in a store than orange carrots. Looking in the history section of the Wikipedia article on carrot one can see that carrots actually can range in color. There is a photo there with carrots of all different colors arranged in a circle. In the article it talks about the question of whether orange carrots were grown in the 17th century by Dutch growers to honor the Dutch flag (which was orange as it was based on the flag of Prince William of Orange-Nassau). So I had heard that before. A person by the name of Jonathan Bloom who lives in Durham wrote a book called American Wasteland about food waste in the United States which made similar points to the Papa Spud's newsletter article. Even so I could comment that they provide a way for customers to let them know if food arrives in a damaged state. I could say that I have used that so far on one occasion when I saw some mold on a strawberry. Rob M. also responded in a comprehensive way to a question that I had related to the extent of tobacco farming in the area. I read a bit about organic tobacco farming some time ago. As far as I know there hasn't been any major finding that smoking organic tobacco doesn't have the same health effects as smoking conventional tobacco. One final comment is that there are other delivery services. So doing Google searches I landed on a website called LocalHarvest.org (my brother works at the University of British Columbia Farm and had heard of the site). There was a review of one of the delivery services which stated that this provider doesn't say the source farm for the produce. The review said that they didn't want to use that because of labor conditions at certain farms. Papa Spud's will report the name of the farm although there isn't any way to search for a particular farm. In my case I'm often just buying the same veggies from the same farms (sweet potatoes, collards, kale from Wise Farms and Cox Farms). I believe I also purchased from both of their farm stands when I used to go to the North Carolina State Farmers Market. I don't know the labor conditions on all the different farms in the area, but I think it was that review that led me to pick Papa Spud's.

customer service could use a lot of work. Not helpful and condescending when we were trying to…read moreremedy the situation, which was just simply giving them our new credit card information. Big bummer. We went with another local instead.

Excellent source of local food We have been members of the co op for three years and had only good…read moreexperiences.

From the owner: Delivery of fresh, local produce and artisan foods in the Sandhills of North Carolina... local food…read morefor local people! Our CSA subscription program brings the freshest local food to you from family farmers. We are a unique Cooperative formed of normally competing interests - farmers, consumers and Co-op staff are all members - working together to strengthen the local economy, preserve green space and solve community problems. Our theme line: "Neighbors Feeding Neighbors". We are locally grown and community driven!

When I was a kid I hated vegetables and fruit! To me, a vegetable was a pickle or corn and fruit…read morewas an apple or grapes. I remember when I was around 10 or 11 my mother took a stand and put a slice of tomato on my breakfast plate. She told me I could not go out and play with my friends until I ate that slice of tomato. Being as stubborn as Mom, I sat there at the kitchen table from 8 a.m. until the afternoon crying and refusing to eat that one miserable slice of tomato. Finally, my mother gave me a smack and threw me out of the house! That's how much I hated vegetables. Once I became an adult, I realized how nutritious and delicious they were and how important it was to eat vegetables and fruit to be healthy, and I grew to love them. One day, around 6 years ago, I saw online an advertisement for an organization and business that supports local farmers and locally grown fruits and vegetables called The Produce Box and I decided to give it a shot. It was one of the best discoveries I made food wise and I am still a devoted customer till this day. The concept is quite simple. Once a week you receive a text and email offering you the opportunity to purchase their pre-selected box or you can put together a box of your own. Most of the time I enjoy picking out my own produce. For example, this week I received 5 ears of corn, mushrooms, pineapple, cantaloupe, zucchini, tomatoes, kiwi, bananas, potatoes and oranges, grapefruit and onions. Total cost was $33 and it is delivered to my home. My delivery day is Wednesday. I always look forward for the box to arrive filled with all of my delicious choices. The produce is always plentiful and top quality. Rarely do I receive anything bruised or not tasty. Everything is just perfect and it comes in a sturdy box to keep stuff fresh until I get home. Sometimes I throw in an ice pack to keep it cool. I never compared prices to the grocery store, and I'm sure I am paying a little more for these fruits and vegetables. Flip side is they are either organic or locally grown. I love getting quality produce and I love the idea of supporting local farmers. Considering how healthy I have been since I have started receiving weekly produce from the produce box, I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I am with this arrangement. Having recently lost my dear brother, I am more conscious than ever to stay healthy. The Produce Box keeps me on track and has become a staple in my diet. I also like their flexibility. They can deliver weekly if you so choose, or you can let them know you are going to be out of town or don't need a delivery and they will simply skip that week and return the following week based on your request. There are also lots of other possible purchases like local breads, prepared dinners, etc. that I have yet to try. I know I eat and drink lots of horrible chemicals in my sugar-free and low fat foods and diet Coke. Hopefully I am offsetting the damage done a bit by my weekly consumption of fresh and delicious produce from The Produce Box. My mom would be in shock but happy to see that this morning I sliced a beautiful tomato for my breakfast. I've come a long way!

Produce lasted 2 days & rotted. Total rip off and waste of money promoting false people.read more

We have been members of the Seven Springs Farm CSA for three years now. The fresh vegetables are…read morewonderful and delicious. Knowing where your food comes from is also a prime benefit of belonging to a local CSA. The owners/farmers, Polly and Nii Anang, are great people that have been farming for 25 years now. My daughter and I love to work at the farm when we can. And she eats her vegetables since she knows where they come from!

From the owner: Seven Springs Farm CSA offers seasonal shares in sustainably grown vegetables and eggs. Members…read morejoin for the season and receive fresh vegetables and eggs each week from mid May to early December. The food is delivered to drop sites in Roanoke, Salem, Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Floyd. Get more information and sign up on our website. Grass fed beef is also available, sold by the quarter, half, or whole steer and picked up in early December.

FANTASTIC! Mark, the…read moreproprietor, is an extremely friendly and enthusiastic gentleman, a true pleasure to meet. The peaches are out of this world good, not sure I can go back to store bought. The farm (orchard) is set back in the country and a great escape from the concrete jungle. Thousands of fruit trees everywhere, just awesome! We will definitely be returning for apple and blackberry picking seasons.

I feel so lucky to live so close to this farmers' market. It's open 7 days a week, but the…read moreweekends are definitely more "open" than the rest of the week - with ALL the stalls open. There are lots of produce choices, several plant stalls, a couple of meat vendors, several florists, and then some truly great food vendors. There is also a whole indoor area with lots of great vendors, some food options, and coffee. It's absolutely ginormous! It's a must visit when in Raleigh!

This was a MUST STOP on our trip to Raleigh. Easy to find and plenty of parking…read more We went on a Tuesday afternoon so there were a good deal of booths not open. However, there was a ton of live plants and truckloads of fresh vegetables for sale. Couple that with gourmet cheeses and baked and canned goods and you have a situation you could spend a lot of money on. As a snack, we bought a jalapeño cheese roll which was very good. You could definitely do some wallet damage here. I'd like to see this place on a weekend. My one criticism are the produce prices. $3.99/lb for slicing tomatoes and $12 for a watermelon. Other produce is equally expensive. This is rather boujee pricing and it's obvious they aren't targeting the average consumer. I love supporting local farmers but prices like this make it difficult. Come and check it out for yourself. It really is a sight to see and you could spend a whole morning or afternoon here. But guard your wallet. It would be easy to get carried away here.

We visited on a Sunday morning with some friends. We had a fun time with the animals. We were able…read moreto feed some through the fenced in areas (the non electric one of course) and go into the petting area. We had little ones with us so they asked us not to let them hold any food while in the petting area so the animals wouldn't jump on them. There were lots of goats, a few pigs, and an alpaca in the petting area. After checking out the animals we went fishing in the little pond. You need to bring your own poles and bait. We caught so many sunnies in just 45ish minutes. They were hanging out right near the dock, so the kids could just drop the line right in. We had an hour and a half timeframe, and they provided a walkie-talkie to keep in touch, and to let us know when our time was up.

This is a very unique and special place! When I went here, they had a cuddle session with goats! It…read morewas affordable and so so so much fun for everybody of all ages!