The True Cost of Local Food
By Stephanie Oelsligle Jordan, Local Food Program Manager
Comparison with grocery store prices reveals farm boxes are the better bargain
Back in 2018 or 2019 — before the words “Covid” or “broken food chain” entered our vernacular — I wanted to know how my weekly box of organic produce from a local farm compared to purchasing those same items at the grocery store. (To be honest, part of this exercise was to prove my husband wrong, who thought for sure the farm produce was triple the cost of the grocery store.) When I received my box that week, I weighed my local farm items with my digital kitchen scale, trekked to the store, noted prices per pound on the equivalent organic produce, and did the math. The results were not too dramatic, but I had enough data to prove my point: the farm won the contest, coming in about a dollar cheaper than the grocery store.
Now that we’re in 2026, and prices have undoubtedly risen everywhere, I wanted to run this experiment again. For several years, I’ve been subscribing to Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes from two different farms: Terra Firma Farm near Winters, and Eatwell Farm outside of Dixon. Both grow a wide array of organic vegetables and fruit. Because I get what’s growing right now (no picking and choosing), my lunches and dinners have, for the most part, landed squarely into “seasonal” meals.
The process was the same as seven years ago: One August afternoon I got out my digital scale and started weighing produce from my Terra Firma “Medium” box: 1 lb. peaches and nectarines, 2 lbs. 5 oz. heirloom tomatoes, 1 lb. purple grapes, 7 ¾ lbs. personal sized watermelons, 1 ¼ lbs. zucchini, 1 lb. carrots, 9 oz. green beans and 9 oz. gypsy peppers (similar to lunchbox peppers). I also had the opportunity to weigh out my neighbor’s “Large” size Terra Firma box, which had the same as above (except slightly larger quantities of each thing) plus a pound of serpent cucumbers (comparable to an English cucumber). Meanwhile, Eatwell’s box that week had 8 oz. of fresh basil, 1 bunch of swiss chard, 1.6 lbs. of yellow plums, 2 lbs. of nectarines, 2 ½ lbs. of mixed yellow squash and zucchini, a little over 2 lbs. of cucumbers, 2 lbs. gold potatoes, about 1 ¾ lbs. of turnips and 3 heads of garlic.
List in hand, I went to the grocery store, noted prices per pound (or looked them up on their website, if the actual item was not in the store) and plugged it all into a spreadsheet. Here’s what I found:
| FARM | CSA BOX COST | GROCERY STORE COST |
| Terra Firma Farm (medium box) | $35.50 | $42.63 |
| Terra Firma Farm (large box) | $46 | $63.40 |
| Eatwell Farm (one size box) | $32 | $57.63 |
I actually had done this same test a month prior, comparing two different grocery stores with Terra Firma’s box and found similar trends, with one store about 60% more expensive.
This analysis got me thinking about how one could apply several definitions to the “cost” of purchasing local food:
- the actual dollar value cost
- the cost of getting what is seasonal and not being able to choose your weekly produce (but I think our bodies probably need what’s growing now!)
- the convenience (or burden) of driving to the pick up location in my neighborhood each week (although my neighbor and I often share this responsibility)
- the environmental costs of food miles traveled (or not) and purchasing from farms practicing regenerative (or extractive/industrial) agriculture
- the cost of time, doing a little research and more cooking at home with produce that may not be as familiar
- the cost of avoiding cyclospora (sorry, I had to mention it!) because the produce is not caught up in a complex chain of trucking, distributors, warehouses, the grocery store, and (finally) your kitchen
For anyone unfamiliar with how a CSA works, it’s essentially an agreement between you and the farm. You pre-pay a sum (usually around $100-$200, with discounts for higher deposits), and the farm deducts the cost of the box each week as you receive your subscription. When your deposited sum is gone, the farm re-charges your credit card, pulls from Venmo, etc. On the designated day, you pick up your subscription from a centrally located site, take it home and get cooking. This structure helps the farmer, who often has upfront costs like seeds, compost, machinery repair, etc., before the harvest takes place. In exchange, you receive super fresh produce, often picked 24-48 hours before it lands at your local CSA pick-up site.
I understand that subscribing to a CSA box is not for everyone, but if you’re even moderately familiar with seasonal cooking and eating, this might be a great option for healthy eating while supporting the local economy and environment, and saving on your grocery bill. To get you started, check out our library of seasonal recipes and cooking videos!
