From produce and seafood to bread and wine, consider these local seasonal boxes and delivery programs to spice up your home cooking. 
by Kara Adams

North Carolina boasts amazing agriculture — and signing up for a weekly box is a way to both support a local producer and try all kinds of fresh new food and drink. From seasonal veggies to fresh-baked goods to unusual cuts of meat or old-school milk in glass bottles, we have it all in Triangle area through CSAs and food subscription services. Consider one of these 20 companies to get a variety of fruits, vegetables, and groceries for pickup or delivered to your home.

Bella Bean Organics

This online farmer’s market provides a wide variety of fresh produce, meat, dairy products, artisan goods, and pastries from local bakeries such as La Farm or Ninth Street. Bella Bean offers a “Recommended Box” each week for $20 that includes the five best items from the week, as well as daily deals and discounts for items reaching the end of their season or nearing expiration dates. Most cuts arrive frozen and can be shipped all over the U.S.

$20/weekly box or order groceries anytime; delivery charge $5-15; bellabeanorganics.com/ 

Cane Creek Farms

This two-person farm offers full membership CSAs that yield 280 pounds of produce over the course of a year, with emails sent out weekly to members allowing them to pick and choose the contents and quantity of the box. Members also receive 10% discounts on all meats raised on the farm, and volume discounts for canning or freezing. 

See website for prices; weekly; pick-up or delivery; canecreekfarms.com/csa-memberships.html 

Chickadee Farms

“A small farm with a big heart” is the motto at the female-run and -owned Chickadee Farms. It’s committed to providing certified naturally grown produce in the Clayton, Raleigh and Cary areas. Their CSA program offers both full shares, to be picked up every week, and half shares for pick-up every other week, depending on your needs. Members regularly discover new vegetables to broaden their horizons in the kitchen, like the popular shishitos, as well as your tried and true favorite vegetables harvested at the peak of deliciousness. 

$30/box; weekly & bi-weekly; pick-up; chickadeefarmsnc.com/ 

Coon Rock Farm

Coon Rock Farm’s CSA offers two subscription options: the monthly meat CSA, which includes grass-fed, pasture-raised selections of chicken, beef, pork and occasionally lamb; and a weekly produce CSA, including veggies, melons, and add-ons options including eggs or milk. You can combine the two if you wish, or choose which is best for you. The summer produce CSA has already started, but you can subscribe at any time for a reduced price. 

$250/3 month meat, $300/12 week produce; weekly or monthly depending on subscription; delivery; coonrockfarm.com/category-s/2931.htm 

Edens Meats

This meat-based CSA is “bringing people closer to where their food comes,” with three size options to choose from based on your needs. The responsibly-sourced shares from Edens have something for every kind of meat eater, from family sizes to “city slicker” smaller portions. Every subscription also includes eggs fresh from the farm, the opportunity to enjoy daytime access to their farm to visit animals, hike trails, or have a picnic, and a monthly newsletter with recipe ideas and updates. 

$42.50-170/month for a year subscription; monthly; delivery; edensmeats.com/membership/ 

Elysian Farm

Members of this CSA can pick-up their share at one of the many convenient locations all over the Triangle, including locations in Hillsborough, Durham, Chapel Hill, or the farm in Cedar Grove. The boxes come either “Farmer’s Choice” pre-customized for you, or they offer the unique opportunity to pick out your own fruits and vegetables each week. This farm is entering the 21st year of their CSA, and spots go quickly, so check out their waitlist for next season if you’re interested in becoming part of the Elysian Farm family. 

$18.50-28.50/week + $40 fee; weekly on Weds. or Sat.; pick-up; elysianfarm.com/summer-csa

Farmbelly

“Eat like a farmer” with one of these shares full of greens, peppers, potatoes, and even edible flowers. When you choose a full or small share, you’ll also receive occasional small-batch Farmbelly culinary products like herb salt, seasonal tea blends, and local honey. Although this CSA’s 9-week summer program is already sold out, you can join their waitlist for a chance to be next in line. 

$15-30/week; weekly; pick-up; farmbelly.com/csa-about 

Farm to Fork Meat

Farm to Fork is committed to providing nutrient dense, healing food to the Raleigh area through regenerative farming techniques. Founder Niti Bali has turned her passion for supporting small family farms into a thriving organization, a process you can read about in her book, Farm to Fork Meat Riot – Regenerating Life-Giving Force #GetOutOfTheGroceryStore. 

$100-700 annual membership + fees; weekly; pick-up; farmtoforkmeat.com/about-us.html 

Grocers on Wheels

Grocers on Wheels has a range of boxes available for home delivery, starting with the basic “Horn of Plenty” light box that includes a small selection of organic fruits and vegetables, all the way up to a 40 pound box that features the additions of cheese and meat alongside the fresh produce. Grocers on Wheels gives back to the community in a multitude of ways, pioneering drives such as Lyft Every Mama and providing much-needed healthy alternatives to the needy through the Wake County Human Services office. 

Boxes range from $17-43; buy anytime or monthly subscription; pick-up or delivery; details here 

Hilltop Farms

As the first Certified Organic Produce Farm in Wake County, Hilltop Farms is one of the leaders in community supported agriculture in Raleigh. Weekly or bi-weekly boxes are offered through the growing season, available for pickup at drop site locations in Raleigh, Cary, and Holly Springs, as well as from the farm itself. The CSA program fills up fast, so be sure to snag your spot in the upcoming fall season, and check out their site for recipes to go along with the fresh produce. 

$275-495 (10 or 18 week options); weekly; pick-up or delivery; hilltopfarms.org/ 

Kindred Cornbread

Place an order for a morning porch drop and choose from a delightful range of baked goods that rotates weekly, featuring favorites like buttermilk cornbread loaves, biscuits, and gooey chocolate chip cookies. This home bakery, located in Southeast Raleigh, is run by husband and wife duo Meg and Seth, and bakes each product with fresh milled flour and love. 

Items ranging $2.50-30, subject to change; weekly; delivery; instagram.com/kindredcornbread; or email kindredcornbread@gmail.com

La Farm Bakery

Now available at La Farm is a gift-based subscription service, with three options to choose from including a bread box, a sweet bread box, and a combined bread and sweet bread choice. Each monthly box comes with two loaves and an amuse bouche, a sweet treat from La Farm’s bakery. Give the gift of bread to a loved one, or treat yourself to a consistent supply of some of the Triangle’s best loaves with one of these delightful bundles. 

$45/month, discounts for longer subscriptions, monthly; delivery; lafarmbakery.com/ 

Locals Seafood Share

Enjoy fresh, seasonal North Carolina seafood every week through Locals Catch Seafood Subscription, a service that offers two carefully selected weekly catches for pickup at Raleigh State Farmers Market. Perfect for seafood lovers, Locals rotates between crowd-pleasers like flounder and various shellfish offerings, and harder-to-find coastal catches like mullet or amberjack that give you a chance to try something new. 

$240/season, 8 shares; weekly; pick-up; localsseafood.com/seafood-share/ 

Maple View Mobile

This milk delivery service is returning to the nostalgic age of the milkman by bringing locally produced milk packaged in returnable glass bottles to select areas in the Triangle, with more delivery routes coming soon. Maple View mobile has a wide variety of other dairy products available for purchase as well, including ice cream, butter, and chocolate milk. If you miss the taste of farm fresh pasteurized milk delivered straight to your doorstep, and are looking for a sustainable option for your dairy needs, be sure to check out their delivery map and stay tuned to this new program to see when it opens up delivery in your area. 

See website for products and costs; delivery; mapleviewmobile.com/delivery/ 

Papa Spud’s 

This “farm to fork” delivery service offers one of the widest variety of produce in the area, with a total of 276 products currently available for purchase through a subscription box on their website. Papa Spud’s recipe kits include innovative recipes such as smashed potato salad with chorizo & scallions and grilled drumsticks with sesame lime bok choy. Sign up for a small or regular box delivery subscription and get your first box free. 

$15-40/box + $4 delivery fee; weekly; delivery; papaspuds.com/ 

Produce Box

Boasting more than 75 North Carolina growers, ranchers, and artisan food-makers as partners, The Produce Box goes above and beyond to serve the Triangle. On top of the weekly rotating menus, meal kits are always available, including a caprese salad, coconut rice noodle bowl, shrimp ceviche, and more. With locally sourced meat, dairy, and unique produce exclusive to their subscribers, The Produce Box is worth the $20 membership fee. 

One time $20 membership fee, boxes $24-32; weekly; delivery; theproducebox.com/ 

Produce Project

For $18 a box, this nonprofit CSA will curate new shares of locally sourced produce sourced weekly or biweekly, available for pickup at their location on Capital Blvd. The shares normally weigh around a whopping 25 lbs, and stick to the basics that the whole family will be sure to enjoy. The Produce Project donates between 1,000 and 2,000 lbs per week to families in need, and is always welcoming volunteers. 

$18/box; weekly & bi-weekly; pick-up on Wed. or Thurs; produceproject.org/

Sugar Hill Produce

This 9-week subscription offers pick-up at two farmers markets, located in Greensboro and Hillsborough, and is increasingly popular. Their summer subscription is already sold out, but stay tuned for when the next season opens up so you can receive one of their coveted boxes full of fresh herbs, leafy greens, and more delicious fruits and veggies. Sugar Hill also offers individual boxes for porch-drop in select areas, and these options are also going fast, so act now if Sugar Hill sounds like the CSA for you. 

$202.50/9 weeks, $26/porch drop; weekly; pick-up; sugarhillproduce.com/market-pick-up 

Triangle United Growers is helping local farmers increase their profits and promote sustainably grown and healthy produce to consumers with their weekly TUG boxes. Through partnerships with Sweet Peas Urban Gardens, The Well Fed Community Garden, Fat Radish Farm, and others from around the Triangle, TUG offers full transparency about where your veggies are coming from. A happy customer proclaimed that “Every Monday is just like Christmas,” when there’s a carefully curated box of produce delivered to her front door! 

$20/small, $35/standard; weekly; pick-up or delivery; triangleunitedgrowers.com/ 

The Winefeed

The wine club subscription service is created with wine lovers in mind, particularly those who want to explore new regions, varieties, and styles. There’s an option for each personality and palette, from the basic “relax” club, to rosé and “revive” clubs. On the first of each month you’ll receive two new selections, tasting notes, recipes, and food pairing recommendations. 

$25-70; monthly; pick-up or delivery; thewinefeed.com