My First CSA Box

Last night I received my first box of produce from Full Circle Farm in Carnation, WA. Since it's wintertime this farm partners with other organic farms to provide produce to its customers. I thought I'd try it out and for $35/standard size box it's comparable in cost and quality to shopping at the West Seattle Farmer's Market (I was there on Sunday and was able to do a cost comparison). Each standard box should feed 2 adults and 1 child for a week. I currently am scheduled to receive a box of produce every other week, and I may need to purchase a few additional items from the farmer's market the week I am not scheduled for a shipment. In my first box of produce I received (in order from most local to least local):

1 lb. of turnips, 3 apples, 3 pears, and 2 onions from Washington

1/2 lb. Cremini mushrooms from British Columbia (only 2 hours away)

4 oranges, 1 bunch of broccoli, 1 bunch of kale, 1 bunch of green leaf lettuce, and 1 bunch of spinach from California (up to 900 miles away)

1 cucumber from Mexico and 1 mango from Ecuador (I was surprised by these 2 items)

Since half of my order still traveled quite a distance to get here, I will put in a special request to the farm (I'll ask for two orders of a local item in place of an item further south than CA.). If my request cannot be fulfilled, then I may postpone more orders through this farm until the spring months arrive and I can be assured most, if not all, of the produce will be provided by the farm itself. Despite my slight disappointment with the location of some of the partner farms, I am so far very impressed with taste. I just bit into my first orange and have not tasted a better orange since I moved to Washington over two years ago. The flavor was extremely concentrated, and although I know there's no fat in an orange, this orange had a smooth, creamy texture (3 pieces slipped right out of my hand as I picked them up). Because of the flavor and texture, I was completely satisfied after eating half the orange, and I saved the other half for my son when he awakes from his nap.