The AGRIscapes Center at Cal Poly Pomona has created a new way for the campus community and the public to enjoy student-grown fruits and vegetables.
AGRIscapes is now selling the “Farm Box.” It’s a package of freshly-picked produce grown at the center’s Discovery Farm by students from the Huntley College of Agriculture as part of their learn-by-doing education.
“Usually, we invite the public to AGRIscapes to pick their own fruits and vegetables. But COVID-19 has changed all of that, so we’ve created the ‘Farm Box’ instead,” AGRIscapes Director Craig Walters said.
Customers can purchase the Farm Box online and select a convenient day for curbside pickup in the Cal Poly Pomona Farm Store parking lot. AGRIscapes is offering two pickup time slots: 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays, and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
Most of the produce is grown using organic standards of production as it relates to the use of chemicals. The produce includes the best of what’s available seasonally in Southern California and is harvested fresh for each order.
Chris Gendreau, the owner and executive chef of Chase’s restaurant in La Verne, uses Cal Poly Pomona produce in his own restaurant.
“It is spectacular,” said Gendreau, who has teamed with the college on its Farm to Table Spring Harvest Dinners. “Fresh makes the difference between just good and exceptional.”
The boxes, which cost $27 each, initially will contain a selection from among the following:
- Yellow crookneck squash or green zucchini squash
- Bulb onions
- Celery
- Kohlrabi
- Sweet snacking peppers
- Yellow cherry tomatoes
- Cucumbers (pickling and slicing)
- Green/purple curly kale or Tuscan kale
- Cabbage
- Sweet corn
In addition to the box, customers can purchase add-on options, including seedless watermelons, sweet corn, blackberries, oranges, Hass avocados, honey from the Cal Poly Pomona Apiary, and flower arrangements.
For more information, visit https://www.cpp.edu/~agriscapes/farmbox.html.