A couple years ago I did a post on how to buy from local growers and suppliers in an effort to go green and go local.  At the time my local and organic produce mostly came from the local grocery chain Henry’s.  However earlier this year Misty and I discovered a great opportunity which allowed us to have locally grown, organic produce delivered straight to our door from a local farm.

Farm Fresh To You began in 1992 as an organic produce home delivery service under the direction of Kathleen Barsotti, the farm manager of Capay Organic.  Since then Farm Fresh to You has  expanded and now delivers organic produce fresh from the fields of Capay Organic and other local organic farms straight to homes and businesses throughout California.

Over the last month Misty and I have had our produce delivered by Farm Fresh To You as the primary source for fruits and vegetables.  The produce is delivered on a schedule that works best for you, either weekly, every two weeks or monthly.  We started with a larger box of produce every two weeks, but found that it was simply too much produce for what we would use on a regular basis.  We then switched to a weekly smaller delivery, which yielded too much fruit on a regular basis but just enough vegetables for the week, so we have since switched to a medium sized delivery every two weeks in hopes that it will be just right.

Switching to Farm Fresh To You for our produce has forced us to do a number of things we weren’t doing before.  First we are hyper aware of our produce stock, which means we have been much less wasteful.  Second we are being forced to cook healthier meals using a variety of fruits and vegetables that we probably wouldn’t have normally purchased on our own.  Kale, chard, and collard greens are among some of the most common items we have been forced to find creative ways to cook with.  Had we been shopping for fresh produce on our own, we never would have introduced these ingredients into our diet.  Finally it has helped us become more organized.  Having produce delivered on a schedule forces us to sit down each week and plan out our meals.  No longer can we just wing it with whatever is in the fridge.  To ensure we don’t waste the produce we have to stick to a strict menu and plan ahead.

Overall our experience with locally delivered produce has been a pleasant one.  In fact the first day I saw the box on my door step I was so giddy I took a picture and shared the experience on twitter.  It has helped adjust our lifestyle and has made us feel a lot better about our produce buying and green living decisions.  Many produce delivery companies simply deliver produce from various locations, Farm Fresh To You is focused on delivering produce from their farms and a select few local farms they trust.  If you’re interested in Farm Fresh to You visit their website, and if you use the promo code 6164 you can save $5.

Those of you who have been following the blog or my twitter account for a while know that I have had a number of issues with my previous hosting company ThinkHost; first with an extensive downtime, followed by slowness issues. Issues that continued for the year I had them hosting this blog. After the first of the year, when I knew my hosting contract would be up, I decided to look into the ending of my contract. At the time they advised it would be up in April; they also mentioned that it would be an auto renewal unless I cancelled before the renewal date. I unfortunately forgot that part; a mistake that wound up costing me a ton of time, frustration and money.

See where ThinkHost, like many companies, gets you is in the TOS. ThinkHost automatically renews their services; there is no way around it. You can’t opt out of it, you can’t stop it, they just suck the money from your account every six months and that’s that. In addition you are required to cancel BEFORE that auto renewal date and for the account to be cancelled, “…it must be paid in full at the time of cancellation.” Meaning that if you are invoiced the full 6 months of hosting, on the first of the month and you call in on the second you technically are responsible for 6 months or hosting at that point whether you like it or not.

I sadly fell for this. I knew the renewal date was nearing, but I had forgotten when and on June 2 I received a notice that my invoice had declined. When I realized they had attempted to bill me I immediately e-mailed ThinkHost and let them know that I wished to cancel. They quickly responded and told me that I couldn’t cancel until I paid my invoice of $87.75, which would pay for hosting for the next six months.

I immediately called their 24 hour support hotline to speak with a representative. The gentleman I spoke with was nice enough, but didn’t sound very confident in what he was telling me and actually told me that I shouldn’t have been invoiced if I was planning to cancel, but that he had to submit my ticket to a supervisor and that they would e-mail me back.

An hour later I received an e-mail from his supervisor advising that, “We bill our clients on the first day of each month. If you wish to cancel the account then you have to cancel it before that day.” Again they prompted me to pay them $87.75 for six more months of service. I responded explaining that I didn’t authorize the payment and didn’t want six more months of their services. Long story short? Their TOS had me by the balls:

You agree to pay ThinkHost, Inc. appropriate payment for the services received from ThinkHost, Inc. in advance of the time period during which such services are provided. You agree to provide ThinkHost, Inc. with current billing and contact information, and you authorize ThinkHost, Inc. to bill all accounts and related charges to the credit card on file. You further understand that until and unless you notify ThinkHost, Inc. of your desire to cancel any or all services received, and you complete the cancellation process, those services will be billed on a recurring basis.

There was some back and forth where they demanded I pay the $87.75 because regardless of the fact I didn’t want their service or plan to use their service any longer the TOS bound me to the payment. In the end another supervisor was kind enough to cut me a break and only charged me the $27 for the last month of hosting, which I was fine with considering the situation. But there is a HUGE lesson to be learned here. KNOW YOUR TERMS OF SERVICE! In fact I’m going to go read my new HostGator TOS right now. I know at times it seems intimidating because of the legal mumbo jumbo, but in all honesty knowing your commitments and obligations are extremely important. If ThinkHost wanted to be complete a-holes they could have told me to suck it up and pay them what I owed them and I’d be SOL, but fortunately they didn’t do that.

I will say however that from a customer service standpoint it shouldn’t have taken this much back and forth to come to a compromise. When they knew I wanted to cancel and didn’t wish to continue their services they should have offered the $27 settlement at that time. In the end I would suggest steering clear of ThinkHost, the service I have received over the last year with them has been less than satisfactory both in hosting and in customer care. I do however appreciate the support representatives that finally compromised with me following my error.

It seems like everywhere you turn these days companies are trying to “go green” and make their product “all natural”. And while I applaud the efforts that are being made, I feel that a lot of programs and a lot of green living advice goes undiscovered. As consumers we are lead to believe that reusable grocery bags, CFL’s, organic products, and hybrid cars are all there is to help make a better tomorrow. But one important factor that most people aren’t aware of is the value in choosing local farms and suppliers when we buy our groceries.

When you buy locally there are a few advantages. First, you cut back on the amount of pollution caused by transportation of the item. Many items we buy are shipped from all over the U.S. and the rest of the world through various forms of transportation. Local products do not travel as far, if at all, and therefore do not have the same impact that a national supplier may have. Buying locally also helps stimulate your local economy. You are contributing to jobs and the welfare of people who live in your community. And finally, in the case of produce, you get a fresher product. If a fruit or vegetable doesn’t have to be trucked across the country it’s going to be a lot fresher when you get it.

How Can I Find Local Products?

There are a few ways to find out what’s available in your area. First, and probably the easiest, would be to check with your local grocery store. See if they know if any of their products or produce are from a local farm or vendor. Another option would be to go to a grocer that you know specializes in holistic living or local farming. Henry’s Farmers Market, which is the store I frequent, actually labels local products and produce. In fact the chain has devoted itself to helping support local growers and suppliers. Another grocer, Whole Foods Market has become a very big name in the holistic community and offers a number of organic and sometimes local products.

Farmers Markets

Another way is to support local growers and suppliers directly through farmers markets. Farmers Markets are often held on a regular basis in communities and they are a direct connection between farmers and the public. They are great way to not only get fresh produce, but another great way to support your local community and the environment.

Community Supported Agriculture

But perhaps the most interesting way of supporting local growers and suppliers is through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). CSA allows people to invest in small farms through a subscription or membership and in turn they receive a weekly or monthly delivery of produce, flowers, fruits, eggs, milk, meats, or any sort of different farm products. Again this provides you with fresher food since it comes straight from the farm. You also save a substantial amount of money on produce because you remove the middle man from the business. You pay the farm directly and don’t deal with the price hike you see at grocery stores. Finally you decrease your impact on the planet. Smaller local farms tend to use fewer chemicals on their crops and often use organic farming practices. They also grow a smaller amount of crops because they have a more predictable number of consumers to sell to, which cuts back on packaging and on wasted crops.

For more information on farmers markets in your area and Community Supported Agriculture, visit LocalHarvest.org. There you can search for farms and farmers markets in your area. You can also get more information on Community Supported Agriculture and farms in your area that you can help support.