In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Edible Gardens LA and a few local heroes—farmers, growers and purveyors—are working hard to shore up newly shaky links in our food supply chain. It’s the kind of response that spells survival not only for consumers facing empty shelves in stores across the globe, but for the farmers and growers themselves.  

If anyone wants an edible garden at home, Lauri Kranz is the person to call. She and Dean Kuipers, her business and life partner, make yard calls to celebrities and the rest of us to nurture flourishing edible gardens all over Los Angeles County. In early March, requests exploded at Edible Gardens LA for CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) boxes to be delivered to stir-crazy people in quarantine. Delivery in LA’s far-flung neighborhoods is hard, but Lauri and Dean saw it as a perfect opportunity to support their friends. 

“Local farms are the living heart of our community,” she says, “And right now they’re in trouble. Our longtime friends at trusted organic and biodynamic farms already had crops in the ground and ready to harvest when this crisis hit. Much of it was headed to local restaurants and other regular outlets where you and I are accustomed to seeing it on menus. That demand almost instantly disappeared, but the number of people who need to eat it has not. We depend on these people for our food every single day, but the way we get it is being disrupted. With people rightly trying to stay safe at home and avoid even farmers markets, Edible Gardens LA has become a connection: we took stock of what we had in the ground and immediately partnered with the incredible growers at Weiser Family Farms, Schaner Farms, Finley Farms, T&D Farms, Tehachapi Grain Project and others to get their food to your door.”

Lauri and Dean put the first boxes together themselves, then packed their cars to the roof and drove around to a ‘bazillion’ drop-offs. 

“It’s inefficient,” Lauri admits. “But it’s safe and it’s a way to get this gorgeous food into kitchens where it belongs and get us past this crisis….The point is to feed people, but that’s only part of the connection. The best part is a smiling face and a wave from the window, shouting, ‘That is beautiful! We are so excited for this food!’ Dean and I are absolutely dazzled by the outpouring of gratitude and joy and relief that has accompanied each drop – many of them in crazy canyon houses only accessible by funky trails, dirt roads and funiculars! We always include some Edible Gardens LA flowers such as borage, African basil, geranium or arugula to bring some beauty, because our homes need to be places of refuge but also joy and hope.”

And they’re not the only ones. Below are a number of additional businesses serving as drop off points for County Line Harvest and CSA boxes from other farms. It’s an ever-updating list, so please don’t hesitate to let us know by commenting below so we can all watch it evolve. It’s heartening to watch the creativity and commitment that’s happened in response to the virus, everyone working so hard to make sure LA’s vibrant and wonderful food industry keeps on keeping on. 

In terms of what you can expect in your box, here’s a small sampling: curly kale, rainbow swiss chard, Bloomsdale spinach, French breakfast radishes, Spigariello or Italian brassica, Hakuri Tokyo turnips, spring onions, bok choy, purple tastsoi, carrots, cheddar and purple cauliflower, red and gold beets, all kinds of lettuces including Little Gems, watermelon radish and Japanese sweet potato. In case you’ve also got the baking itch, Edible Gardens LA has also just added heritage grain options—red fife, Sonora, Rouge de Bordeaux, and rye—from the Tehachapi Grain Project. A large farm box feeding 4-6 averages $58. A small box feeding 2-3, $38. Stay calm, stay safe, and cook up a storm.

The market in Echo Park is open with fresh produce and other goods. Farm box donations available for restaurant workers. If you’ve been laid off from your restaurant job, check Cookbook’s Instagram for times to pick up a free box of produce at either location.

A specialty farm in Petaluma and Thermal, California. Below are restaurant drop-off points for farm boxes. Visit their website for exact scheduling and times.

Colossus Bakery (San Pedro)

Eightfold Coffee (Echo Park)

Full Service Coffee Co (Koreatown)

Gjusta (Venice)

Highly Likely Café (West Adams)

Kensho (Hollywood)

Lady and Larder (Mar Vista)

Mar Vista Farmers’ Market

Neighborhood (La Brea)

Roberta’s (Culver City)

Sachi LA (Marina del Rey)

Santa Monica Farmers’ Market

Triniti (Echo Park)

Email for farm box details and availability in your area: info@ediblegardensla.com. Boxes have included Schaner Family Farms eggs, a variety of produce, Tehachapi Grain Project flours and grains, and even organic, heritage corn tortillas from Tehachapi Grain Project + Kernel of Truth Organics.

Their market at the Brentwood Country Mart is still open and they’re offering next-day delivery or curbside pickup for orders placed in advanced. Local produce, pantry items like pasta, legumes, and nuts, dairy, meats, coffee, and more. Fill out their order form here or head into the shop.

A cooperative of backyard farms and local urban growers in Pasadena, Altadena, and Sierra Madre. They’ve launched a CSA program, which you can sign up for here, and will deliver to Sierra Madre, Altadena, Pasadena, Monrovia, and Arcadia or it can be picked up at the Atwater Village Farmers’ Market on Sundays.

They’re offering $30-ish farmers’ market boxes every day (first come, first served) for curbside pickup or takeout. To guarantee a box, pre-order at least two days in advance by calling 310-451-2311 and to check out the details on the week’s boxes and order info, head here.

Farm boxes available for pick up at Animal restaurant. Order at orders@jonandvinnys.com. Market available as well: fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and DIY Jon & Vinny’s pizza kits!

In addition to their amazing charcuterie boards, which are available for local pickup and delivery or shipping, they’re also serving as a hub for Schaner Farms produce boxes on Wednesday and Saturday 12pm-5pm. Email hello@ladyandlarder.com to order.

Their farmstead is still open daily from 10am-6pm but you can place an order for a small or large box of produce before arriving—contact orders@intuitiveforager.com or reach out via Instagram or Facebook message @malibufigranch.

A variety of boxes, including produce, pantry items, and more, are available for delivery from San Diego to Santa Barbara. Head here to check out all the offerings.

Their biodynamic farmers market is open Wednesdays and Sundays from 9am-1pm on the Malibu Pier. The parking lot is closed but they are open and available for farm box pickups as well. Order by calling 310-456-3810 or emailing info@1gunranch.com.

At their Malibu farmstand, they’re offering a limited quantity of farm boxes ($50 each) and herb boxes ($25 each). They’ll leave the box outside the gate upon your arrival to limit contact. Direct message @plumcotfarm on Instagram for details and to order.

Order produce boxes at rockenwagnermarket.com or countylineharvest.com in addition pre-made meals, fresh breads, and bakery items.

A lower price point organic grocery, SUprmarkt services food desert communities where fresh food is often hard to get. Sign up for farm boxes via their website suprmarkt.la—it’s around $100 for one month of weekly boxes. Check here to find the next pickup spot.

Go to tamaifamilyfarms.com to order a pre-packed farm box which you can pick up at a number of farmers’ markets like Brentwood (Saturday), Ventura County (Monday), and Santa Barbara (Tuesday).

Along with their current takeout and delivery menus, Tender Greens is offering curated farm and pantry boxes. See tendergreens.com for details and to place an order.

Thao Farms will be delivering vegetable boxes to the restaurants below each week. Order directly from the farm kongthao03@yahoo.com or send a direct message on Instagram @kongthao03 and prepay via Venmo.

Akasha (Culver City)

Bar Amá (DTLA)

Bäco Mercat (DTLA)

Broken Spanish (DTLA)

Charlie’s Italian (Redondo Beach)

Eagle Rock Brewery Public House (Eagle Rock)

Highland Park Brewery (Chinatown)

Hollywood Farmers’ Market

HopSaint Brewing Company (Torrance)

Kismet (Silver Lake)

Orsa & Winston (DTLA)

Phorage (West Hollywood and Culver City)

République (Hollywood)

Roberta’s Pizza (Culver City)

Santa Monica Farmers’ Market

Torrance Farmers’ Market