Farm Cart Organics and Better Bucket

Farm Cart Organics is an organic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): A system that more directly connects producers and consumers in a food system by allowing consumers to subscribe to receive the harvest of a certain farm or group of farms. model and grocery delivery service that operates in South Santa Barbara County and Ventura County. They work with small farmers and food purveyors to provide 100% organic certified produce and artisan groceries – delivered to customers’ doorsteps or available for pick-up at locations throughout the region.

Owners Katherine and Jason Lesh leverage profits to combat food inequalityFood Inequality: The disparity in communities’ access to nutritious food caused by the distribution of populations, natural resources and funds. by partnering with People’s Self-Help Housing to donate boxes of fresh produce to low income community members – many of them agricultural workers – who may not otherwise have access to organic food options. “food justiceFood Justice: A basic right of people, a movement striving for the right to grow, sell, and eat healthy food. is a huge issue,” Lesh states, “and it hits people working in the agricultural industry most harshly, as ironically they’re the ones having the hardest time accessing clean food.”

Recently, Farm Cart Organics launched The Better Bucket, a food scrap recovery program that diverts food waste away from the landfill. “Composting is a great way to get some nourishment from what you would otherwise be sending out as trash,” said Lesh. Starting as early as 2022, the City of Santa Barbara will allow residents to put food scraps into the green waste cans at their homes but until then, Farm Cart Organics is closing the food system loopClosed Loop Food System: As opposed to a linear food system that follows consumption of food from field to plate to waste, a closed loop food system is a more sustainable model that follows food from field to plate to field with little or no waste. by bringing food waste back to the land and using it to build healthier soil.

Learn more about Farm Cart Organics’ subscription service and meet their farmers on their website. Better Bucket is currently not in operation.