Why is it more expensive to buy ‘clean’ food than food containing additives and pesticide residues?Many people who would like to eat naturally, are forced to eat commercially-produced food containing pesticide residues and preservatives because natural food is beyond their budget.
This seems counterintuitive.
Every person regardless of income level should have the basic right to eat healthy food.While about 1.5% of total agricultural production in Israel is organic, over 80% is exported for sale abroad. This low demand for organic in Israel contributes to higher prices. Hopefully increased awareness and demand will bring prices down in the future.
In the meantime, some farmers are willing to sell food directly to consumers, cutting out the middle men. This slightly reduces the cost of eating organic, and for those who have never tasted the difference between freshly-picked veggies and cold-storage veggies, you won’t believe the difference!
Organic farmers who sell directly to consumers:
|
Name |
Location | Telephone | Description |
| Biocenter | Givat Chen, near Raanana | 09-744-6080 | Every Friday between 13:00 and 15:00 this health food store has a large sale on about 10-15 different types of fruits and vegetables. Prices can be as much as 50% off! (Mostly cold-storage produce) |
| Gan HaSadeh – Roi | Modiin, deliveries to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem | 054-6939320 | Freshly-picked vegetables, also offers fruit and some staples at bulk prices from other suppliers. |
| Derech Chaim | near Michmoret, no deliveries | 054-4522658 | Sell vegetables they grow, plus from other suppliers. |
| Teva HaBasor | Ein HaBasor, regional deliveries | 08-9982214 | Freshly-picked vegetables and herbs, plus fruits and staples from other suppliers. |
| Hubeiza | near Latrun, deliveries between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem | registration via their website: http://www.chubeza.com/ | Pay for a small or large box of vegetables, and receive a suprise every week! These were the tastiest vegetables I’ve ever tasted. |
Is there any CSA’s in Israel up north in the Galilee???
Hi,
I live in Tel Aviv and want to sign up with a CSA. This post is a good starting point, but it’s from 2007. Any chance you’ll do a follow up piece?
Thanks
Joshua,
Or Gani has probably bit off more than they can chew. In some countries you have to put your name on a waiting list to buy into a CSA and when you’re a part it’s a commitment to support that farm. I think Israel has too many “come and go” organic box clients which probably causes a lot of stress and management problems to the CSA. Especially in the summer time when every one and his brother is going on holiday.
Keep trying. I order a box every week and it comes like clockwork, yummy and fresh. Try calling them in a less busy time, maybe after the holidays.
-Karin
Just a word of caution about Or-gani:
Last month my fiance and I got in touch with Or-gani to place an order for the first time. The first week, they did not return our email or phone call. After they took our order the second week, they forgot to process our order and we never got it again. The third week after being assured it was going to be delivered, they didn’t come again and when we called them, they asked to call us back and they never did. We followed up with several phone calls and emails and got no response. I know someone else who has gotten her delivery without problems, but I just wanted to share my experiences. It is unfortunate as we loved the idea of getting fresh organic fruits and vegetables delivered to us.
An article appeared last year in Green Prophet http://greenprophet.com/2007/12/20/16/eating-organic-at-reasonable-prices/
to which a comment was added with some information about my small company which provides beautiful boxes of fresh organic fruits and vegetables, delivered directly from small organically-certified farms, to people’s homes in Jerusalem.
Almost a year later I felt it might be of interest to your readership to hear more about the day to day process, decision-making and issues involved in supplying Organic fruit and vegetables in Jerusalem .
One of the issues most important to me is that clients be given the choice of what vegetables and fruit they want to order each week. For some of my new customers who have only recently been “converted ” to organic produce, this approach tries to normalize the week’s shopping and has had the outcome of making organic buying less threatening to newcomers. I do try to keep the prices as affordable as I can, but because of prices of organic being more costly than regular produce,I have been told by many of my clients that they choose their box more carefully and are less wasteful than they used to be.T
To this end ,clients receive each week, by email, a full list of vegetables and fruits available on the farms and a price list. They simply click in their order and reply to sender.
In business, people refer to this as the supply chain but this expression has none of the nuances of what this means for me at the HaChavah HaOrganit.
Each week I am reminded again of the delicate balance of a myriad of factors which make up our life’s ” supply chain “.
I am aware that there are so many elements which go into this weekly box of vegetables : weather conditions, crop- planting decisions made months ago, insects and birds, ploughing techniques, costs of labour, petrol prices,competition and luck.
I try to convey these “organic” processes to my community for example, the shortage this week of tomatoes, the frost that affected certain crops in the winter, the wonderful fresh greens and root vegetables, in the fall and winter, after the dry months of the summer. It becomes exciting to bring these freshly picked lettuces to the city an hour or two after picking from the field. .My clients enjoy hearing about what is happening on the farm and tell me that it somehow connects them to a reality that city life has somehow made more distant for them.It gives all of us a deeper appreciation of our dependency on the forces of nature and the hard work of the farmers .It is so satisfying to see the happy faces of the family members when they receive that box of fresh produce.
Anyone who would like to hear more about the Hachavah Haorganit can contact me, or have a sample email shopping list sent to them to have a look at our small part in promoting an Organic Jerusalem.
Meir Toddress
[email protected]
http://www.hachavah-haorganit.com
טל 052-649-4194 Tel
פקס Fax 02-563-7935
There is definitely increased demand on commodities due to Biofuel production, but over time supply will also increase as farmers get paid better to produce crops. Organic food prices fluctuate quite regulary as suppliers discount on a cycle to encourage spending at certain times. You can always find a bargain somewhere.
Or-gani farm near Hadera provides members with great organic vegetables on a subscription basis. They are eagerly seeking additional members in Kfar Saba, Ra’anana, Tel Aviv and possibly other places. See http://www.or-gani.org.il/
Shoshana
You should probably add the good folks at Or- Gani as well. They are a relatively new CSA!
http://www.or-gani.org.il/
We shouldn’t forget that if you are in the Beit Shemesh area we have an great Organic Shuk (Hagit’s) on Tuesdays at Kibbutz Tzora.. Deliveries available to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem contact Hagit at [email protected] if you are in need..
A reader writes in: “Please add Gabriella’s Farm http://www.gabriella.co.il/ They also do the small/big box of vegetables, but they also offer breads and breakfast food, toothpaste and cleaning supplies, etc.”
In Jerusalem, Meir Todress of HaChavah Ha’organit woos you with his magnificent box of freshly picked fruits and vegetables delivered to the door each week. Meir, who left business management to explore the world of food, scours local farms between Rishon and Yavneh for the best of the current crops – spicy rocket and fresh lettuces, their root ends still bearing bits of warm earth.
Along with his partner, Shoshana Lederman, HaChavah Ha’organit is committed to making organic produce affordable, with competitive prices.