Donna Williams is on a mission to change how Westchester residents eat their veggies. Williams’ five-year-old company, Field Goods, is a subscription-based, local-produce distribution service that delivers to more than 500 locations statewide, including 40 sites in Westchester.
Modeled on community-supported-agriculture programs (CSAs), Field Goods offers affordable produce to people living in suburbia. “Urbanites and people in rural areas are traditional CSA participants. Until recently, suburbanites have been left out of the equation,” says Williams. “Field Goods eliminates many of the barriers to eating a healthy diet without breaking the bank.”
Here’s how it works: Employers, community centers, and local retailers sign up to be pick-up locations. Some Westchester businesses, like Fujifilm in Valhalla and Curtis Instruments in Mount Kisco, already participate, providing programs to employees. Everyone else can choose pick-up locations from a map of sites, and then select one of four bag sizes, ranging from $15 for one to a $30 bag for a family of five. Field Goods chooses the produce each week, selecting five to eight fruits and vegetables from more than 80 farmers located in the Hudson Valley. Subscribers receive an e-newsletter the Friday before delivery, explaining the bag’s contents and providing recipes for cooking ramps, rutabagas, or whatever else is coming home that week.
Field Goods operates 52 weeks a year. “We freeze summertime harvests, so New Yorkers can enjoy local blueberries and corn in the dead of winter,” explains Williams. “Some of our customers prefer the winter deliveries. It’s fresh and inexpensive, and made in
New York.”
