Bellair Farm

“Due to concern for supply chain and food quality this year, I opted to try out produce from a local farm this year. And I'm so glad I did! I cooked with so many new vegetables and herbs, and thus made so many new dishes! I also really appreciate the sheer variety of choices, including Asian vegetables that even I (Vietnamese-American) was unfamiliar with. The produce also lasts longer, and the quantity and quality is worth it. And I felt the healthiest I've ever been in my life. Through the uncertainty and turmoil this year, it has been grounding to just visit the farm and its fields every week. I encourage everyone to try out the produce from this farm! And sign up for the CSA if you also like (christmas present-like) vegetable surprises every week.”

“An excellent farm with responsibly raised livestock and veggies. A great place to visit for a walk or their many events. They have a great conservation mission which by using sustainable agricultural practices that are good for wildlife. The proof for me is simple: it's absolutely one of the best places in the whole county for birds and butterflies. Really lovely this farm and its CSA.”

“What a beautiful farm and superb farmers doing regenerative ag practices and growing sustainable crops. They literally have everything you need: eggs, meat, dairy, honey, soap, snacks, various beverages, strawberries, blueberries, loads of veggies, native plants...”

“I am a part of their CSA program, it’s such a great way to try a variety of vegetables! Their workers are so sweet and helpful, and I really appreciate their PYO garden! My husband and I are loving our subscription so far!”

“First time doing a CSA and have been very pleased with Bellair so far. The farm is beautiful, the produce is excellent, and the staff are knowledgable and very friendly. They do pick your own at the farm too!”

“Love the produce. We haven't been to the farm. But we appreciate fresh local produce at the South of the James farmers market in Forest Hill Park every Sunday.”

“While I really enjoy going there, the selection always seems to be a bit heavy in the cabbage family. The other day I came back with napa and green cabbage, kohlrabi, broccoli, collards and two types of kale(all in the cabbage family). The best part of this csa is that you can pick all you want of certain things, like herbs, chilis, beans and flowers.”

“I think there needs to be an honest assessment of this CSA. I can understand the devotion some might have to this particular farm. It has a great following but to those choosing between the value of this farm and produce picked up at a farmers market let me say that we’ve been utterly disappointed on many fronts. Quite often the quality of the produce is weak. We have tons of photos showing how bug infested or how unripe or over ripe some vegetables are. Many times we’d be given produce with obvious rot already in place. Tomatoes, squash and cucumbers were particularly bad. Other times we’d be given vegetables of such varying size that you really couldn’t make a proper serving. You’d get one regular sized beet and three the size of a grape. One week we received on head of garlic that had exactly 4 cloves. We were getting the full share and several weeks I did a comparison of what we received vs what I could buy at the farmers market and was stunned. I bought more than twice as much produce, picked much healthier looking produce and much of it was local and certified organic, which Bellair is not. Finally, many weeks we’d go to pick up produce that was advertised as being available only to find out what they actually had was arugula and radishes and not much more. Don’t expect zucchini, green beans, corn, or much in the way of tomatoes. This was our first time going the CSA route and I based going with Bellair after reading all the positive reviews, so I wish someone had given us an unbiased view. Granted we had a dry summer, but so did the other local farmers who somehow had better quality produce at better overall pricing.”