City Fresh is a weekly farm box program. We bring fresh, high-quality produce direct from local farms to various neighborhood pickup points across Cuyahoga and Lorain counties. “Farm box” or “farm share” refers to a bundle of seasonal fruits and veggies that changes weekly based on what’s growing at our farms. Our program is an adaptation of the community-supported agriculture model, which you can read more about here.
City Fresh uniquely focuses on increasing food access. We offer multiple pricing options, as well as pickup locations in neighborhoods that otherwise have low to no access to fresh food (often termed as “food deserts” or “food apartheid”. Read more about these terms here). Our program is for everybody – those who pay the full price for their farm shares help us subsidize fresh fruits and veggies for their lower-income neighbors.
Pre-order is required to participate in our program. We are a week-to-week program, meaning that there is no commitment required to join. Order your first share today – come for the veggies, stay for the community!
Step 1: Place an order
When you order you will choose your share size, pickup location, pricing tier, and date(s). See below for more details about each of these, as well as a step-by-step breakdown on how to order using different accepted payment methods.
You can order as far in advance as you’d like. You may not know what exactly will be in your farm share at the time of order. We send out a list of what we expect in the farm shares every Friday in our e-newsletter. If you would like a preview of what you’ll be getting before ordering, we recommend waiting till Friday to place your order for that following week. Otherwise, lean in to the adventure of seasonal eating and get a surprise box of our region’s freshest veggies for your selected weeks!
You can also add on bulk items using this separate order form. Our bulk offerings include peach packs (by the peck or crate), pickle packs (by the bushel), tomato packs (by the bushel), onions, garlic, potatoes, and value-added items like jams, flours, honey, maple syrup, and more. Offerings change seasonally and are subject to farmer availability.
Step 2: Email confirmation
You will receive an automated confirmation email if you order online with credit/debit card. Order confirmation when ordering with SNAP/EBT, Fruit and Vegetable Coupons, or other alternative forms of payment may take up to 1-2 business days as orders must be processed manually.
E-mail is our main form of communication, so keep an eye out for any updates about your Fresh Stop.
Step 3: Fresh Stop day!
In the morning…
We visit our farmers every morning to get veggies for that day’s Fresh Stop. Then, we bring all the veggies back to our operational hub at the George Jones Farm.
After that, our crew is hard at work preparing orders to ensure all our daily Fresh Stops get everything they need!
Afternoon hits…
Dozens of volunteers gather at their neighborhood Fresh Stop to unload the truck, set up tables, and arrange your veggies.
Bring a bag to get your share. Veggies will be laid out on tables and the volunteers will ensure you know what’s included with your share. Check in with our volunteers and make your way down the rows of veggies to grab your share. Stay for some good conversation with like minded folks!
Choose between the Single Share and Family Share.
The contents of each share are pre-determined by City Fresh and our farmers based on what’s ready for harvest. Contents are released every Friday in our e-newsletter for the following week.
You may not know exactly what will be in your share at the time of ordering. Shares are not customizable, however many of our Fresh Stops host swap tables where you can trade items with your neighbors, helping to ensure everyone goes home with veggies that they love!
You can explore pricing for each of these as well as examples of past shares on our website here.
Each pickup location, or as we call them, “Fresh Stop”, takes place at a set location and time, once a week for 20* weeks. You can explore all 16 of our locations and our weekly schedule on our website here.
*Coventry, Oberlin, and Lakewood Fresh Stops go for an additional 4 weeks in November and December for our Bonus Season.
We have three main pricing tiers:
We additionally participate in various other nutrition incentive programs, dependent upon availability and funding.
Accessing our lower pricing tiers is easy. If you are unable to afford the full price option for any reason, but you do not have SNAP/EBT (commonly referred to as “food stamps”), our reduced rate/limited-income pricing may be right for you.
We provide these income guidelines to help you determine if you qualify for this pricing, however, no proof of income is required.
To access limited-income pricing when ordering online, just click the checkbox underneath the pickup location dropdown, on the first screen of the order flow.
Each Fresh Stop takes place on a specific day of the week (for example, the Kamms Fresh Stop is on Wednesdays, and the Lorain Fresh Stop is on Tuesdays). Depending on the pickup location that you choose, a list of future dates will show up. You can select anywhere between one date to all of them, depending on what weeks you’re ready to commit to, and how many weeks you’d like to pay for all at once.
If you want to take advantage of week-to-week ordering and pay for one week at a time, you will select one date for now and come back another time to place your next order.
Orders must be placed at least 3 days in advance of your pickup. All veggies are harvested to order so we need time to pass along your order to our farmers.
| Tuesday Fresh Stop | Saturday before 11:59 PM |
| Wednesday Fresh Stop | Sunday before 11:59 PM |
| Thursday Fresh Stop | Monday before 11:59 PM |
| Friday Fresh Stop | Tuesday before 11:59 PM |
Payment type options
For step-by-step instructions on how to order with different payment types, select one of the options below.
- Create an account at cityfresh.org or log in to your existing account.
- On your account welcome screen, click “Place a New Order”.
- Select your preferred pickup location from the drop down menu
- To get limited-income pricing, click the checkbox underneath the location drop down. The pricing will automatically be applied to your total at the end.
- Click the “select pickups” button
- Put a “1” (or a higher number if you would like to order more than 1 of that share) in the column corresponding to the share type you would like to order, in the row(s) of the date(s) you would like to order.
- For example, if you would like to order a Family Share for August 11, you would put a “1” in the first column on the August 11 row and leave all the other options as “0”.
- You may optionally enter a coupon code at this point if we are running a promotion.
- You are also encouraged to include a donation at this step, to cover the processing fee of your order.
- Click the “Proceed to Payment” button at the bottom of the screen.
- If it’s your first time ordering, you will be prompted to enter your credit card information. After this, we automatically save your credit card on file so you do not need to enter it again. If your payment fails, your card on file will be erased so go ahead and try again, and enter your new payment information at the end. For more information on how to erase stored credit card information, visit our FAQ page.
Visit cityfresh.org/order and follow the instructions on the order form.
If the screen looks blank, just scroll up. The form will progress to the next step at the top of the page.
We offer 3 options to pay for your share:
- Pay online at the time of ordering
- You can order up to 4 shares at once, however, you will be responsible for payment all at once.
- Hold your payment until your funds get reloaded on your card (up to 1 month)
- You can order up to 4 shares at once, however, you will be responsible for payment all at once.
- Pay in-person at the Fresh Stop
- If you select the last option, you can order one share at a time and request future shares in-person at the Fresh Stop or by using the order form.
Visit cityfresh.org/order and follow the instructions on the order form.
If you order more than one share, you must pay for all shares at the time of your first pickup. Otherwise, just order one at a time and you can order your next one either in person at the Fresh Stop or by visiting the order form again.
Currently we do not support check or cash payment online. You can mail an order form with your payment to order.
Alternatively, you can e-mail us at info@cityfresh.org, or call us at (216) 307-1184. Please include:
- Your name
- Requested pickup location (Fresh Stop)
- Share type (Single Share, Family Share, or both)
- Pricing tier
- Date(s)
If you do not have an account with us yet, we will need some additional details to set up your profile, including your e-mail address, phone number, and street address.
If you would like to order more than one week, please be prepared to pay for all of your requested shares at the date of your first pickup. Otherwise, you are welcome to take advantage of our week-to-week ordering at your Fresh Stop by paying one week in advance rather than all weeks upfront.
Still have questions? Our FAQ page is full of answers to help troubleshoot any account issues or break down other aspects of our program.
Otherwise, contact us with any specific inquiries and we’re happy to help!