A top Fresno source of organic produce from small farmers is ending its weekly boxes
One of Fresno’s most well-known sources of weekly boxes of local organic fruit and vegetables is ending its service.
Ooooby Fresno announced on its Facebook and Instagram account that it is “suspending operations” as of Friday. Ooooby is short for “Out of Our Own Back Yards.”
The message said, in part: “It has become too difficult to keep pace with the rising costs of farm product, fuel, packaging and all of the other inputs needed, while maintaining an affordable price for the Ooooby box.”
It apologized for the inconvenience to customers and thanked them for their loyalty over the last four years.
Ooooby’s subscription service was a popular source of locally grown, seasonal organic produce, with boxes containing items like kale, grapes, onions and herbs like dill. Customers could choose add-ons like local eggs, cheese, olive oil and chocolate.
Its reach was vast, with more than two dozen locations where customers picked up their boxes from Merced to Reedley, along with several spots in mountain communities.
Its boxes came in four different sizes, ranging from a $16 small to a $35 “Oooober” size. Customers could pay for the boxes with electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, the food assistance benefits also called CalFresh.
Ooooby got many of its products from the 75-acre certified organic farm it ran in Madera. It also worked with more than 40 other local farms to supply customers.
Phone calls and emails to Ooooby, run by Food Commons Fresno, were not immediately returned.
Losing what may have been the last local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) operation in Fresno is tough, said Felix Muzquiz, the executive director of the Vineyard Farmers Market, which is not associated with Ooooby.
“It’s huge,” she said. “To not have a local CSA in a town of half a million in California, it’s pretty ridiculous.”
Such CSAs surged in popularity in years past, but most local ones have folded since then.
Ooooby’s service was founded originally by T&D Willey Farms. Trailblazers in local organic farming and CSAs, Tom and Denesse Willey started a successful food subscription service.
They turned the service and eventually the operation of their 75-acre farm over to Food Commons, which renamed the CSA Ooooby.
Ooooby concluded its message to customers with: “Ooooby remains committed to supporting local agriculture and we will let you know of any future developments.”
Local farming challenges
Plenty of challenges are facing local small farms and associated businesses, said Muzquiz.
Subscription boxes like Ooooby are facing competition from new, national and international companies, she said. Imperfect Foods, for example, launched in Fresno last summer, a service that delivers “ugly” or otherwise imperfect fruit and vegetables in boxes.
Others like The Rotten Fruit Box ship freeze-dried fruit to American homes, often from Portugal.
Such large operations often have investors and can keep subscription prices artificially low, making it hard for local services to compete, Muzquiz said.
Other food delivery services also compete with CSAs, including meal delivery services, kits that allow people to make dinner from the ingredients they’re sent (like Blue Apron), and the delivery grocery services like Instacart that have exploded in recent years, she said.
“I just worry about our growers and how long they’ll continue being small family farms,” Muzquiz said. “It’s becoming such a competitive market.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 6:53 PM.
