Love (of food) in the time of COVID19: Hillview Farm Review

Hillview Farm is located in NSW. It grows a bunch of fresh fruits and vegetables which are usually sold at various farmers markets around NSW. What they don't grow themselves, they source from a select few family-run neighbouring farms. In addition, Hillview Farm grows their produce sustainably, without the use of synthetic chemicals or artificial ripening processes.

With COVID19, farmers markets are unfortunately non-operational, but Hillview Farm is doing fresh produce delivery, which I can only imagine is very popular at the moment.

You have the option of purchasing individual items, and that of ordering seasonal box sets. Whilst the price of individual items are more expensive than supermarkets, they are comparable to your local green grocer, and at times like these, if one can, it is nice to be able to support farmers directly.

If you choose their seasonal box, then the prices are pretty comparable to that of supermarkets. The downside of the seasonal boxes, of course, is that you don't get to choose what's in your box, so you'd better not be a picky eater (or have allergies - though I noticed that there is a text box that allows you to give instructions when you place your order, and I would imagine Hillview would accommodate if you contact them and let them know of your allergy).

I am not a picky eater at all, as you can probably tell from the fact that a) I have a food blog and b) I tend to order the most intriguing and adventurous-sounding items on the menu. Therefore, picking a seasonal box was a no-brainer for me. Hillview Farm does a fruits-only box, a vegetables-only one, and a mixed-one. Each option then comes in three sizes: large (at $70), medium (at $50) and small (at $35). In addition, Hillview Farm is currently doing a "cold and flu immune booster" box, consisting of fruits and vegetables known to be packed-full of vitamin C.

I decided to order a medium sized mixed box. When it arrived, I was genuinely impressed by the quantity of food that arrived. Here is a list of the content of the $50 medium mixed box:

Vegetables 

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 floret broccoli 
• 1/4 pumpkin
• 1 red capsicum 
• 2 ears corn
• 100g (or thereabouts) of mixed green leaf
• 4 cucumbers
• 4 carrots
• 3 courgettes
• 4 potatoes
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 avocado
• 150g (or thereabouts) green beans
• 4 tomatoes (technically a fruit, but I'm speaking from a culinary perspective here)

Fruits

• 3 pears
• 6 red apples (pink lady, I think)
• 6 green apples
• 6 oranges
• 4 bananas 
• 200g (or thereabouts) green grapes 

I did a rough calculation, and I think had I gone to the supermarkets and bought all these fruits and vegetables, I wouldn't have saved much money. In addition, I had the benefit of avoiding crowded supermarket aisles and the luxury of having everything delivered to my door. Plus, I would never have been able to lug all these home without a car!

So what about the quality? There is the argument that because Hillview Farm is local, and delivering directly to consumers, that cuts out a lot of the time that the produce are sitting in trucks on the road, or in warehouses, or on shelves, and therefore they are fresher. I did find the produce to be reasonably fresh in general, with a few exceptions. The grapes and one or two of the carrots were in not-so-good shape when they arrived. The grapes I can understand: they were probably picked in their prime (as opposed to picked when under-ripe in order to take into account the travelling time) and they are a delicate item that can be easily bruised. But the carrots? I was a bit disappointed by that. It's one of the vegetables that is supposed to last a while.

Other than these minor outliers, I was pretty impressed by the quality of the produce, particularly the apples. I have never tasted such wonderfully flavoured apples! You know how some supermarket apples can taste bland and watery? Not these beauties. With each bite of these apples (both red and green) you are tasting the full flavour spectrum of the fruit - it was as though I was tasting apples for the first time! That is not surprising - Hillview Farm sources apples from the orchards in Bilpin, which is well known for growing them. Where have you been all my life, Bilpin apples?

My ode to apples aside, let's weigh up the pros and cons of ordering from Hillview Farm.

Pros
As I already said earlier, during these troubled times (I am not only talking about COVID19, I am also talking about the recent bush fires which have devastated parts of the State and affected many farmers), it is particularly nice to know that you can contribute to local farmers by making certain purchasing choices.

Sourcing food locally also reduces our environmental impact, as produce don't need to travel long distances by truck, or by airfreight. I also appreciate the natural approach Hillview Farm takes to growing their produce, which, if not better for your health, is certainly better for the environment.

Let's also not forget that this is pretty convenient: a delivery service such as this would be particularly important to the vulnerable members of our society who cannot go out to brave the supermarkets. I think it would make a wonderful gift to the elderly people or the immuno-compromised people in our lives; and the less people are out and about right now, the better for everyone.

Fruits and vegetables are not the only things Hillview Farm is delivering at the moment: they also deliver milk, eggs, bread from Brickfield bakery, jams, herbs and other pantry items.

If you are ordering one of the seasonal boxes, I do think the prices are not prohibitive. You get a lot for what you pay. To further sweeten the deal, if you order above $50, delivery is free.

Last but not least, for those who don't always think to eat fruits and vegetables, this might be a way to "force" you to get more greens into your diet in an attempt to get through all the goodies - and that can only be a good thing, right?

Cons
Knowing I'm about to get a huge load of fruits and vegetables, I planned properly and started researching vegetarian and vegan recipes in anticipation, so that I would not be in a situation where I have all these fruits and vegetables and yet have no idea what to do with them. If you do not plan, I can imagine how having such a large quantity of perishable produce land on your doorstep at once might lead to food waste, and that would be very counter-productive.

Despite saying the prices are comparable to supermarkets, I also realise that ordering food delivery service is a real luxury in which not everybody can partake. Receiving "good value for money" isn't quite the point here - at times of economic uncertainty, I am mindful that there are people who may not be able to afford to drop $50+ at once on fruits and vegetables. Ironically, the most vulnerable members of our society right now might also be those least able to afford such luxuries.

Whilst I think locally-sourced, sustainably-farmed produce is the better option for the environment, if I'm thinking about myself as an individual and not the long-term big picture, I might be increasing my environmental footprint because I am getting food that's been delivered to me by truck; whereas my normal practice would be to walk to my local green grocer / supermarket, and pick up food that the store had already stocked.

Balancing the pros and cons, I think that Hillview Farm is a very good enterprise. It has really inspired me to think about the purchasing choices I make. When COVID19 is over, I hope I can find a walking-distance farmers market where I can continue to support local farmers without the need for a truck to bring these produce to me.

In the meantime, if you are interested in Hillview Farm, the following link will give you 20% off your first order. Full disclosure: I am not sponsored (haha, I wish my food blog had that much pull!) but I do get $10 if you order through the link. It's a general reward that's available to any Hillview Farm account holder.

http://i.refs.cc/rs65nPjL?smile_ref=eyJzbWlsZV9zb3VyY2UiOiJzbWlsZV91aSIsInNtaWxlX21lZGl1bSI6IiIsInNtaWxlX2NhbXBhaWduIjoicmVmZXJyYWxfcHJvZ3JhbSIsInNtaWxlX2N1c3RvbWVyX2lkIjo0NzY2Njc5ODl9