This post was originally written 7/19/09. Since then, L.A.’s lost one CSA program but added two new ones. Eat local in 2010!

Thanks to the growing interest in local, organic food, Angelenos can suddenly pick from a wealth of community supported agriculture programs with locations all over the metropolis. CSA programs basically let you invest in a local farm — for which you’re rewarded with weekly boxes of fresh local produce grown from that farm.

Some of the programs below have stretched that definition of the CSA a bit, to pool produce from more than one organic local farm, for example. Still, the general goal — to connect you to local, seasonal produce and the farms and farmers around you — remains the same. Your options:

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Last year, I wrote about 8 community supported agriculture (CSA) programs in the Los Angeles area that let you pick up a box full of locally grown organic veggies on the cheap every week. One of those programs since ended — but two more have sprung up! The new CSA programs to consider:

Napa Valley Grille (PDF)
Cost: Roughly $35 a week for a box enough to feed two for a week.
Pick-up location: Westwood

This brand new CSA program’s run by Chef Joseph Gillard of eco-minded restaurant Napa Valley Grille in Westwood, where CSA members will need to pick up their boxes every Wednesday. The produce, grown by organic standards, comes from Country Fresh Herbs’s two farms in Tarzana and Somis. You will need to pay up front: $520 per thirteen-week season ($455 for winter) — or $1900 for the whole year. An extra bonus for this CSA’s members: A seasonal farm dinner will be held for all participants at the farm and Napa Valley Grille! (via Vital Juice)

Farm Fresh to You
Cost: $31.50 for a box enough for “4 people or a couple that enjoys cooking.”
Pick-up location: Delivered to doorsteps all over the L.A. area!

Don’t have the time — or don’t want to drive — to pick you your CSA box? Farm Fresh to You will deliver to your door local produce picked within less than 48 hours — if you’re willing to expand your definition of local produce to include those grown 90 miles northeast of San Francisco in Capay Valley. The produce comes from such various and far away farms that this program toes the line between a CSA program and a less farm-specific organic produce delivery service.

Still, customers can select the “Capay Valley Organic Service,” and all your produce will come from farms in Capay Organic Valley. You also have the option of going for the “Regular Organic Service” for more variety — but then some of your produce will be sourced from even farther away — including from farms outside California. The flexible program lets you opt for veggies only, fruits only, or bigger boxes.
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I’ll soon update my original post about CSA programs in Los Angeles so you can have all the current CSA info in one place! Know one I missed? Let me know now –

Update, 2/25/10: As promised, Locavoring in a box: Organic CSAs in Los Angeles has now been updated with the new CSAs, latest prices, and added locations.

Photo of South Central Farmers CSA box contents by Dave Bullock (eecue)

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The mood at the west coast premier of The Yes Men Fix the World in Los Angeles last night was jubilant! Angelenos who turned out for the free screening enjoyed happy hour at the Hammer museum while dancing with two Survivaballs bouncing around the courtyard — before heading in to see the film about performance-activists playing high-profile pranks for socially progressive causes.

And the film didn’t disappoint. The Yes Men Fix the World kicks off with the pranksters impersonating a Dow Chemical spokesperson — on the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster, when thousands died from a chemical leak created by the now-Dow-owned Union Carbide. The “spokesperson” announced to millions of viewers that Dow would liquidate Union Carbide’s assets and pay out $12 billion to compensate the victims and clean up the environmental mess still in Bhopal:

Thanks to that hijinks, Dow’s stock took a $2 billion hit. And while many environmentalists must have been happy to see Dow’s stock price go down, The Yes Men decided that the reason Dow doesn’t do right by the people Bhopal is because the company gets punished for doing good. The rules of the game had to change — so The Yes Men started going after the government.

You’ve probably seen some of The Yes Men’s recent tricks towards that end, since the pranksters have both successfully impersonated the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and chased down Senator Arlen Specter in the last week or so. The Yes Men Fix the World covers some similar pranks — including impersonating of a U.S. Housing and Urban Development official at the Gulf Coast Reconstruction Conference, distributing fake, more hopeful copies of The New York Times, and more.

While the film’s hilarious, The Yes Men’s message is serious. During the post-screening Q&A, Yes Man Andy Bichlbaum urged that we, as concerned citizens, need to start taking to the streets, Earth Days style. Obama’s getting a lot of industry pressure to do the wrong thing, Andy pointed out, and he needs pressure from us to support better decisions, whether it’s for health care reform or climate change legislation.

Towards that end, The Yes Men are behind BeyondTalk.net, a website that lets you sign up to take direct, nonviolent action — even risking arrest — during the Copenhagen Climate Talks this December.

Are you ready to go beyond talk? The Yes Men Fix the World will start playing in L.A. at two Laemmle theaters on Nov. 6.

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For a relatively pedestrian-friendly ‘hood, Westwood’s got some ‘tard-y shit going on. First, the ‘hood got called out for its ridiculous 275-feet-long bike lane. And now, BikingInLA points out that a Westwood pedestrian crosswalk’s marked with a no crossing sign (via Streetsblog LA). WTF?!

BikingInLA calls this abhorrence “the world’s first crosswalk where no pedestrians are allowed — despite the presence of a working pedestrian signal.” How do Bruins deal with these confusing messages?

Earlier: DOT Wants to Remove Crosswalks to Protect Pedestrians.

Update: Thanks to the work of Damien at Streetsblog LA, the offending no pedestrian sign has now been removed.

Photo via BikingInLA

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The people at SlateV have found the stupidest bike lane in the US. And guess what — It’s in Los Angeles! (via Earthfirst)

More specifically, this lane’s on Gayley in Westwood — and runs just 275 feet long!

Yes, this bike lane’s stupid, but surely there are stupider ones even in L.A. alone?

My main beef with bike routes, however, have to do with bike paths, not lanes. Just putting a lil sign that says “share the road” does not make make the crazy freeway-bound traffic on Lincoln safe to ride in!

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Question: I am possibly re-locating to West Los Angeles (West Hollywood) shortly. I was wondering if you could tell me your top picks of food stores and restaurants/cafés in the area around West Hollywood/Beverly Hills? Thanks for your support and help. Erik, London

Answer: I’m happy to recommend restaurants you might possibly patronize. But first, as a native, I feel duty-bound to inform you that west L.A.’s not the same area as West Hollywood. The latter is its own city, perhaps best known for its friendly gay population and the home of the recent protests against Prop 8. West Hollywood has its own cops, its own recycling system, and its own gigantic Whole Foods.

West L.A., on the other hand, is a rather amorphous area of the city of Los Angeles that I generally think of as the area right around Beverly Hills (also its own city), but also serves as a catch-all descriptor for any in-between ‘hoods section of L.A. west of Fairfax (for ex, the section between Westwood and Santa Monica).

That 2-paragraph layout of the west side will make sense to you once you move here, unless you’re my friend Summer, who’s lived in Santa Monica for 3 years but still isn’t quite sure where Westwood is (why leave the beach when you don’t have to?).

Anyway, lemme move on to your actual question about good eats. Here are my recommendations:

For fast food, try Native Foods, a yummy vegan joint in Westwood or O! Burger, an all-organic burger place in West Hollywood (left).

For an order at the counter, stake out a table kind of place, try Urth Caffe in Beverly Hills or West Hollywood, or the newer Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop (right) in Beverly Hills if you’d like wine or beer.

For a casual sit down meal, go to The Abbey in West Hollywood or Le Pain Quotidien in Beverly Hills, Westwood, or West Hollywood.

Readers — Have other recommendations for Eric? Leave them in the comments —

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>> Friends of the LA River’s RioFest 2008 happens Oct. 4! $50 gets you a ticket, including dinner and drinks at this Biergarten with bratwurst and tacos. Support the revitalization of the LA River while learning about The City of Munich’s revitalization of the Isar River.

>> The Natural History Museum of LA County apparently has a new green series, dubbed Sustainable Sundays. The next event — though the website hasn’t been updated with the info yet — is a talk titled “The Power to Sustain: The Scientific Challenges in Sustainable Energy,” featuring CalTech’s Dr. Nathan Lewis along with reps from LA DWP and American Chemical Society. That’s happening Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008, 12:30 pm at NHM, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles. (Thanks for the tip, Siobhan!)

>> Santa Monica nonprofit Sustainable Works — known for its inexpensive Residential Greening Program and Green Business Certification — is having its first ever fundraiser with beer and wine, organic and local eatas, KCRW DJ Anthony Valadez, an eco-auction, and an awards ceremony. That happens Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008, from 6 pm – 11 pm at Bergamot Station Arts Center: Writers Boot Camp, 2525 Michigan Ave., Bldg. I. Cost: A tax-deductible $75, which includes a Sustainable Works Annual Membership — the benefits of which are unclear. Buy them in advance by emailing harrison_lisa@smc.edu.

>> Bike Town Beta happens Saturday, October 25 from 6 pm – 10 pm in Westwood Village, Los Angeles!

>> Green Speed Dating in Culver City happens Sunday, Oct. 26!

>> The Disney Go Green! National Day of Action, organized by Center for Health, Environment & Justice, will urge Disney parks, hotels, and restaurants to use green cleaning products — by encouraging people to throw “parties” during which people make green products. I seriously question whether this tactic will be popular or effective, but in any case, the action day’s Oct. 29.

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Do you dream of life in a bicycle-centric city? You can have it in Westwood — if by “life” one means 4 hours and by “city,” 6 blocks or so. Here’s what’s coming to LA in a month:

Bike Town Beta is a unique bike ride and social gathering. We will be transforming a small urban area into a mini bike town for a night. Simply ride your bike around the area meandering up and down every street. Make stops to patronize businesses, enjoy parks, and chat with other riders.

When: Saturday, October 25, 2008 from 6 pm – 10 pm
Where: In the area bound by Wilshire, Galey, Westwood, and Le Conte in Westwood Village, Los Angeles

I’m trying to get more details from Alec Schwartz, the organizer, about how this first — and hopefully not last — Bike Town Beta is coming together. In the meantime, put the event in your calendar!

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