Name of business: Nourish Farm

Type of business: Local produce farmstead

Location: 952 9th St., Turlock

Contact information: 209-535-6282

Specialty: Ecologically-grown, weekly produce boxes

History of business:

Turlock siblings Nicole Trujillo and Kala Humphres set out this year to start a local produce farm that would accomplish three things: nourish the land through regenerative farming, nourish the community by offering fresh, seasonal produce and nourish themselves through the hard, yet therapeutic, work of caring for their own soil and harvesting homegrown fruits and vegetables. Fittingly, Nourish Farm was born, giving local families the chance to eat and cook with produce grown right in their hometown.

The sister-owned farm, located on Trujillo’s Turlock property, operates based on a mutual commitment and understanding between the farmers and farm members known as Community Supported Agriculture. Nurture Farm’s CSA Program gives members the chance to pick up a weekly box of fresh-picked produce from the farm, providing up front payment that in turn funds the farm’s purchase of seeds, supplies, tools and more.

While there are only a small number of local farms that offer weekly produce boxes through a CSA Program, the service is beginning to catch on in towns and cities around the country.

“I think a lot of it has to do with the movement of people wanting to know where their food is coming from,” Trujillo said. “There’s a comfort in being able to go and pick up a box of produce and not worrying about going to the store to buy stuff and having to make a grocery list.”

There’s excitement, too, she added. For example, a customer might not be familiar with how to use radishes in a dish, but receiving a produce box with that particular veggie inside may inspire them to try something new. Since the boxes are also seasonal, what the customer gets depends on what’s growing in the garden at that time.

Earlier spring boxes will see a lot of leafy greens, like lettuce and kale, and plenty of herbs, while boxes in the summer may see more varieties of squash and tomatoes. Additionally, there are options throughout the season for customers to add pastured lamb raised at Nourish Farm itself, or pastured eggs and meat from local partners.

“What’s nice about this area is we have a really long growing season,” she said. “A lot of people don’t know what produce grows during what season, and eating this way with the boxes, you really learn.”

Nourish Farms’ philosophy is to run things in their garden as similar to the natural process as possible, meaning that instead of tilling their soil, they continuously add compost and organic matter to it. This allows for better water retention, fewer weeds, healthier plants and, in turn, more nutrient-dense produce that goes straight from the farm to the table.

“You’re getting your box the day we pick it — it’s not on a truck or a boat for two weeks and it’s picked at its peak ripeness,” Trujillo said.

Currently, there are eight families in Nourish Farm’s CSA Program. There are still two more slots available for the spring/summer boxes, which can come in “full share” size for a family of four, or a “half share” size for couples or singles. There are also fall boxes available for preorder. For more information, follow Nourish Farm on Instagram, @nourishfarmturlock, or visit their website, www.nourishfarmturlock.com.