Customer Testimonials
Nice things that nice people say about us
Sometimes when we are working 16-18 hours a day in the heat of summer at the peak of our busiest time it′s easy to get discouraged. These are usually the times when we receive the sweetest emails from our customers who we love so much.
These emails exhort us, they lift us up and remind us why we are doing what we do. It makes everything worthwhile. We also print these emails and share them with our employees.
Yelp Review #1
There are limited options in Middle TN when looking for a great way to go local with your food shopping.
I have been a CSA Member with Avalon Acres for 2.5 years now, and we have been very impressed with the variety, selection and most importantly, the quality of the food and the service.
The summer CSA program which runs for about 6 months, provides a weekly bevy of fresh produce as a standard share, with the options of adding meat, eggs, baked goods, pastas, canned items, honey as you like. The produce is seasonal, of course, and you will see a rainbow of vegetables each week and throughout the season. It is a weekly surprise which broadens the meal planning horizons in our house. Some notable new vegetables we had the opportunity to try last summer- garlic scapes, icicle radishes, zebra tomatoes, rainbow swiss chard and more unusual and delicious greens than I can name.
The meat options are chicken, beef and pork of all cuts, and while more expensive than your neighborhood grocery store, the taste and nutrition quality is superb because of the free range, pasture fed practices.
The Winter CSA program provides a twice monthly delivery of winter produce- sweet potatoes, winter squashes, pumpkins- as well as canned, frozen produce from the previous season. Handmade pastas, jams, pickles and other goods round out the harvest package. You can also still get meat and eggs in the same variety as the summer program.
Having the opportunity to meet Tim and Jennifer Bodnar, the proprietors of the Avalon Acres family of farmers was a great experience as well. They are passionate about healthy, quality food practices and really helping to support the farmers of middle TN by getting their goods to eager consumers. The farm blog and recipe blog offer ways to prepare the goods each week, and participants can offer their new creations as well. They host a day on the farm, near the end of the season, for a chance to meet farmers, see the animals, and learn and appreciate where your food is really coming from.
We will continue to sign up every season.
Yelp Review #2
If you live in Nashville, and like to make your own food, you have no excuse not to join.
I′ve been using Avalon Acres for 3 years now. The reason I like it is because it allows me to get a variety of fresh produce, eggs and meats on a weekly basis for a great price without having to schlep all the way to the Farmer′s Market. As I like to cook, it also provides a challenge as you never know what you are going to get in your box. I always get excited when I get the box home and open it up - waiting to see what cool fruits and veggies I get and what I should do with them. Of course, it can be a drawback too, as you may get some produce that you may have a challenge in using before the next week. One awesome piece of advice a friend gave me was to process the contents as soon as it is opened, freeze or can whatever you aren′t going to use immediately in that week′s recipes - making freezer space or getting a standalone freezer is a must. I also found using a CSA was very helpful when it came to making fresh baby food for our son when he was a peanut.
They grow their veggies using sustainable practices and there is no middle-man, it comes straight from the farm to your house. They actually supply produce, meats and eggs to local high-end restaurants all over town. The eggs come from free-range chickens, they actually faced a big hit when the floods hit back in May 2010. Their meats primarily come from Amish producers, they are free of antibiotics, hormones and artificial ingredients in the production of their meat products. By supporting this CSA, you′re helping to support 40 small family farms around TN.
The people that run it are very nice and friendly; I strongly encourage you to make friends with the delivery driver. They will let you know the ′inside scoop′ on what is new that week.
Every Friday they send out an email blast that lets you choose additional items that are seasonal specials, like canned goods, honey, preserves, meats and sausages. They also let you customize your package if you eschew certain foods like eggs or specific meat products. Also during the fall, you can opt in to get some amazing turkeys - some of the best turkeys I′ve ever made.
The pricing is excellent and varied, for example, we get 1/4 bushel of assorted produce, dozen eggs, and a meat portion (could be ground beef, chicken thighs/legs, short ribs, whole chickens, steaks) for $34.50. Not bad! You also get a deal up front if you pay for the year in advance; but despite the way you pay, you are signing up to pick up every week, regardless of whether or not you will be in town.
I once went to a tasting dinner where Alan Benton, the greatest producer of quality bacon, once told everyone that all of the pigs that he sourced roamed free and ate great-quality feed; not because he gave a damn about the pigs, but treating livestock well resulted in a higher-quality product. That sums up my feelings on Avalon Acres.
Avalon Acres is the best! This is my 6th season of getting food from them, and the 4th season they have delivered here at my office. The food just keeps getting better and better every year. I was a member of another CSA in the past, and their food didn′t come close to the variety and freshness of Avalon Acres foods. I love the fact that we can get our fruits and veggies as well as meats and eggs and Amish baked goods and other area specialties all delivered to my office. It makes me feel good to know that the food I′m eating doesn′t contain extra chemicals, hormones or antibiotics, plus it simply tastes better. There′s rarely a problem with a delivery, but when there is, they go above and beyond to make it right. Sign up and you′ll never regret it!
Donna Edmonds @ Manager, Music Programming Scheduling CMT, An MTV Network
A huge thank you to everyone at Avalon Acres! Your program surpassed all of my expectations for what a CSA should be. You have a great variety of products, everything was very fresh, clean and well packaged and the drivers were wonderful. I appreciated their professionalism and enjoyed getting to know them each week. This is a great way to support local businesses and a convenient option for getting natural meat and produce. I would highly recommend Avalon Acres to anyone considering a CSA farm.
Shauna McCulley @ The Lampo Group, Inc./Dave Ramsey
Just want to tell you how much I have enjoyed being part of your CSA the past couple of years. Not only is it convenient to have the food delivered to our offices but I also feel blessed by each box I have received. The quality of the product is outstanding and I have had the opportunity to enjoy vegetables I would never have thought of purchasing at the supermarket. Many times after receiving an order during preparation of the vegetables, I have had fond memories of sitting on my great-grandmother′s porch shelling peas, preparing green beans, etc. There is such a difference in farm raised meats and produce that I am going organic with my in-store purchases too. Getting to know the two of you through Tim′s writings and through your wonderful fall gathering has been an added blessing in addition to the excellent food! God Bless you as you continue to follow his destiny for your lives!
Cheryl Lindsey
The harvest season of 2008 was our first experience with the folks at Avalon Acres. In February of 2009, my family was still enjoying the fresh strawberry preserves we put up in the prior spring, thanks largely to the deliveries by Avalon. The berries just happened to be the best any of us had ever tasted. And throughout the harvest, my wife and three teenagers were surprised weekly by fresh veggies, some we′d never tasted before. The green beans, in particular, were incredible. We will definitely be participating again! As wonderful as the shared-harvest experience was, we cannot say enough about the two turkeys we ordered from Avalon for Thanksgiving. My bride and I have had the privilege of hosting two-dozen-plus family members for the past 15 Thanksgivings. Included in our gathering are four octogenarians, all of whom have been eating turkey since the 1930s. One trained at that fancy French cooking school in Paris, with further education at American Culinary Institute. She was early to state what we heard from everyone on that day: "THAT is the BEST turkey I′ve ever tasted. Let me try some more! Golly, that is GOOD!"
Mark B.
We celebrated Thanksgiving Saturday. Deep fried our turkey, and IT WAS THE BEST WE EVER EVER HAD!!!!!!!!!!!!! No more "store bought" turkeys for us. Our hen was moist, delectable, with so much natural taste, need I say......we pigged out....even our four cats had their turkey dinner (with stuffing and the best gravy I ever tasted (husband made the gravy this year). And they are "picky snickeys".
Very very well worth every penny we spent. My husband and I are now converted from now on to organic, natural meats. We will be trying out your other fowl and meats very soon.THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for your excellent product and your personal service. Hope you and your family and all of your hard working crew there at Avalon Acres have a joyous and safe holiday season.Sincerely and happily stuffed with turkey, Joan and Kevin
Hello, Jennifer and Tim,
We are the ones who owe grateful thanks to you and to everyone who works with you for the wonderful food you send us; for your good husbanding of the land; for your humane treatment of your animals; for your unending hard work; for allowing us, through you, to be more connected to the beautiful planet we live on.
May you have continued success with the work to which you have been called.
Love, BJ
I could not think of any other farm to buy such awesome food from, every single person I have dealt with have been super nice, and willing to answer any of my questions, and if they didn′t know, were polite enough to say they didn′t know the answer but would get it, or would refer me to who could help me. The food rocks, and so do all the staff at Avalon Acres! I get so excited about my boxes each week, and enjoy every bite knowing from the vine to my plate it was all love! Looking forward to winter box now! Thank you so much Angel!
Jen
Being a part of Avalon′s Acres bountiful harvest was such a great experience for us as a company. We had several people sign up and even split shares between them. Some of us joined because we care about sustainable agriculture or local food, and some of us just liked the idea of having food delivered to work! "Veggie Day" was a big excitement every week as we anticipated whether we would get another basket of strawberries or big plump tomatoes and then send a mass email saying, "The veggies are here!" It fostered a sense of community between us as we discussed the interesting vegetables; swapped the ones we didn′t like for others and shared recipes for foods that were new to us. People would even bring in dishes to show their tasty cabbage recipes! I would highly recommend signing up as a group for the flexibility it brings, as well as the convenience of having farm-fresh food (including meat and baked goods) delivered right to you at work!
Beth Eichelberger @ Siloam Family Health Center
Dear Tim and Jen and all your angel helpers,
I just saw for the first time the video of the flood that you posted on the blog. I was really just trying to figure out what some of this stuff was in my box, like the alien green thing that looks like a miniature head of medusa, and the strange flat lettuce type thing that I’m pretty sure I need to cook after I tried to eat it raw in a salad. All joking aside, I have tears rolling down my face after your video and thinking about you and how strong you are. This is our third season. I thought you had a rough start at the beginning of last year’s Summer Season! I have brought my little girls to your customer picnic the last two Autumns. We crossed your little trickle of stream in the path of the driveway to visit the llamas and hens so recently. I didn’t know at first what I was looking at in the video. When you panned across that river and I saw your dog, my breath was taken away as I realized that was your front yard. I can’t imagine what you both were thinking as you were taking that video. Then you zoomed in on the pigs. I wouldn’t have wanted to be one of those pigs – I can tell you that!
God bless you and all you do. I don’t know how you find the energy. I tell everyone who will listen about Avalon Acres. Somehow you manage to miss only one delivery after all that. I am in awe. We happily share in the risk, as we so heartily benefit from the abundance most of the time. Please keep it up and don’t ever give up; you and all your angels and fellow farmers.
Your faithful customer, Suzanne