Thankful for CSAs
photo credit: Glenn Loos-Austin
This November, as families across the U.S. prepare for the button-popping holiday known as Thanksgiving, a growing number will give thanks for belonging to a CSA. CSAs, short for community supported agriculture, allow consumers to purchase fresh, in-season produce directly from a farm.
This subscription-based arrangement cuts out the middlemen (distributors and grocery stores) and provides a dependable income for the farmers. In return, consumers receive weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly boxes of fruits and vegetables, usually organic and at a better price than what one would pay for comparable produce at the market.
Thankful for a Variety
Growers can also offer a diverse selection of produce, because subscriptions give them a guaranteed market. While a typical grocery store may offer organic apples and tomatoes, a CSA box could also contain difficult-to-find foods such as organic daikon, tomatillos, and chili peppers.
Thankful for the People Who Grow Our Food
CSA members say they also enjoy developing a personal relationship with the people who grow the food they eat. Most CSAs distribute newsletters or have blog detailing their plantings, harvests, and other interesting news on the farm.
Thankful All Year Long
Some CSAs run spring through fall, offering a bounty of seasonal produce. In California, most of the CSAs operate year-round, though members should prepare to get lots of kale and dark greens through the cooler winter months. Thanksgiving can be a real treat because of the amazing sweet potatoes, butternut and acorn squashes, and colorful potato varietals.
In my experience as a member of the Eatwell Farms CSA, summer was my favorite season because of the berry fruits and unusual variety watermelons. In the winter, I have to confess, many of my dark greens went toward making vegetable stock. Still, I appreciated the variety of local, seasonal vegetables it provided the family. Without it, I may have been tempted to buy more than one box of blueberries imported from Argentina in February.
More resources:
Search for a CSA near you:
http://www.localharvest.org/
Eatwell Farm blog:
http://www.eatwellfarm.typepad.com/
Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association:
http://www.biodynamics.com/csa.html
November 20th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
I’ve been seriously considering this option. But I wonder: Is it too late in the year to join a CSA?
I love the idea, but have heard many stories about getting vegetables that are unrecognizable and not knowing what to do–or having to come up with 101 recipes for kale.
However, it makes sense that CSAs need members–to cover the finances of growing the food you’ll benefit from later. And those costs certainly don’t go away when harvest ends.
So…when is the “best” time to join one? And how do you choose the right one for you?
November 24th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
You can join a CSA any time of the year! But personally, I’d recommend doing it in late spring if you are a beginner, so you get used to the rhythm. (Unless you are a real kale fan, in which case, I’d say join now!!!)
Some CSAs let you nix items you especially don’t like, but I think it’s nice to get a healthy variety. Check out Localharvest.org for CSAs that deliver to your area.