I am gone on a retreat/vacation in the middle of nowhere, Massachusetts. While I’m gone, I’m sharing posts from the archives.
This was originally posted September 8, 2008.
Update: After two summers of a traditional CSA, we’ve participated in a week-by-week CSA starting last summer. The pick up is within walking distance, and we pay per week instead of all upfront, which allows us to go on vacation without worrying about who will pick up our share. It’s perfect!
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After spending the morning leaving thoughtful, lengthy, serious comments on a few blogs, I realized I’m worn out and exhausted from all this analyzing, discussing, and being so darn excited and passionate.
It’s tiring, challenging, and disheartening to talk to people who have come to different conclusions than you, no? It’s much easier to think, “I’m right, they’re wrong. Closing my ears to any other opinion. Lalalalalah, I can’t hear you!”
The humility of dialogue brings much more moderation and sustainability than merely surrounding ourselves with people, newspapers, magazines, and blogs that think like we do.
That being said, I think it’s time I tackle another serious topic: CSAs.
Some of you might be thinking: What the heck is a CSA?
Say is with me now: Community supported agriculture is the best thing ever. Ever ever ever.
Here’s basically how it works – you pay a farmer a lump sum at the beginning of the season, in the spring. Ours was $290. Then for several months – ours is 16 weeks – you get a heap of fresh, locally grown, healthy vegetables every week. We’re about 11 weeks into it, and it’s seriously the best decision we made this summer.
Here’s my top Six Awesome Things About CSAs
1. VARIETY! I get to try veggies I wouldn’t normally buy. Like beets. When would I ever buy beets? Never. But now I know if you roast them in the oven with potatoes and green beans, they are slightly sweet and completely delicious!
2. Deliciousness: Fresh, just-picked watermelon is one of the most delicious tastes ever. When the food doesn’t have to travel as far, it’s much more fresh when we, the consumers, get it! (Bonus! That means it takes longer for it to spoil. Truly wonderful for a procrastinating cook like myself.)
3. Support Local Business: When you buy food from the grocery store, the farmer takes a pay cut. When you buy directly – you save and the farmer gets more! Plus, supporting your local economy instead of a generic agribusiness keeps money in your area. Win-win. Except for the Big Guy. Sorry, Big Guy.
4. Meet Your Farmer: Many people don’t think about where their food comes from, especially children. Ask a child where strawberries come from, and they often say “the grocery store!” What a wonderful experience, then, to understand the story of your food. Local food is a handshake deal in a community gathering place. – Barbara Kingsolver
5. Forces Me to be Healthy: Let’s face it, once I have a fridge full of already-paid-for fresh veggies in my fridge, I’m motivated to cook dinner with those instead of ordering pizza. My grocery bill is surprisingly low, because I don’t buy much else besides cereal, soy milk, and cheese!
6. Slash Your Food Miles: The average piece of food travels 1,500 miles to get to your plate (source). Our veggies are grown 50 miles away. That saves a TON of gas transporting our veggies.
Sound good? Then check out Local Harvest for a list of CSAs near you. This season is wrapping up, but try to get signed up for next year! It’s a great value, healthy, delicious, and better for the environment.
I completely agree with everything you wrote here! The amount of veggies we get is sometimes overwhelming, but it forces us to eat so much healthier than we otherwise would. And we are able to put up some of the veggies to eat over winter, so we really save a lot of money buying a share in our CSA.
There are so many veggies that I never would have purchased at the store, but getting them in my big box on pick up day broadened my perspecive! It has been an adventure for my kids too! I couldn’t believe it when they would fight over who got to eat the last beet on the plate!