It is CSA sign up time again, and several area farms are taking applications. Click this link to go to a list of local CSA's. http://www.lowcountrylocalfirst.org/program/Community_Supported_Agriculture.php
CSA stands for "Community Supported Agriculture", and it is a concept rapidly growing in popularity across the nation. A farmer plants a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and sells shares of the harvest for a lump sum paid up front. The shareholder shares both the risks and the rewards - if it's a good season, their weekly boxes are fuller, and if it's a poor season, there is less. The advantage for the shareholder is a variety of extremely fresh produce delivered to a central pick-up point every week, and the advantage to the farmer is knowing their crops are sold and getting their money up front to help cover their costs when the majority of them occur.
It is important to be comfortable with the farm you select, and also with their growing methods - conventional, organic or somewhere in between. I will tell you about my personal experience with a CSA a couple of years ago. The grower wasn't certified organic, but was committed to using chemicals only when absolutely necessary, and then using the safest and smallest amount. During the time I was a shareholder, she only had to do so once, and immediately notified all the shareholders of what had been treated. I was very pleased with my experience, but unfortunately the grower moved to another farm out of the area.
My daughter and I went together to purchase one share, which entitled us to a box each week for 13 weeks with an assortment of fruits, vegetables, herbs and sometimes even flowers. There were some things that we had never heard of, much less eaten, but the grower had that covered - a recipe book was included with our first delivery. We were already fairly adventurous eaters, but this really pushed us out of our comfort zone and encouraged us to incorporate a larger variety of veggies in our meals. In the end, we ended up with some new favorites.
It can seem a bit pricey going in, but we definitely saw a difference in our weekly grocery bills, and ended up saving money in the end. A great way to test it out is to split the cost and the bounty with a friend or two. It can also be fun to take turns preparing different recipes and letting others sample them.
The downside to getting these weekly deliveries is when it is finished. Kayte and I had gotten so used to fresh-picked produce that we struggled to adjust back to supermarket groceries - it's just not the same! We have once again signed up for a CSA and are looking forward to getting our first delivery next month. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
CSA's are a great way to save money and get a variety of fruits and vegi's. I would also suggest buying meats directly from the farm. A lot of the supermarket meats are shipped long distances and have preservatives added to keep them fresh or to tenderize the meat. Buying either from a farmers market or direct from the farm may be healthier in the long term and you can usually buy in bulk thus saving lots of money. You also support your local economy by buying from local farmers. There are lots of good reasons to buy your food direct. I think most of the food tastes better too, but that's just my two cents worth.
ReplyDelete