thoughtful thursday: the CSA

this week's CSA share

We are signed up with Two Small Farms CSA right now; and it's for various reasons.
1) fresh, local, organic produce means the best nutrition for us.
2) supporting local agriculture without paying for the 'middle man' means more income for the farmers and a local economy boost, as well as helping to ensure a continuing source for #1.
3) they actually deliver to our area!
4) the farmers are interesting, genuinely nice people
5) the prices are comparable (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less) to store prices, both large chain stores and our favorite local market,which I will highlight later on :)

For approximately $20 a week (depending how long the season goes) we get a nice big bag of produce. This week we got corn, tomatoes, potatoes, beets, celery, parsnips, chives, and strawberries. In the past we've also received squash, cucumbers, parsley, onions, fennel, and lots of other tasty things that I can't remember right now. :)

all wrapped up for the fridge

This week we are trying out green bags, to see if they work, as even though I do try to eat through everything before the next week our very generous family often brings in MORE food (food=love with us, what can you do?) so we get spoilage, which is awful. We are hoping these bags give us a few more days to eat through all our goodies. :)

When we move (which I will also write about later) I am planning on putting aside a little of our grocery money each month so we can pay for a CSA share up there (mysterious!) on our own, as this is a big way of voting with our wallets to improve community and health, and with just a little bit of preplanning it is definitely doable. Yes, $700+ dollars at once is a big investment, but if you look at it as saving $50 or so each month during the off season it's a lot easier and definitely worth it. That said, we will shop around, not only for pricing but for reviews by customers, because part of this whole enterprise is having a relationship with the farms you are supporting, and if you don't like the farmers, well, it's kind of silly to hand them your money, right?

ok, well, I had to post this really late due to the most bizarre migraine headache ever, but it's up, it's done, moving on to the next one!

happily,
nava