6 Reasons To Sign Up For Your Local CSA
If you’re looking for one of the easiest, most cost effective ways to enjoy diverse, local, in-season, high-quality food… all while supporting your local community, then you may want to consider joining a local CSA.
What exactly is a CSA?
CSA (also sometimes called a “crop share”) stands for Community Supported Agriculture. The process allows farmers to sell shares of their harvest to customers in advance of the growing season. In exchange, customers receive boxes of produce periodically (typically on a weekly or sometimes bi-weekly basis) throughout the growing season. This system allows farmers to receive income before the start of the season, when expenses are high, and in turn ensures customers have a consistent and reliable source of local produce all season long.
The contents of a CSA box can vary greatly from farm to farm. Some include only fruits and veggies, while others may also include meats, eggs, or dairy as well. I’ve even been a part of one that offered fresh flowers as an add-on option! Be sure to spend a little time looking at your CSA options from different farms so you can choose the one that’s the best fit for you and your family.
6 Benefits of signing up for a CSA
1. A CSA Can Save You Money
For much of what you receive in your weekly box, the price per pound is cheaper than what you’d pay at your grocery store, especially for organic produce. If you’re wondering if the cost of a CSA will pay off for your family, take the cost of the CSA you are considering and divide it by the number of weeks your “membership” lasts. Compare that to the price you’re currently paying for produce from the store on a weekly basis.
Be aware that you should prepare to receive a lot of produce with a CSA! It’s often more than you were expecting. So while a head of lettuce, for example, may cost about the same through a CSA versus the grocery store, the one you’ll get from your farm will most likely be quite a bit bigger!! And the bag of carrots or brussels sprouts you’d get can very well be more than you’d normally find. Sometimes this means having extra produce that lasts a little longer that just a week, depending on how many people are in your family or how quickly certain things get eaten. But don’t worry, you can always share your extras with friend or family, or consider preserving some extras via canning, freezing, or even making jams and other canned goods.
With some farms, the sooner you buy your share the cheaper the price will be, so planning on getting in on a share early can save you even more.
Just a few examples of our Summer crop shares!
2. There Are Different Sized Shares
Most farms offer at least a couple of different sized “shares” (your box of goodies!) so you can choose the best size that works for your family. Smaller shares may feed 2-3 people, while larger ones may feed up to 5 or 6, for example. Going in on one share with another household can be a great way to make sure everything gets eaten while also saving even more money by splitting the cost.
With different sizing options, it’s even easier to make a CSA work for you.
3. You’ll Receive The Freshest Food Possible
Next to growing your own food, a CSA box or farmer’s market is the best way to make sure you’re getting the freshest food possible.
The produce from grocery stores is often picked weeks before it ever reaches store shelves. However, your local farmers pick their produce as close to their box drop-off days as possible. Often, this is only one day before it makes it to your kitchen! This means your food will have as long as possible to grow and reach its full potential - including maximum nutrient content AND flavor!
This is how many carrots were left after our 5 minute drive home from picking up our share! The kids couldn’t resist the fresh-picked carrots from that week’s CSA box.
4. It Gives You Opportunities to Try New Foods
The beauty of joining a crop share is that you truly do get whatever is in season and ready to be harvested from week to week.
Sometimes this means you get lots of familiar favorites like strawberries, carrots, cabbage & spring mix. Other times, you’ll get funny looking, sometimes alien-like foods you’ve never seen before, like garlic scapes, fiddlehead ferns, key lime cucumbers, and pink and purple potatoes!
New foods in your box means you get an opportunity to try out new foods, and challenges you to get creative in the kitchen. You may just find a new favorite!
5. You’re Supporting A Local Farm
Buying directly from a farm near you means you’re supporting your local community and the farmers who call your state home! It also helps farmers plan more effectively for the upcoming season.
At the same time, you’re supporting the environment. Foods that don’t have to travel to get delivered to grocery stores across the country don’t require as much fuel to get them where they need to go, which means a reduction in fuel emissions too.
6. You Have A Direct Connection to Your Food Source
When was the last time you got to talk to the people who actually grew & raised your food? When you buy directly from a farm, you’re able to reach out and personally connect with the people responsible for the food on your dinner plate. You might even have opportunities to visit the farm, and some even have volunteer opportunities available.
Any questions you may have, you are able to ask them. This includes things like “what should I do with this strange looking veggie in my box this week?”. Your farmers are more than happy to give you suggestions and offer you some recipe ideas. You may even get a weekly newsletter with a little summary of what’s in your box and the best ways to use it.
Curious where to find a CSA near you? Local Harvest is a great place to get started! You can also check out your local farmer’s market to find out which farms offer CSA options.
Most farms open sign-ups for the year’s shares around late winter/early spring, and some do fill up their slots quickly - so be sure to set yourself a reminder if you want to get on their list.
