Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

[Mr Kleb]

In early November Faye and I enrolled in and paid a deposit for a bi-weekly winter vegetable box offered by the organic gardener just on the edge of our small town. He offered typical root vegetables - potatoes, onions, garlic, leeks, onion - and other stuff, available through the winter, into possibly April or even May if everything worked out.

It is a version of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA); this version has people subscribing to receive vegetables through a program managed by the farmer.

The boxes are available every other Thursday. The previous evening he sends email describing what will be in the next day's box. Our box two weeks ago contained a bag of spinach, garlic, some leeks, a bunch of kale, a bunch of purple carrots(!), some potatoes, and a kuri squash. Faye made a potato leek soup and a kale-sausage soup. We used the last of the purple carrots in a beef stew.

His email also describes what he's been doing to improve his farm. For example he described how he finished a new way to do hoop tunnels over his raised beds which could help him supply fresh greens through the winter.

At the end of the winter season he will invoice all of his winter box customers the difference between the deposit and his actual cost. After all is said and done we may pay more than if we'd bought everything at grocery stores in the cities 10 and 15 miles away. Yet there are several advantages to buying our produce this way.

It supplements what we grow on our own. We know where our bought vegetables come from. We become more attuned to local markets, to buying produce in season. We support a local business. I'm looking forward to learning what is in tomorrow's box.

Have you heard about CSA?

[zd262]

I have heard about CSAs! My parents did one when I was younger (but I don't remember). I bought one for my sister and BIL for their wedding present!

In major cities CSA's can be rather expensive and since I cook only for myself they don't make a ton of sense. I think that if you cook for more than one person and can be flexible to accommodate a wide array of foods they are AWESOME.

[LucyTudeOn4Feet]

I'm in a CSA for sheep and yarn; haven't tried one for food. I wonder if we have them around here.

[Mr Kleb]

I have heard about CSAs! My parents did one when I was younger (but I don't remember). I bought one for my sister and BIL for their wedding present!

In major cities CSA's can be rather expensive and since I cook only for myself they don't make a ton of sense. I think that if you cook for more than one person and can be flexible to accommodate a wide array of foods they are AWESOME.

It's true that being in a CSA may not make sense for everyone. The farmer suggested, hoped that we would subscribe to his large box; the small box made more sense for the two of us. A cool thing is that a person I work with subscribed, completely independently of us. We discovered our mutual interest and subscribership at work during our morning talk-around, pre-work orientation

I'm in a CSA for sheep and yarn; haven't tried one for food. I wonder if we have them around here.

That's neat, I never considered that there might be one for yarn. While I researched CSA I stumbled across this page, I don't know if any listed farms are in the Tampa Bay area.

[dxboon]

I have been doing a CSA for years. I love it! It's great to eat a variety of seasonal foods that are grown organically and sustainably, while supporting my local farmers. I've also learned how to cook a bunch of vegetables that I never would've thought about eating prior to my involvement with the CSA service.

[janedoe]

Lots of CSA options in our area. We haven't done it though because we buy more than is typical since our dogs eat veg and can't eat certain things or we grow it ourselves. It's a great idea though. We do take advantage of end of season case prices like for butternut squash.

[JC001]

I have heard about CSAs and looked into joining one several years ago since I thought it would be great to get different things each week. The problem was the boxes were too big for one person and either too far to go pick up or the delivery date to my area wasn't convenient so I never signed up. Shopping at the farmers market works best for me.

[Mr Kleb]

I have been doing a CSA for years. I love it! It's great to eat a variety of seasonal foods that are grown organically and sustainably, while supporting my local farmers. I've also learned how to cook a bunch of vegetables that I never would've thought about eating prior to my involvement with the CSA service.

Our first box contained a spaghetti squash. Faye found a slaw type recipe that was quite tasty.

ETA: Just read the email about today's box, which has contains potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, garlic, onion, spinach,
butternut squash.

[Snowshoe]

There is one near us though I did not know it was part of an organization. I have been meaning to look into that, same as you, to supplement what we can't grow ourselves. Do you get a choice about what will be in your box?

[peep_erz]

I am subscribed to a CSA and my family loves it. I've tried 2 different ones. The second one had a better price point and better pick up/drop off days for us but she recently had a family change and is now moving out of state so we switched back to our original one. It is slightly more expensive than buying our produce at the store but I'm willing to pay more for locally grown organic veggies. If you compare the price of organic at the supermarket and the organic CSA it is definitely a better deal to go through CSA though.