choosing a CSA

last year we wanted to get in on a CSA for our summer produce, but because we were totally inexperienced, we waited too long and all of the local farms i was interested in filled up. boo! this year, however, we are much more on the ball. tomorrow there is going to be a “CSA open house” nearby, so we’re going to go scope the wares and see if we can pick a place. anyone have any good advice or tips?

5 comments

  1. I am a member of a CSA here in Seattle. There are so many here! I finally narrowed it down by companies that were all organic, had drop-offs near my home, and had websites that allowed me to modify my box contents.
    So, here’s what I suggest to look for in a CSA:
    1) All organic
    2) Emphasis on local produce
    3) Responsible company (e.g. my CSA uses biodiesel in their tractors)
    4) Ability to modify your box contents each week
    Best of luck! Keep us posted.

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  2. My advice is be ready to cook a lot of unfamiliar vegetables. Baby Bok Choy for instance is a new favorite for me, but I didn’t initially know what to do with it. We had a bumper crop of kale – I still don’t know what to do with that. I think it really helped to split a box with someone. That way I could experiment with the idea and I had a person ready to take my food when I was out of town.

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  3. river, CSA stands for community-supported agriculture, and basically it’s a way for you to get fresh produce from a local farm for approximately 20-26 weeks (depending on the farm). usually you can pick it up each week from a store or house in your area, and you get a variety of produce all summer long. most CSAs are organic, and all are obviously local, so it’s a nice way to get tasty good produce and support your local farms! 🙂
    billy, ari, and timbu, thanks for the insight! we got lucky and found what we hope is a great CSA today, and i’ll post about that soon. i’m totally excited!

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choosing a CSA

last year we wanted to get in on a CSA for our summer produce, but because we were totally inexperienced, we waited too long and all of the local farms i was interested in filled up. boo! this year, however, we are much more on the ball. tomorrow there is going to be a “CSA open house” nearby, so we’re going to go scope the wares and see if we can pick a place. anyone have any good advice or tips?

4 comments

  1. So cool you’re doing this, you’ll love it! We chose a CSA that has a pickup spot very near our apartment. That way pickup is really easy and quick, and we can bike or even walk to it – which we would more often, if we weren’t so lazy. Also, some CSAs have a winter session, which sounds soooo cool. We really miss ours in the winter.
    You might also want to ask the farms about their use of animals and animal products, and their environmental impact. Some farms use animal labor, or they might keep bees or sheep or cows or chickens or somebody. And not all of them are organic…

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