Ideal Bite

Just checked into my area (NE Pa)... there are a few CSAs (which I wasn't even aware of), but they charge more like $30 a week! Yikes!! None specified that they are organic, either. I think that is quite a lot of money (unless the share is huge). It would be cheaper to go to a farmer's market or grow your own if you can. I so enjoy working in the veggie garden I have. It's a peaceful time... kind of like meditating with your eyes open!

Hi Folks Check out Just Food for the good politics behind the CSA movement.

This would be a good Bite to post in February, which is when most CSAs (at least in the northeast) require you to sign up and join for the year, because you have to pay up front - you're investing in their harvest for the year. Our local CSA is all organic, and comes to about $20 per week, and it is a large share of veggies each week - we love it!

I've been a CSA subscriber for three years now and love it every week. It can be expensive, as Lisa mentioned, but you can split a share with someone. It works out very well for me and my friends. Some CSAs also offer half shares and will knock some of the price off for working on the farm. This week's share included cabbage from a local Mennonite farmer, the first tomatoes and potatoes, green beans, beets, squash, and cucumbers!

We just joined and organic one recently ($20/week) and have loved every minute of it. I prefer it to the farmers market since it broadens our culinary horizons. Kale/collards/chard were already in our diet but we now enjoy kohlrabi! The quality is so superior to anything in the regular grocery store.

Our CSA tells us ahead of time what will be in the box so we can plan meals. In the same newsletter (1 with each box) there are recipes for the things that may not be familiar to some subscribers. As someone who grew up in a strictly iceberg and spinach family, it is a godsend.

Kale is also really good just roasted in the oven for a few minutes. Yum!

and we also get the option of organic free range meat and eggs from neighboring farms.

RE: Evert Fresh Green Bags... Hi all. I work in a CSA in Sebastopol and thanks to the growing awareness about local, sustainable living, our membership is full and we have a waiting list! I just want to say how much I love these Evert-Fresh green bags. They really work and prolong the freshness of veggies and flowers for up to 10 uses. After that it becomes a plastic bag that lasts for years. I have some that are over 5 years old. They are made out of a mineral that absorbs the outgassing from the living food. This prevents the veggies from sitting in a gas chamber. In addition, testing shows the nutritional value is higher in food kept in these bags. Visit their site for the history... come from a cave in Japan where the food didn't spoil as fast! We "sell" these bags at our CSA for our members. You can also find them in Whole Foods in the produce section. I take my green bags and my cloth shopping bag and twist ties to the farm to do my "shopping". I've almost stopped using regular plastic bags in the grocery store by taking my own green bags. Cheers! Suzanne

I've been a member of a CSA now for two years, and its possibly the best thing that has ever happened. I have a half share- I go every other week, and get enough food to last the whole two weeks. At our farm, we have to pick 3 or 4 of the produce available (this week was 3 quarts of strawberries and a quart of snap peas, because the season is just beginning), and then there are veggies at the stand that have been picked by other csa members in the morning before the share- we had beets, several heads of lettuce, a pattypan squash, collards, swiss chard, mixed baby greens, and spinach- a real bounty! Someone mentioned a 30 dollar price tag per week- if you think about it, for the amount you get, you would be paying at least double at the supermarket. (Of course you would have to check with each farm). About organic: My farm happens to not be organic (to do so you have to purchase the label, and what qualifies as organic is really quite loose now that the standards have been lowered). Instead, they commit to not using chemicals, and keeping up a sustainable farm- (for all practical purposes, organic). I would definitely check with the farm you are interested in to see if this is the case. Meanwhile I'm off to have my farm picked breakfast...Eggs, with spinach and yogurt with strawberries.. yum..