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BANG FOR THE BITE
If half of the food 10,000 Biters eat is locally produced, in a year we'll avoid the amount of CO2 produced by almost 1.5 million cars.
COCKTAIL FACT
Our food typically travels 1,500-2,500 miles from farm to plate.
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home › tip library › Community Supported Agriculture
Want just-picked produce without having to do the picking?
The Bite
Easy. Join a CSA (community-supported agriculture) program, where you buy a share in a local farm and receive a variety of produce once a week. You'll get in-season produce without having to pull a single weed.The Benefits
- Delicious fresh produce. If you're too busy to put down the laptop and pick up the hoe, CSAs are the perfect shortcut, and some offer home delivery.
- Less pollution. Only 10% of the fossil fuel energy used to generate food goes into growing it; 90% goes to ads, packaging, and transport.
- Support for local farmers. Small farms are an endangered species due to competition from big factory farms.
- Joining the organic revolution. Many CSAs source food from organic farms.
Personally Speaking
The biggest kick we get out of belonging to a CSA is not knowing what food we're going to get next and trying out the suggested recipes that come with our deliveries - all for about $15 per week.Wanna Try?
- Local Harvest - locate a CSA near you.
- Evert-Fresh Green Bags - keep produce fresher, longer ($6).
Jun 27,2007
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CSAs Helped Me Find Kale
Like Jen, I have a really broad definition for what constitutes cooking. For example: sticking fishsticks in the oven? Counts. Toasting a bagel? Counts.
The first time I ordered a bag of CSA produce, because you don't get to choose exactly what you're gonna get, I was forced to find ways to use vegetables that were completely foreign to my diet. They delivered potatoes that weren't in French fry form. Radishes sans ranch dressing. And kale. Just...kale.
I'd never heard of kale, much less knowingly consumed it. But now it's one of my top-5, desert-island, must-have, favorite vegetables. Braise it in a little olive oil and when you're done, sprinkle nutritional yeast on top. So, so good. Point is, CSAs are great for all the reasons we listed in the tip, but expanding your culinary horizons is a definite benefit, too.
-Toshio...off to make a sandwich (which totally counts as cooking)...
The first time I ordered a bag of CSA produce, because you don't get to choose exactly what you're gonna get, I was forced to find ways to use vegetables that were completely foreign to my diet. They delivered potatoes that weren't in French fry form. Radishes sans ranch dressing. And kale. Just...kale.
I'd never heard of kale, much less knowingly consumed it. But now it's one of my top-5, desert-island, must-have, favorite vegetables. Braise it in a little olive oil and when you're done, sprinkle nutritional yeast on top. So, so good. Point is, CSAs are great for all the reasons we listed in the tip, but expanding your culinary horizons is a definite benefit, too.
-Toshio...off to make a sandwich (which totally counts as cooking)...
Biter Comments...
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..
This seems like a good opportunity if you can get involved. I have been looking for something like this for a while. Unfortunately while there were some in my area in the past, they have all sold out to Agri-business making this area one of the nations largest producers of onions, potatoes and carrots. We have to settle for the local whole foods store, what little Trader Joe's carries and a farmer's market that is held 8 weeks out of the year. The 8 hottest weeks of the year no less. I'll look into this more when the Farmer's Market begins its 2 month run next week but nothing local is listed on the CSA site. Nearest is over 100 miles away. Right now, I just plan on getting my new yard ready for planting once the desert summer is fading.
we acquired some kale from a neighbor who had excess, and i had no idea how to prepare it. other than the olive oil and oven roasted options, can anyone suggest other recipes for the kale?
Kale chips and recipes:
just do a goole on kale recipe and you'll have a wonderful source.
To preserve the excess kale try making some chips...
Pay attention, potato chip-lovers. Baked kale (similar to its cousins spinach & lettuce, but far less popular) is a great swap for chips. We know it sounds weird, but this is a fun snack to munch on while watching TV. Here's what you do. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Wash and cut up a bunch of kale. Toss onto a baking sheet and drizzle with some olive oil. Top with whatever seasonings you like -- Mrs. Dash, salt, pepper, BBQ seasonings -- your call. Bake for 10 minutes. You don't believe us? Try it.
I just got the call that our CSA has been divided up, and 3 of us split a share a week. Its $25 a week and in GA there is a long growing season so we really only had a few weeks off during the coldest part of winter. Today we are getting tomatoes, cukes, potatoes, BLACKBERRIES!!, herbs, squash... who knows? Its truly a culinary adventure! Thank you to all the farmers out there!
You may also want to check out www.doortodoororganics.com They will deliver fresh organic produce to your home or office once a week (in certain parts of the country) They attempt to get as much locally as possible though often my food seems to come from CA (I'm in CO) but it is always organic. Great stuff! You can also add on other organic products like salmon or coffee.
I also wanted to mention I am a fan of the Extra Life Disks. They keep fruits and veggies fresher longer. I use them in my fridge drawers (in addition to the Evert-Fresh bags and some cotton bags). They work by neutralizing the ethylene gas released by fruits/veggies as they ripen, and last 3 mos. in your fridge. You can see the bags I use and the disks at reusablebags.com (one of my very favorite sites).
Going off of what Sam said above, the CSA we've been a part of for three years is also not certified organic, but he runs a sustainable farm and uses no synthetic pesticides so it's organic in practice. The most important thing for me is that it's local produce that supports our regional economy. In the recent explosion of corporate organics, the locality of food's origin has come to be more important than the organic label.
For a great read on the importance of getting food locally--from CSA's, farmer's markets, or in swaps with neighbors--you should definitely check out Bill McKibben's recently released Deep Economy. It's brilliant and will inspire you to keep eating local for a whole host of reasons.
There is a great CSA in our area and it is also about $15 a week. They grow most of what they bring you, including fruit and berries in season and even cut flowers! Thing is, if you live alone it's too much food to eat. My concern is that if I signed up food would go bad before I had a chance to eat it. Even shopping at the local organic market I often can't eat as much as I think I will. Perhaps I need to find some neighbors to go in on it with me. I love the idea of it...
Too bad that 99.99% of CSA's are priced way too high for poor people to afford. $800 a growing season? Give me a break. I can grow it myself, or I can go to the local supermarket and get the same stuff, at the same rate, at about 25% of the cost of a CSA, and that, my friends, is the whole crux of the issue.
It isn't really the same thing. Sure it looks the same but the tomatos were on a ship for two weeks from Chili, the strawberries from Ecuador and the Apples from Peru. Chances are the food in your supermarket has seen more of the world than most people have. Not only that but they usually have more pesticides on them than locally grown produce, even the large agri-business produce. If you buy organics at the local supermarket, you will pay a premium. The other day, I noticed that two green peppers, in enough plastic to negate the lack of chemicals while grown, for $4.00. As I said above, I don't have a CSA nearby but I can get all the organic vegetables I need at a local family owned whole foodstore and pay about $20-$25 a week for a family of five. Next year we'll grow more ourselves but its nice to know there is a store nearby.
CSAs.. great idea! but what should us Canadians do? could someone point me toward a similar reource site?
(I don't really trust my farmer's markets anymore, after I noticed they were selling Californian strawberries, in Ontario, at the peak of Ontario strawberry season!)
A quick web search turned of this site for Canadian CSAs:
http://www.eatlocalsudbury.com/CSAs.html
In the summer/fall I can go to the local farmer's market and buy locally grown produce there, cheap...at about half the cost of a subscription to the local CSA. The CSA's need to bring their prices down. Organic or not...they're not competitive, they're prohibitively expensive, and mostly for the upper middle class. They're really great if you can afford them. Frankly, I'd rather grow my own.
CSA = help keep a local farm in business
CSA = support local and sustainable farm
CSA = Community Shared Agriculture
CSA = good wages for farm staff
CSA = food supply for you in an emergency (like big power outages or earthquakes).
Joining a CSA is about more than buying veggies. HOWEVER, ask your local CSA if they have a low income program. We do at our CSA.
Also there are efforts underway Like the Petaluma Bounty program, creating community gardens for low/no income folks in the community.
Our CSA prices include good fair wages for our farm staff. Our alternative fuel development: running the entire farm off the grid. This includes our veggie fuel to run all our cars, trucks and tractors. To do this included installion of a $200,000.00 photovoltaic system to run our cooler, lights, office equipment and irrigation system.
Reminder: food prices in the U.S. are artifically low because the government subsidizes large corporate farming and because large farms use machinery for the majority of the farming tasks. It's up to you to guess what a large farm pays their farm staff. This subsidizing is now causing problems for small farmers around the world, because in our Fair Trade Agreements our food for export is too low in price and forces small farmers out of business in other countries.
CSA is not for every one and unfortunately it is not affordable for low income folks unless there's a special program offered.
Cheers!
Suzanne
Our CSA has an option for those who aren't able to afford a growing season at the going price. I don't know exactly what it is, but another option is to help out on the weekends or after work for a free share. I think the requirement for ours is a couple hours a week.
wow looks like it sounds delicious.. can you bring some and i'd like to taste it. thanks
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Posted by: Lisa | June 27, 2007 at 06:45 AM