Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is gaining popularity, for many reasons. CSA’s are created by local farmers who grow produce for their community. Their community pays them a price, usually up front at the beginning of the season, for a share of the farm’s yield. They’re getting so popular in my area, that you have to get in early if you want to participate; otherwise, all the shares of the farm are gone. This is a win-win for both the farmer, the community of people who participate, and the environment. For this reason, I think everyone should consider joining a CSA. Here are the reasons I believe make a CSA worth it:

1. CSA’s provide locally grown food. Buying from a CSA means that you’re reducing your carbon footprint (because you’re not buying a peach that traveled 1,000 miles to get to your grocery store).
2. Most often, CSA’s grow natural, organic produce. This is better for you to eat and better for the Earth (as it cuts down on chemicals that migrate into our waters).
3. The farmers who grow for CSA’s diversify their land by growing many different things. Monoculture farms are generally unhealthy farms because the same crop grown over and over on the same land depletes the soil of the nutrients that the specific crop needs to grow. Eventually, more and more chemicals must be applied there to compensate for the nutrient-drained soils.
4. Economically, your money is staying in your local area. I would rather see my money go to a local farmer, than a gigantic farm corporation who grows produce in Mexico, California, and Costa Rica.
5. Joining a CSA can help you to expand your horizons. Every week, your share will come with what is in season. That might mean that you get Kale, or some kind of squash you’ve never cooked with before. If you’ve paid for the food, then you do the work to figure out how to cook with it. Not only will you discover new foods that you love, but you’ll also diversify your diet, which can provide you with additional nutrients that you might not be getting from your staples.

Joining a CSA may take some research. One way to find a CSA in your area is through Local Harvest. The USDA has a web page with some good information as well. After you find a few CSA programs to choose from, decide which one is right for you. I would consider the following:

• The first thing to consider is whether or not you’re willing to volunteer time working on the farm. Some CSA’s ask for your time in exchange for part of your share. This can be a great experience, but sometimes it isn’t an option for people. If time is something you don’t have, I would eliminate the CSA’s that require or ask for your volunteer work. If you have time and it doesn’t seem like something you want to do, reconsider! It might more rewarding than you could ever imagine to work to make your own food.
• Consider what else is offered. For instance, where I live there aren’t as many fruits available from the farms that grow here. However, west of this area (about 150 miles) there are many fruits from other farms. The CSA I chose has an available “fruit share” where they buy fruit from these other local farms in my state so that they can offer more than just the vegetables they grow. They also offer locally raised, grass-fed beef, farm-raised broiler chickens, eggs and more if I want it.
• Consider how much you can consume, as compared to the different packages they offer (share sizes). If you think that you may end up with extra of something once in a while, what can you do? Some possibilities are blanching vegetables and then freezing them or making jam and preserves with ripe fruit.
• Also consider how you get the food. Does the farm require you to pick up yourself? Can you make that drive every week? Will they deliver to your area, or to a farmer’s market for an additional fee?
• Along with how you get the food, consider the distance between your local area and the farm. I had narrowed down my choice between two CSA’s. One was an hour away, but I would have had to drive there every week to pick up my food. The other was two hours away, but each week they deliver all their CSA boxes to local areas within my city. The two-hour farm would be driving hundreds of boxes into my city and therefore only one vehicle would be contributing to the carbon footprint (instead of individual people all driving their cars to and from the one hour farm). It was the lesser of two evils as far as the environmental fossil-fuel debate goes, but I think in the end one big truck is probably better than 200 cars.
• Finally, consider the price. Break down the total cost of your CSA by week (a lot of them do this already on their websites). Then consider how much of that is already your weekly grocery budget. If you’re weekly CSA cost is going to exceed what you spend total in one week at the store, you may need to find a way to make it work. You can buy 1/2 shares sometimes, but you can also ask friends and coworkers if they might be willing to split one with you. You would be surprised how many people would do this if they had someone to share it with. You will still need to go the grocery store for things like bread, pasta, lunch meat, etc., so its important to make sure that you can still afford those things. My CSA uses up about 50% of my monthly grocery budget; however, I tend to spend at least half on produce anyway so it was an acceptable bite of my budget.

A CSA is a great thing to do not only for your community and the local farmers there, but also for you and your family. Learning to eat in season, eat more fresh produce, and often more organic produce is a wonderful thing that you can do easily if you plan ahead and find a CSA that works for you.

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