CSA

I am SOOOO excited.

This week, Blake and I signed up to be part of a CSA.

According to localharvest.org, a CSA (which stands for community supported agriculture) is " a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season."

I first read about it in one of my magazines as a way to get organic, local produce for a reasonable price. Apparently lots of farms all over the country offer this kind of program. The price is comparable to what we are paying now a week for produce, but it will be all organic.

We decided to do the small box, since there are only two of us, but the larger box is also an option. It is a random assortment of fruits and vegetables that the farm has in season at that point. You never know what you are going to get until that day or sometimes a day before. Some people would be put off by the randomness, but I am excited, and I think it will give me more direction to my meal plannings. I expect to spend very little in produce to supplement.

I intend to post about our cartons of produce once we pick up our first one, but at this point, I am just really excited.

The farm that our produce is coming from is Morning Song Farm. Their main fertilizer is from the llamas that they keep, and they are completely organic.

I cannot vouch for this yet, but if you are as excited as I was when I first heard about it, I encourage you to check localharvest.org yourself and see if there is one near you that offers the same service.