Thursday, January 28, 2010

CSA's (Community Supported Agriculture)

Okay, before I dive right in let's just define a CSA so we're all on the same page:
A CSA is basically a share of a farmer's harvest so you pay a certain amount of money to a local farmer and then you get a box of produce, meat, eggs, preserves (maybe just one of these, maybe a variety) every week. It's so cool because you actually know the farmers who are growing what you eat, and you know the food is as fresh as possible and didn't burn up a lot of fossil fuel being shipped across the country to you! You don't know what you're going to get each time but you have a general idea based on what's seasonal.

We've been a part of a meat CSA with Rolling Hills Farms for about four months now and we've really been happy with it. I never knew meat was "seasonal" before! Anyway, we share a "half share" with some friends so every other month we get 12 pounds of meat and 2 dozen eggs. We've gotten some things I'm used to cooking, like chicken, and some things I didn't typically cook before, like pork shoulder roasts. It's been really fun because I love trying new recipes so I've had a bona fide excuse to look for new ones, and I found a delicious pork and hominy stew recipe that we all loved, among other new recipes. I also feel really good about cooking and serving this meat for my family knowing that it was farmed with humane, sustainable practices, AND in my small way, helping local farmers do what they do!

So with that said, I'm starting to plan for my spring and summer and we've decided to be a part of a produce CSA. There are tons of options in our area and I know some of you out there have tried them. It looks like two of the biggest are Avalon Acres and Delvin Farms. Does anyone have any input for me about pros/cons for ANY farms (not just these two)? My sister-in-law had a coworker who was a part of Avalon Acres and they got TONS of eggplant last year which is totally not my thing but I was reading on their blog that they've drastically reduced the eggplant they will grow this year.

Please help a girl out! Thanks!

2 comments:

Amanda Conley said...

Do you read Carrie Smith Brock's blog? She does CSA every year and blogs about it quite often. Her blog is lifewiththebrocks.blogspot.com
and just search CSA.

aunt amy said...

my friends in CA get produce every week! It's great and when I'm there I never know what they have discovered with new fruits/veggies... Squash tacos is one of my new favorites....