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First things first: What is a CSA, anyway?
CSA stands for Community-Supported Agriculture, a system where members of a farm buy a share in the year’s harvest. This means that if there’s a great season and a bountiful harvest, members get an astonishing amount of fresh-grown produce, and if the harvest is lackluster or a crop is wiped out by blight, they get less.
The important thing is that the farmers still get money to live on, without worrying that difficult weather or disease will leave them without an income for the season.
In most cases a CSA farm share saves you money on unbelievably fresh and delicious produce while providing steady incomes for farmers. Not all CSAs work the same way. Find out what you need to know to pick a CSA that’s right for you.
What is a CSA and Why Should You Join One?
In the depths of winter, I find thinking about the coming summer’s bounty of fruits and vegetables helps me survive the extended deep freeze that is the reality of winter in Minnesota. The snow and cold weather starts by early November and lasts all the way through April. We need all the help we can get!
We mark the beginning of summer in our house with the first of many CSA pickups at our beloved farm, Open Hands, run by Erin Johnson and Ben Doherty. I learned about CSAs from Erin and Ben, who moved from selling at our farmers’ market to this community-supported model of farming more than a decade ago.
Delicious veggies growing at Open Hands Farm
How a CSA Works
CSA members give their farmers a fixed amount of money sometime before the season begins, and then get a share of whatever their farmers harvest each week. Farms charge varying fees and structure the way members get their vegetables differently; some deliver weekly boxes, while others allow members to come out and choose their own vegetables.
This is an important feature to note — many people don’t realize that they have a choice in what comes home each week. Being able to choose is very important to me, so when sweet peppers come in I can get a ton of those and skip some of the other veggies our family is less wild about.
Why should you consider joining a CSA?
If you love fresh local produce and don’t like spending a fortune on it, a CSA share is an incredible way to make the healthiest, freshest food affordable.
Our farm also has a number of crops that members can pick themselves, like cherry tomatoes, strawberries, herbs, and snap peas. Depending on how much is in the field, we get to take a pint or a quart, or as much as we can use (unlimited strawberries and cherry tomatoes–A-MAAAA-ZING!!!!).
Each summer I spend most of a day picking, washing, and prepping basil to become little jars of pesto we enjoy all winter. Bags of roasted cherry tomatoes and sliced bell peppers come out of the freezer to top winter pizzas, and ratatouilles are lovely reminders of summer.
Here in Minnesota, where winter is 5 or 6 months long instead of the the 3 our calendar claims, these tasty treats are an important part of my coping strategy.
Here’s what to know about getting started with beginner food preservation projects to extend your local food season.
How to Find a CSA Near You and Choose the Right One
You can find local CSAs by searching at localharvest.org. Then you can call (or better yet, visit during the season) to find out how each farm’s share works. Most people find that they save money on produce, get higher-quality, fresher food, and learn about new foods and ways of cooking them when they join a CSA.
One enthusiastic new CSA convert reported she has become so enamored of the incredibly fresh carrots from her farm share, she was eating more vegetables than she ever thought possible, and her friends had noticed she looked healthier as a result. She felt healthier, too.
The CSA model is now being applied to all sorts of farming, including cheese, eggs, honey, meat, and herbs, so you might find that you can get even more of your food from local sources.
Some of the (many, many) things I love about my CSA share:
- Unbelievable quantities of delicious, fresh, local, organically-grown fruits and veggies.
- Visiting the farm where our food is grown every week is a treat for the senses and an education for my kids. They pick their own food from the fields, and know that food grows in dirt. (Apparently lots of kids don’t!)
- Knowing the people who grow our food and hearing about how they do it has been an eye-opening and enriching experience.
- I learn about new varieties of fruits and vegetables and get tips on how to use them. Open Hands is where I first tried groundcherries, where my daughter discovered that she loves eating pea flowers, and where I learned about making kale chips.
- A CSA share makes the highest-quality organic produce affordable. I can’t imagine how much all those cherry tomatoes and raspberries would cost if I bought them. Not to mention the bags full of basil and thyme.
- We cut way down on our foodprint. I love that so much of our food comes from just a few miles away and that we are helping to support Erin and Ben’s efforts to make food production sustainable. Plus there’s no packaging, a major plus if you’re working toward zero waste living.
Farmers near you are probably beginning to advertise what they’ve got planned for their CSA this summer. Go check them out and enjoy a summer full of delicious fresh food. Happy eating!
Thanks to Erin Johnson and Ben Doherty for these lovely pictures of their delicious crops!
Pin to save this info on the benefits of joining a CSA!
Hi, I'm Susannah, a garden geek, energy nerd, and fan of healthy food and natural remedies. Need some simple, practical solutions for living healthier and greener? You've come to the right place! More about me and my green projects
An enthusiastic second to this post! I just mailed my check to my local CSA this morning.
I am considering joining a CSA and was wondering if, cost per cost, it would be more economical to do this or to keep shopping at various markets. I understand the benefit of bulk buying, but would just love to become more informed before making the jump.
Thank you!
Hey Shaun!
You need to do a little research on your options. Start at http://www.localharvest.org/ and decide which farms are convenient to you. Then you need to consider their costs and what you get for your money, which varies a lot from farm to farm. (Some also allow you to trade work time on the farm for part of the share cost). Some farms allow you to come choose what’s in your share and even allow you to pick your own herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Others will just deliver a weekly box, and you get what you get. I prefer the model that lets me go out and choose, and it’s the pick-your-own part that really starts saving money. The big bags of basil, green beans, and snap peas, and boxes of strawberries, raspberries, and cherry tomatoes I pick every summer would cost a lot at the store, but it does take time to gather them and some effort to make sure it all gets used. You also need to think about how much produce you will actually eat and how much time you have to go to the farm to collect your veggies. And you’ll have to decide whether you want to split your share with others.
It might be a good idea to start tracking how much you spend on fruits and vegetables and then make an informed decision after you know what farms in your area offer. You could go arrange to visit one a share pickup day so you can see what people get and have a better basis for comparison.
In all, CSAs are a great idea, allowing you to really connect to your food and your farmers while making sure they have money to live on. And in my experience, for the quality and quantity you’re likely to get, it’s a really good deal.
There are also CSAs that focus on winter harvests, cheese, honey, grains, and other edibles. Let me know what you find out about options in your area!
Hi Susannah,
I think CSA’s are great. We have a couple in our area and we have locally and organically grown produce store about a mile away that has great prices on their products. I appreciate you sharing all your tips and ideas they are very helpful. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Pinned & tweeted!