Green Our Way: Organic Food at Home

One of the best green decisions we've made in first year as homeowners has little to do with our actual house. We've joined a CSA and now receive a delivery of delicious organic produce every other week.

So what's a CSA? Here is a great description from Local Harvest's website.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become 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.

This arrangement creates several rewards for both the farmer and the consumer. In brief...

Advantages for farmers:

• Get to spend time marketing the food early in the year, before their 16 hour days in the field begin
• Receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm's cash flow
• Have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow

Advantages for consumers:

• Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
• Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
• Usually get to visit the farm at least once a season
• Find that kids typically favor food from "their" farm – even veggies they've never been known to eat
• Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown

Our CSA is called Farm Fresh to You. We subscribe for the medium box and it is delivered to my office on Wednesday. One of the many perks of being an environmentalist is that many of my work friends also subscribe so we all did it together. Scott and I are so excited about our beautiful delicious organic produce and we can't wait to see what's in the box each delivery week. And because it's so fresh we have to cook or use it right away. It has inspired me to serve 3 vegetables at home each night instead of just 1 or 2, and to learn some new recipes.