austrya Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I like the idea of getting my meat and veggies from local farmers and I'm thinking about doing this next year. Anyone have any experience with it? The cost seems pretty fair and would work out to about $25 a week for produce in the summer, which isn't bad considering it's all organic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Duck-Billed Catechist Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 My mom does one of those through her church. She seems to like it. There seems to be a fair amount of stuff that she doesn't know what to do with (initially), though. On the other hand that can be an opportunity to expand your family's cooking repetoire. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jenbobblehead Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I have been involved in several different CSAs and i've introduced Ninjas to it this year. We do get stuff we don't know what to do with but that's mostly in the spring when its all crazy assed leafy greens. Once we get into tomators and cukes and stuff i'll be happier. Living in a city the way we do, i think its important to support whatever agriculture comes your way. This year's CSA is actually housed on a non-profit community farm, and run by two 20 somethings who do organic and lots of heirloom stuff and every week send out an email with recipes for the different stuff they offered the day before. Our share was $500 for the summer, starting mid June and going to the end of October, and we actually split it with our first floor neighbors. There is plenty for four, usually! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Atticus Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I didn't know that this was even available where we live. Sounds teh cool. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jenbobblehead Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 BTW, we're also members at our local food co-op, which is another thing i highly recommend although we haven't taken advantage of it lately. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
austrya Posted July 24, 2007 Author Share Posted July 24, 2007 There is a farm not too far from me that does it and they actually have a store of sorts that is open tomorrow. They encourage you to bring your kids up there to see the farm. I think I might take them and pick up some veggies while I'm there. I do want to grow my own garden too, but I don't have a lot of space. Plus, the family plan only covers 2 adults and 2 kids and we have 4 kids, so the extra will be welcome. Any extras can be dried, canned, or frozen. It's a little more than we spend on produce right now, but we don't buy organic and what we do buy just doesn't have the flavor of the fresh stuff from the farm. I'd really like to start getting the organic stuff... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reni Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Graham's mom has made some yummy dishes from the CSA veggies - I had never had beet tops before! They were delicious. $25 a week isn't bad at all......go for it! (and expect us for dinner one of these days ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alison the wilca Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 ive been interested in doing this for a while, but i'm afraid of wasting too much for the money i would be spending. its nice to hear that people have had good experiences, though... i'll keep thinking about it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Edie Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Scott and I did this one year and kind of got ripped off. The grower complained of hot weather that ruined most of the produce, but we were skeptical. It was a new one and it soured us on the concept. Anyway, I'd love to try it again, with one that was more established. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trestle Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Some places to look for a CSA in your area: Search National farm databases by city, state, or ZIP Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association CSA listingshttp://www.biodynamics.com/csa.html Local Harvesthttp://www.localharvest.org/csa/ NewFarm Farm Locatorhttp://newfarm.org/farmlocator/index.php Wilson College, Robyn Van En Center CSA Farm Databasehttp://www.wilson.edu/wilson/asp/content.asp?id=804 The Eat Well Guidehttp://www.eatwellguide.org/ Search State and regional farm directories Local Food Directories. (2006). ATTRA - The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/localfood_dir.php Quote Link to post Share on other sites
deepseacatfish Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I'm a part of a CSA and a Co-op. The CSA here in Grinnell is from a heritage farm (the farm has been in their family for 150+ years), which is pretty cool to begin with. The share was $300 for "2" people (I put that in quotes because there's more veggies than that). In addition to getting tons of variety in veggies we also get eggs, including duck eggs for an extra $1.50, and there's access to buying 1/2 and 1/4 animals for meat, which we didn't do because we don't have a giant freezer. The share runs from the beginning of June through October, and no week has been disappointing, and usually it's an overabundance of really good stuff--the tomatoes and fresh sweet corn this week were phenomenal! I would highly recommend trying a CSA, though I'd research your options on local ones and ask anyone who's been in one that you're looking into, I know people have had varied experience depending on who runs it. The Co-op is pretty sweet, lots of good organic/local foods, we get a 5% discount and if you work there for 3 hours a month they give you an additional 10%, or 6 hours 20% or 9 hours 30% (on up to $200 worth of groceries). Basically it's a rocking deal. It cost not much to join $120 maybe? Can't remember, and it's for life...not that I'm planning on living in Iowa forever, but hey. Good luck Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KevinG Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I do one and it is great. I highly suggest it. Also look into your health insurance they may give you a rebate if the farm qualifies. We got $200 back. Which is like half price. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Some places to look for a CSA in your area:Search National farm databases by city, state, or ZIP Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association CSA listingshttp://www.biodynamics.com/csa.html Local Harvesthttp://www.localharvest.org/csa/ NewFarm Farm Locatorhttp://newfarm.org/farmlocator/index.php Wilson College, Robyn Van En Center CSA Farm Databasehttp://www.wilson.edu/wilson/asp/content.asp?id=804 The Eat Well Guidehttp://www.eatwellguide.org/ Search State and regional farm directories Local Food Directories. (2006). ATTRA - The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/localfood_dir.phpThanks for all of these links. We'll be looking into this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trestle Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 In this vein...this book is in my stack of current reading.......recommended for anyone interested in eating locally: http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
austrya Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 That book just arrived in the mail about 20 minutes ago! I can't wait to read it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Americans put almost as much fossil fuel into our refrigerators as our cars. We Quote Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Please read this book. Please read this book. Please read this book. ---->In this vein...this book is in my stack of current reading.......recommended for anyone interested in eating locally:http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/That looks wonderful! The Kingsolvers! OMG! Ordering right now. Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OOO Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 My sister works on an organic farm near the twin cities that does a CSA thing. Most of the workers on the farm are developmentally handicapped, with a few supervisors who are more or less volunteers. I had the opportunity to visit and work on the farm with my sister for a week earlier this year. It was a very unique experience for me, especially after putting work in on the farm and then going to the local co-op and seeing products from the farm for sale. I'm glad people here do CSA programs! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Preferred B Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I do one and it is great. I highly suggest it. Also look into your health insurance they may give you a rebate if the farm qualifies. We got $200 back. Which is like half price. What insurance do you have? That would be great. I have a CSA membership and am loving it so far. The farm gives recipes each week for the included vegetables, etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trestle Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Please read this book. Please read this book. Please read this book. ----> That looks wonderful! The Kingsolvers! OMG! Ordering right now. Thanks! and I'm ordering your choice too! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.