|
One
great way to get your 5 a Day
February 20, 03
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Fruits
and vegetables spend days on trucks
traveling cross-country before reaching
your supermarket. Once there, it may be
days more before you take them home.
All that time they lose nutrient value,
not to mention flavor and freshness.
Wouldn't you rather receive your produce
the same day it's picked?
You can, by joining a CSA farm.
CSA stands for “community supported
agriculture.” The concept came to
the U.S. in the 1980s from Japan, where
the term used is "teikei."
Teikei translates into
"partnership" or
"cooperation," but in the
context of the CSA movement, it means
"food with the farmer's face on
it."
The idea is simple: residents of a
community pay a local farmer a
pre-determined amount of money upfront.
In return, they get a portion of the
harvest throughout the growing season.
While there are only about 1,000 CSA
farms in the U.S., we're lucky here in
the Triangle because we have several from
which to choose.
Join a CSA farm and you can also take
pleasure in knowing you are supporting a
local, small, family farm -- usually
organic -- and supporting Earth-friendly
farming practices.
The specifics of each CSA arrangement
vary. Some farms grow herbs and flowers
in addition to vegetables and a limited
amount of fruit.
In some cases, subscribers to the farm
pay for a "share" of the
produce. More commonly, they receive an
agreed upon weekly portion -- usually
enough for a family of four, about six
pounds. Some farms offer half portions.
Subscribers usually collect their weekly
portion at a central pick-up point.
Costs vary too, but a standard portion
usually runs in the neighborhood of
$400-$600 for the season, not much
different from what you would pay for
similar quality produce at the
supermarket. Some CSA farms give a
discount if you pay early or if you send
them another subscriber.
People who have had experience with CSA
farms sometimes say they had to try a few
before they found a relationship that
suited them. My husband and I got lucky
on our first try.
We signed up with Timberwood Organic Farm
in Efland, NC. We were tickled with the
quality and variety of food, but the
service is what sold us. They delivered
to the doorstep of our Southern Village
home every Thursday evening - a
convenience that made CSA membership
possible for us, given our busy
schedules.
Does CSA membership make sense for you?
Drawbacks first:
• You pay up front, and there's
risk. A drought as we had last summer
could shrivel some crops. An early frost
may shorten the season.
• If you go on vacation or aren't
home on the day of delivery, you have to
find someone to pick up your food for
you.
• You might get more of a particular
item than you can eat, or you may get
something you don't like.
• Expect to get some foods you've
never eaten before. You may have to
peruse your cookbook collection to figure
out how to prepare them.
Now for the points in favor:
• Delicious, abundant, fresh,
locally grown, seasonal, organic produce.
In our case, it was delivered to our
doorstep weekly in a waxed cardboard box.
It doesn't get any better than that.
• On the couple of occasions when we
were out of town, our neighbors picked up
the box - and got an introduction to the
wonders of CSA. When the leaf lettuce,
cucumbers, and green peppers came pouring
in toward summer's end, I was able to
share some of the food with my
co-workers.
• Your diet will likely improve.
Five a Day? For sissies. Try 12 a day and
higher.
• It's fun. If you have kids, it's a
great way to introduce them to good
foods. Ours ran to the porch every
Thursday evening when they heard the box
being dropped off. Every week's box
brought high excitement. Our kids and
their friends next door promptly claimed
the first bunch of carrots with green
tops and took them outdoors to munch on.
• Your support of a CSA farm
promotes sustainable agriculture
practices that can benefit our
communities both economically as well as
environmentally.
Online information and lists of CSA farms
in our area are available at the NC State
University Cooperative Extension web
site: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/SustAg/csafarms.html
as well as through the Carolina Farm
Stewardship Association at
http://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/
|
