Eating Healthy: CSA What?

In Getting Enough Nutrition, I wrote about my increased interest in eating healthy. Fortunately, a year later, I heard from a friend about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Essentially, rather than getting their groceries from the supermarket, they contract with the local farm to deliver their produce.

Pasta sauce from CSA farm vegetables

The basil is also from the CSA farm

It turns out this nice farm I pass along my way to work - a green oasis amid a growing suburban sprawl - has its own CSA program. For about $30 a week, I share in the produce of the farm, receiving a decent quantity of 10-12 different vegetables a week, all organic, in-season, and fresh from the earth. There are no guarantees as to what we get. We pay for our share at the beginning of the year, and receive whatever the earth gives, which bounty varies from year to year and depends on the weather. Thus we share the risks and rewards with the farmer, and the adventure of finding out what's in store.

The CSA model's benefits are many:

1. It helps small farms resist the pressure of escalating land prices in the neighborhood, preserving a bit of green in our immediate environment. 
2. In-season and locally grown saves the energy usually needed to transport and refrigerate produce.
3. By cutting out the distribution chain, I end up saving on my groceries, about $200 a month over the six months the CSA is operating.
4. My CSA makes me pledge to use all the food that I take. Since I get considerably more vegetables from the farm compared to what I was I typically buy from grocery stores, I end up eating more vegetables, hence more fiber and fewer Calories per volume of food. This fact alone is responsible for a good portion of my weight loss.
5. Furthermore, receiving whatever the farmer decides to grow means I get to try things I wouldn't normally buy at the store - kohlrabi, chard, tatsoi, or bok choy, for instance. My CSA farm boasts 100 varieties of vegetables. It takes some adventure to dig up and try recipes with new ingredients, but it's worth the effort, and I'm assured a diversity of nutrients.
6. The food I get from the CSA is harvested within the week, often the same morning. Grocery store foods can't compete.
7. Finally, by taking my daughter with me to pick up CSA produce, I teach her about where our food really comes from, helping her establish a connection with the land.

For all those reasons, I encourage you to look for a CSA near you.