I've been cooking/baking quite a bit lately - ahem, mostly for myself.. though last night a friend got the full dinner treatment, homemade walnut bread (warm and fresh and crackly!) and all. So, given that most of these simple kitchen endeavors resolve around the fresh ingredients that I'm receiving in my weekly "CSA box", I've found myself explaining, "what, exactly, is this CSA thing?"; in fact, I've had to do so a few times in the past couple of weeks.
These people obviously don't read my blog. ahem. CSA = Community-Supported Agriculture, and it is, essentially, a farm business model that allows folks to buy "shares" of a harvest at the start of the season (although many farms allow one to pay monthly, and some allow members to join on a rolling basis). In this way, a farm has a guaranteed source of income upfront (vs. the ongoing threat of customer capriciousness when selling at, say, a farmer's market), and shareholders get weekly deliveries of the seasonal harvest.
Of course, there are drawbacks: a late frost could destroy a delicate crop of tomatoes and members would get nothing for the week (well, at least: no tomatoes). And you are otherwise at the mercy of the seasons in terms of what grows when.. for example, you are not likely to receive blueberries in January if you live anywhere in the US (and you are not likely to receive blueberries at all if you live in Northern CA). Still, I'm a fan insofar that the CSA program allows me to support local agriculture, for one, and two, it challenges me to expand the breadth of my cooking skills. There is a forcing function in finding new recipes that incorporate some of the ingredients that I normally wouldn't automatically pick up at the supermarket by myself (ex. acorn squash, green beans); I hate throwing out food.
In short, I think the pros far outweigh the cons for my lifestyle/interests right now. Yeah, and if I really want something not in season and not local (ex. bananas, at least until they go extinct), I still make my way over to the supermarket. ;)
Well, as fortune would have it, you don't have to take my word for it with respect to all this CSA business.. the NYTimes posted an short article today talking about how this food distribution model came to be in the United State and what sorts of folks indulge in them today (and why):
Shoppers Buy Slices of Farms
By Susan Saulny
Published: July 10, 2008
I don't think the article is going to answer all your questions on how a CSA works - that is, how you, how you! can get ahold of fresh, local, organic fruits and vegetables (or local, grass fed beef for that matter) - but it *could* very well whet your appetite to find out more. If so, I'd recommend making your next stop Local Harvest, a popular CSA (and farmer's market) online clearinghouse.
But regardless of all this CSA talk, I hope you're eating and drinking well in general, (among other active pursuits); summer is upon us!
1 comment:
Thank you for supporting your local family farmers and ranchers. Even though the CSA concept hasn't fully caught on here in NC, we realize how important this is to the long term health of the family farm.
If you are having troubles finding a good local source of grass fed beef, I can be of some service. Give us a shout and we will do whatever we can to help.
Again, thanks for supporting the family farmer.
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