Our first CSA

So last year at about this time I got a recommendation from a friend for a local farm to contact because I expressed interest in trying a CSA. Now you’re either Googling CSA or you’ve made up something in your head as to what it stands for. Go ahead, have fun with that. OR maybe you know what it stands for because you’re simply an intellectual sort.  Maybe you’re thinking I’ve done something really crazy and you’re not sure you even want to know what those letters stand for. Oh, fine, for now just go with Cathy’s So Awesome. Well, if Cathy really was awesome she’d be able to grow her own vegetables and she wouldn’t need to buy them from anyone else, but in this case Cathy lacks any sort of growing skills. Back to the point.

Last year when I contacted the local farm regarding their CSA (okay, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture), I like Cathy’s So Awesome way more, but oh well. Unfortunately by the time I emailed last year they didn’t have any spots left for the season. Although I was bummed, I muddled through the summer still making purchasing local produce my absolute priority. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when I received an email from the farmer (who obviously kept my email and remembered our correspondence from nearly a year ago) asking if I was interested in a share of their harvest this year. I got ridiculously excited (probably way more than anyone usually does to the news of available space in their local CSA), but I love my veggies and I especially love when I can get them locally. Oh, and the fact that this farmer took the time to go back in her records and make the effort to contact me speaks volumes about the type of person I will be making my purchases from this summer and fall. I know the basics about community supported agriculture, but not everything. What I do know that makes me the most pleased and excited is that I’m buying locally all summer long and that’s going to be great. A few other things that I find are huge positives when we considered this as an option for our family:

• I get a box of seasonal vegetables (and possibly other products from the farm as well, like eggs and cheese) every week.
• I drive a short distance to a central location and the box is waiting for me. I just pay for it and bring it home. I love what a time saver this is because I get to avoid filling a cart at the the grocery store and dealing with the hassle of the self-checkout.
• I love that my food is traveling less than 20 miles from the farm to my table only touched by the hands of those who harvest it at the farm.
• I truly love the mystery part of participating in a CSA. Well, somewhat of a mystery anyway. I mean mostly we know what to expect as the seasonal vegetables, but when it comes to what’s waiting for me on any given week, it’s a definite mystery. I love working our meals around what’s in season and although this might be something others would say is a negative, I’m looking forward to the challenge (or fun) of it.
• The quality. I don’t care what anyone says because most of the time you can’t beat the quality of locally bought fresh produce. Considering most of what is in the grocery store travels hundreds or thousands of miles and often went through a range of weather conditions and was possibly touched by several hands, I think locally bought is worth every penny.
• Possibly the biggest positive (if you ask my husband anyway) is that there was a question on the survey they sent out asking if we were opposed to receiving alcohol in our box if it happened to be available. Opposed? What kind of silly question is that?

Really, for our family, I can’t come up with anything I would see as a negative in this whole experience. I suppose time will tell. We pick up our first box of goodies next week and I can’t wait to dig in and share it all with you, well pictures and blog posts anyway, because since I’m so focused on the whole local aspect it would be insane to even consider sending you any of my delicious veggies in an effort to share. You understand, right?