CSAs

I've had a CSA membership in the past. The year I was in it, the early produce was all greens and not much of them, they had a crop failure on tomatoes, and the farmer ended up in the hospital, which ended the season early. It would have been much easier and cheaper to just go to the farmer's market and get what I needed/wanted in quantities I could use (there are usually 10+ local growers there). I felt like I ended up with way too much of the risk and not enough of the benefits by committing with a single farmer.

Before committing, I would look carefully at the contract and talk to a current CSA member. Does the farmer take on any of the risk for a crop failure due to hail, flooding, vermin, disease, etc.? Is there any refund available if for some reason you (or they) will not be able to complete the season? Is there any guaranteed minimum amount/variety of produce you will receive or could you end up with a bag of only dandelion greens one week?

We currently get two CSA boxes. We have gotten some things that have gone to waste, but I have also learned to incorporate a lot more veggies into our meals, both in quantity and variety. I am looking at it as a great learning experience for both me and my family. I do, though, love to cook and research recipes.

I really like mine, though there isn't access to meat. In my case, there's a variety of boxes to choose from as well as sizes. They work with other farms so if one has a failure, chances are the other haven't (hopefully!). I use the majority of my produce. I pay monthly and the food is delivered in the middle of the night on Tuesday nights. It's way easier Spring through Fall. Winter is lots of greens, so be prepared! There are blogs from people who get boxes and that helps with ideas, as well as looking up eating seasonally (since technically, what you're getting is in season). Also, mine's online and I can check things I don't care for, such as cilantro. I'm one of those people who genetically taste soap instead of cilantro, which stinks as I love Mexican food!

Also if you have one that's on Facebook, people help give each other ideas. Mine also gives recipes and bi-weekly farm updates, which is fun to read. They have special events at the farm, last weekend was tomato tasting day, and they have meals there and tractor ride tours. Overall, I've been very happy with them. If something comes that's spoiled, they will credit you for it. I've been with my CSA for almost 3 years now and don't plan to quit anytime soon as I can count on having food every two weeks without going to the store if I'm feeling poorly. The box I get has 7 veggies and 3 fruits (in summer/winter, one being a melon).

Meat is definitely safe, at least at our farmer's market, though it is typically frozen. We get some awesome steaks, roasts, sausages, bacon, and other goodies from ours. The eggs are also awesome.