CSAs: Buy organic direct from farmers

Love belonging to a CSA!! Fresh, local, organic produce AND I get to try things I might not buy on my own. Great for expanding your healthy eating repertoire!

so hoping to get in with one that looks fab this summer!

Can anyone recommend one near UConn? For veggies and for meat too?

I did a CSA last year that was meat and veggies. It was great! This year the farm I am using is doing meat and eggs only so I may pick up a veggie share at another farm as well. Its an awesome source for fresh food and (super important to me) humanely treated animals.

I did this with 3 other neighbors this summer. One person took half a share, and me and another person too 1/4 each. When one of us was gone for the week, we'd give the other person our share that week. This worked out well. Especially because everyone was gone a lot and I wasn't! I was rollin in vegetables! I tried more vegetables than I have even known existed and tried my best to eat them all each week. By the last month I was the only one of the 3 still taking the vegetables, so I got all the winter squash and cooked/froze it. The person that took half a share was a vegetarian. I think she was really a cake-atarian and cookie-tarian after all.

I took advantage of the organic strawberry picking time and made jam for the freezer. And I would have, should have, taken advantage of the tomato deal to put up some tomatos.

Overall it seemed expensive up front, but considering all the food and how many months we got fresh, it was quite a deal. I need a mini chest freezer so I can take advantage of more. I'd also like to get in on some meat from that farmer. Very positive experience! I do not regret it!

I love my "farm box" and I supplement it with a trip to the Farmers Market every weekend in the Spring and Summer. Life is much better with fresh, locally produced produceI l love that I am helping with keeping Farms alive around here and fighting against sprawl.

In the Phoenix area, we have MANY resources for CSA's and Farmer's Markets... here is a link I found that lists nearly all the CSA's in our area:

http://phoenix.about.com/od/foodanddrink/ss/Local-Farms-CSA.htm

If you are not interested in making a 6 or 12 week committment, but would like to enjoy the local organic foods... visit one of our local Farmer's Markets... there are a bunch and some of them run through out the year as our planting and harvest seasons are quite lengthy...

http://phoenix.about.com/od/foodanddrink/ss/Phoenix-Farmers-Markets.htm

Happy Harvesting!

That is a fantastic idea... I would SO work on a farm for fresh produce!:happy:

What's a good way to find a local CSA? I've been wanting to join one, but I'm having trouble finding one! I live in the Hampton
Roads area of Virginia.

I've been a member of both produce and meat CSAs... a great way to support local farmers. I think it is important to note though, not all CSA are organic, nor do they all produce without chemicals, etc. So, you've gotta read and see what they are doing.

I really enjoyed getting a weekly bag a produce... it is like opening a Christmas present every week when you get to find out what is in there!

Not as tasty? Wow, the organic veggies I get are generally su:laugh: perior in quality and flavor... though I do end up picking more bugs off of them, and some leafy greens come through totally bug chewed. :laugh:

We joined Bountiful Baskets a few months ago. It's a coop with your choice of organic or regular produce. The basic box is $15 and you can add extar packages. It's a great way to support local and it's cheaper.
https://contributions7.bountifulbaskets.org/OrderHistory.html


The weather is turning here, so it time to start seeds indoors and get ready to plant out in March and April. Love Spring and Summer and getting my hands into the soil.

Yo, peeps:

In my work with a local farmers market, I'm learning all kinds of good stuff ... including the scoop on CSAs.

CSA programs -- Community Supported Agriculture -- are a way for consumers like us to buy organic and organically-grown produce direct from the farmers who grow it. It's also a great way to support your local food culture.

My hometown, Kansas City, has a CSA Coalition that has all sorts of great info on their site at http://www.kc-csac.org/. I'm betting most cities have similar programs, or at the very least -- farmers from whom you can buy direct.

I didn't used to care much about what I ate, but that's not the case anymore. If you share the same commitment to eating well -- meaning no pesticides or herbicides, with food coming from farmers who treat workers fairly -- consider digging around for CSA resources in your own community and post them here.

Eat healthy ... eat local!

Amen!!!

I love our CSA too. And our bi-weekly produce Coop.

there is a waiting list for csas near us buuut we shop at the coop and buy local everything we can

I just looked into this a couple of months ago... my best friend is 90% organic and I'm trying to up my organic intake to reduce the pesticides in my life (who needs those nasty things?)....

We would like to do it together because we really enjoy the work too!