In Praise of Community Supported Agriculture

By Leslie Berliant - Sustainablog 

When I was 6 years old, I wanted to be a farm lady. That’s what I wrote in my Dr. Seuss My Book About Me. Given that I talked my landlady into letting me dig up part of my front lawn to plant a vegetable garden last summer, that might still be the case. So when I first learned about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in 1995 through a friend’s mother in Williamstown, Mass, I wanted in. My friend’s mom had a kitchen full of organic produce from their local CSA where they were shareholders. In return for their investment, I think it was around $200, they received a weekly delivery of fresh, organic produce from their farm. A few months later when we moved to New Hampshire, we joined Luna Bleu farm in South Royalton, Vermont. It was managed by Tim Sanford and Suzanne Long, a couple of MIT engineering grads. They were enthusiastic, accessible and generous.

Like all the shareholder members of the farm, we were invited to come to the farm and pick and take whatever we wanted on top of our weekly delivery. We spent a lot of time hanging out there, including a memorable incident when my 2 year old daughter climbed into the pen with the baby lambs.

It was as part of Luna Bleu that I learned how to cook pea vines and kohlrabi and make sorrel and spinach pesto from the recipes they put in our boxes. We even helped raise our Thanksgiving turkey during a time of lapsed vegetarianism, something I both regret and am proud to have experienced. Though I now live far away from Vermont, I still think of Luna Bleu as our farm.

One of the great things about Luna Bleu was that along with their weekly vegetable delivery, for an extra fee, they would also deliver fresh milk, yogurt, beef, lamb, pork, poultry and eggs from the farm. Although I had never been a milk drinker, I couldn’t resist the milk fresh from the farm with the cream on top. Everything from the farm tasted better. The animals were raised ethically and fed properly. The cows grazed on grass not corn, the chickens were free range and the pigs ate like pigs.

To this day, Luna Bleu has a sliding scale for shareholders so that everyone can participate, starting at just $280 for a small harvest season share which provides all the vegetables you need for 2 adults each week for the entire growing season, mid-June to mid-October. What works at Luna Bleu, is what works at most CSA farms:

- Farmers receive needed capital to run the farm from shareholders who pay for their entire share in advance of the growing season.

- Members share both the risks and the rewards. A bumper crop of carrots means more for everyone. If the kale is consumed by pests, than you share in that loss.

- Members experience greater diversity and seasonality in their diet. Seriously, how likely are you to buy and cook kohlrabi on your own? And by eating what is being harvested at the farm, members are automatically eating what is in season.

CSA farms are everywhere now, along with my other obsession, Farmers’ Markets. The USDA estimates there were more than 12,500 CSA farms in 2007, operating in every single state. In addition to growing season shares, many have winter shares with bulk deliveries of squash, potatoes and onions that you can store and eat all winter long.

Along with the more traditional produce CSAs, meat and egg CSAs are now popping up. It’s a way to support local agriculture and, if you choose to eat animal products, make sure that they are raised in ways that are both ethical and healthy for the end consumer. Farms like 2 Silos in Ohio offer monthly deliveries of meat along with an “adopt-a-hen” program, in which member families receive 40 dozen eggs, a stewing chicken, and five gallons of henhouse compost over the course of a year. Some, like 8 o’Clock Ranch will ship frozen meats anywhere. While their animals are humanely and sustainably raised and processed, and the quality will likely be superior to what you can get in the grocery aisle, the shipping defeats the idea of eating locally. It’s better and more sustainable to find out if your local CSA also raises animals and if you can buy your meat and dairy from them for an extra fee.

March is a great time to find and join a CSA. The farmers are about to start planting if they haven’t already. Joining now gives you the opportunity to go and help out with the first plantings, or spend some time getting to know the farmers. I recommend finding a farm that is close enough for you to spend time there and really be a part of things. It may change the way you think about the food you buy and your appreciation for what is involved. It may change your understanding of what it means to eat sustainably. It may change the way you eat, altogether, and raise your expectations of food quality. What I can guarantee is that if you spend time there, you will always think of it as your farm. What could be better than that?

Leslie Berliant of Sustainablog

Jones Family Farm (Burgaw,NC)

Become a member of Jones Family Farm CSA and you will receive a 1/2 bushel box of fresh picked vegetables for 10 consecutive weeks. You may choose to pickup your box at one of the two dropoff points we have listed below. We also give you the option of coming out to the farm to pickup your share where you will also be able to shop for other fresh products we offer. (more…)

Dogwood Farms (Maple Hill,NC)

As a member, you will pre-pay for three months in advance. Full share (3 months, feeds family of 2 adults, 2 children) -$150.00. Half share (3 months, feeds 2 adults)-$75.00.
Your CSA membership begins on the month you subscribe. Each month you will have a monthly credit of $50.00 (full share) or $25. (more…)

Veggies by the Sea (Supply,NC)

Seasonal items to keep any vegetable lover happy and coming back for more! Pick-up/Drop off arranged to order.

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