We're Joining a CSA!

Can you guess what a CSA is? Give up? It's a Community Supported Agriculture. Basically you buy a "share" of the farms harvest for the season. Good, bad or otherwise you buy into it upfront. In exchange you get a weekly "delivery" of the freshest, locally grown produce. Sounds like a good deal to me! The best part about this is, I had been looking for a local farm that I could pick up from every week. But some of the farms were too far, or the weekly pick up days didn't work for my schedule. So imagine my delight when I learned that my job is bringing a CSA right to us at work!!!! How amazing is that? I was over joyed. Just go downstairs in my building and pick up my box. One less errand to run every week is another win in my book. I told my entire team about it and actually got several of them interested in it too!

Now a CSA is probably not for everyone for a few reasons. But we're willing to try it out for a year. For starters you don't get to pick what is in your weekly box. Although I think that is part of the fun, it forces you to try new things. Alternatively though if you get something you really don't like it could end up wasted and in the garbage. You also take a gamble on the amount you will get. If the farm has a really good harvest, you could end up with 16 zucchini one week, but if it's a bad harvest you could get one or none. Of course this is an exaggeration, but you get what I mean.

The CSA that we'll be joining is just $18 a week for a small share, but you have to front the money for the season. However provided we like and use what we get in our box, that is less than we are paying right now for our produce and we will know where our food is coming from. The other part that was really important to me is the fact that it is grown without chemicals. While it is not certified organic, I'm ok with that in the fact they can explain to me exactly what they are applying on my food. And they use a natural practice of farming called "Integrated Pest Management," and they most definitely do not use routine chemicals on their produce.

I'm so excited for when this starts soon. It'll also replace the need for me to try and grown my own produce out on the deck. I think this will be much easier! Anyway, more to come on this fun new trial, including more information about CSA's, the weekly produce and recipes!!!