I JOIN A CSA

After spending a little time online yesterday, I decided to join a CSA. I looked at the different options and prices and decided to sign up with Stillman Farms, a family farm located out in Lunenberg and New Braintree (does that mean there's an Old Braintree? Maybe not because, as you all know, we have West Virginia, but no East Virginia. But I digress.)

In case any of you are thinking of doing the same thing, let me save you the trouble of researching and explain to you how it all works. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. So what happens is, farms in most areas of the country can't grow crops year round. Like many industries, they have slow periods (the winter) and busy periods (the summer/fall). During the winter months, they're not making much income, if any, but come spring, they need to start buying supplies and materials to start planting, hiring employees, etc. As a business owner, I totally understand this. It's about cash flow. When I'm sitting around during our slow months (January and July) I'm wondering how I'm gonna pay for inventory in the future. This is especially hard on small businesses (or farms in this case.)

When you join a CSA, you're buying shares in the farm's future. You're giving them money upfront to buy the seedlings and supplies they need for the upcoming months (providing them with cash) and in return, you get a share of the crops when they become available. In Boston, the shares start going on sale January-April (while they last) and most crops become available mid June-October/December. Prices vary from $600-$450 for full shares and some farms also offer half shares that are around $300 for 16-20 weeks of fruits and veggies. I purchased a half share for me and Tom for $300 for 16 weeks.(a full share is more appropriate for a family of 4).

Then there's the tricky thing of pickup. For some farms, you gotta pick your order up at the farm and it isn't easy to make a weekly trip to the burbs. But lots of places make it easier and you can get a local pick up. We'll be making pickups on Sunday at Clear Flour Bakery, which is great since we already go there every Sunday. (as a side note, Tom said he'd been spoiled by Clear Flour. When eating an ABP sandwich yesterday, he said he didn't enjoy the bread.) There are also pickups at places like Harvest Market in Cambridge or Somerville, etc.

Some CSA's have added bells and whistle. Like you can have an allotment of pick your own fruits and veggies if you go to the farm. Some will even give you discounts if you pledge to do a certain amount of work on the farm (like weeding, which could be fun if you really wanna get your hands dirty). One even required that you do work on the farm to join the CSA. Overall, I went with the simpler plan with an easier pick up. And Stillman's looked more organized than some of the smaller farms. We get a newsletter ever week to tells us what to expect the following week and updates on the farm. I'm really looking to the fresh fruits and veggies we'll be receiving. And it just feels good to be supporting a local farm. (a small business, just like me!) So to find a CSA near your, click here.