Community Supported Agriculture: How Does My Garden Grow?

Written By:  Gaby Gollub

We’ve all been encouraged to “buy local” to reduce the amount of fuel burned and greenhouse gases produced by transporting goods from across the country and overseas.  Food, for example, travels an average of 1,500 miles from the farm to the store.

Many of us have started frequenting farmers’ markets, meeting – and supporting – the people who grow our food not so far away. And some of us, willing and able to pay early in the year for a season of food, are participants in – and, in my case,  devotees of – community supported agriculture (CSA) http://www.localharvest.org/csa.

As a member of a CSA, we buy a “share” in a farm and enjoy a box of just-picked vegetables every week throughout the farming season. Some farms also offer fruit, eggs, bread, cheese, meat, flowers and other products. I can’t speak for other CSA members, but joining a CSA last year and renewing this year is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I persuaded some co-workers to join as well and found an amazing organic farm to make weekly deliveries to our workplace. Last year, I tried lots of delectable fruits and vegetables for the first time, prepared lots of new, healthful and, if I may say so, delicious dishes, learned a lot about food and, yes, even felt part of a community.

Last week an apprentice from the Ecosystem Farm at the Accokeek Foundation brought our first boxes of the season – butter lettuce, scallions, sprigs of rosemary and orach (also known as mountain spinach) – and I am brimming over with my excitement for the remaining 29 weeks. In what I hope will be a regular series, I will share my kitchen adventures and findings about sustainable agriculture. I hope you’ll join me!

Photo Credit: Flickr CC User bornOKthefirsttime (the author)