Ten Reasons to love Community-supported Agriculture!

Yesterday we picked up our vegetables from our very?áown?áfarm.?áWhat do I mean when I say “our own farm”? Our farm?áis located?ájust outside the?áCity.?áThe farmers from this farm come into town once every couple of weeks in the winter, and once a week in the summer?áto deliver?áquantities?áof foods?áproduced on the farm. Ok, so it’s not really “our” farm, but it feels like it is. ?áIt is an awesome way to add more vegetables to your life!

Here are ten reasons to love Community-supported Agriculture!

1.?á?áEating with the seasons, the vegetables are always optimally fresh.

2.?á You donÔÇÖt have to enter a drab grocery store and look at dozens of irradiated, sad little vegetables and scan prices, calculating the best value to find your food. The farmer does the choosing for you and the CSA partnerships are a good deal for both the farmer and the city partner.?á I find this to be a convenient system that reduces stress.

3.?á Speaking of convenience, if you are lucky like us, your farmer drops off the vegetables 2 short blocks from your home.

4.?á ItÔÇÖs more than veg.?á Sometimes farmers will partner with other producers who deliver eggs, cheese, breads, honey, maple syrup and more to the?ápick-up site.

5. ?áEncounter vegetables you have never eaten before in your life. ?áCSA partnerships have introduced me to celeriac, kohlrabi, sunflower sprouts, paddy pan squash, other unidentified squashes and more.

6. ?áThe farmer often sends you a newsletter with?ánew recipes, especially for the lesser-known vegetables.

7. ?áSpeaking of surprises,?áyou get?áa range of vegetables that need to be used soon,?áas well as?áones that can be stored for weeks. For those with short attention spans, or who find it difficult to plan menus days ahead, this is a wonderful way to always have “something for dinner”.

8. ?áAre you on the ÔÇ£Hundred Mile DietÔÇØ??á ItÔÇÖs a cinch with this partnership!

9. The people?áat the drop-off place?áare really friendly. There are smiles all around. It feels like “Community”.

10. The vegetables are all organic. They all come from the same farm. This adds biodiversity, which strengthens the land. This?áempowers?áour farmer to grow what she wants, and allows her to respond in an intuitive way to what her?áland needs and requires.

If you are in Quebec, check out the equiterre website. ?á Summer is a great time to join a CSA partnership, but there are also many winter partnerships available.

http://www.equiterre.org/solution/fermier-de-famille

written by: Tammy Schmidt and Natasha Henderson!