Farm to Table...

This harvest season, now through fall, Washington Post columnist Stephanie Witt Sedgwick is joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture group) and writing about the results. In this week’s column "Next Stop on Our Local Tour: CSA" Sedgwick outlines the basics of her CSA plan.

She’s joining the Potomac Vegetable Farms, a CSA consisting of 600 shares and is paying $640 for a summer and fall share (that works out to $27 per week to feed two adults). Consumer interest in CSAs is grounded in a desire for fresh, local food and the living by the spice of the seasonal harvest. The downside: the harvest is unpredictable and you may not like what you get, and, if you can’t keep up with all the food you get each week, you may end up throwing away more veggies than you eat.

While now’s not the time to join a CSA, registration is generally at the start of the year, it is a good time to start thinking about joining for next year. There will likely be openings as turnover is high for many farms.

Interested in getting started?

Find local CSAs through Local Harvest (or see our home page). Green People has a searchable directory of CSAs. And, Cookie Magazine has a CSA directory as well as CSA tips for families.

While you’re waiting to sign up for next year’s harvest, here’s what to do this year to make sure a CSA is right for you:

1.      Research the CSAs in your area to learn what they grow, when it’s harvested, what you can expect in terms of delivery or pick up and cost.

2.      Keep track of your food costs this summer so you’ll know whether or not a CSA is a bargain for your family.

3.      Start getting creative with cooking—during CSA season you’ll get a box of whatever’s coming out of the ground that week, so learn now how to cook everything you see at the farmer’s market so next year nothing will go to waste.

4.      Find other families who may be interested in sharing a CSA membership with you if you’re only one or two, and worry that the huge box of veggies will go to waste in your refrigerator. 

Photo of a CSA share from 21st Century Citizen.