To Get More Local I’d Have to Move to a Farm
April 21st, 2009
I just joined my first CSA!
I absolutely love farms (check out the farm I am headed to this weekend: Blackberry Farm) but I also love The Big Apple. New York City couldn’t be much further from a farm, there are no rolling pastures with animals freely ranging and no organic crops (unless you count the organic herbs growing outside my window). But one of the best reasons to live in New York City is you can always count on New Yorkers to access the best of everything!
Today I joined my first CSA, acronym for Community Supported Agriculture! The CSA I joined wasn’t holding the coveted #1 spot on my list, that CSA has a longer waiting list than reservations at Babbo or season sporting tickets in most other towns in the nation. Yet, as a seasoned New York transplant, I embrace the competitive nature of the city and feel blessed to have found a home at a CSA within 20 blocks of my apartment.
What is a CSA exactly?
Here is the lowdown: Our farmer, Norwich Farms, offers a certain number of “shares” to the public. I purchased a share in our farmer and in return I receive a box full of seasonal produce every week through the harvest season, which goes all the way to November! These shares are worth a lot more than many publicly traded companies’ stocks these days. One share consists of a box of vegetables and then I get to add selections of my choosing, like fruits, fresh eggs and non-homogenized milk products. It’s like the local farmer’s market delivered to you!
Just like any shareholder, there are risks. Collectively, the CSA community assumes some of the risk the farmer takes on, for example, like how the weather might negatively impact the crops. I also risk vegetables arriving on my doorstep with no idea how to prepare them, but local CSA members have convinced me that our community blog will be filled with recipes from members on how to prepare anything. For fresh, organic produce delivered straight to my neighborhood, without a middle man, those are risks I am willing to take.
To find a CSA near you visit the Just Food website for CSA locations in NYC.