Join a CSA
There’s nothing like picking up your first CSA batch of fresh veggies.
If you haven’t used a CSA before, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture and it’s where you commit to buying your produce from a local farm and you pay upfront for the growing season. It’s awesome for many reasons:
1) It saves you money. The cost of fresh locally grown produce is much cheaper when you’re buying directly from the farmer because you cut out the middleman.
2) You get fresher food. CSA produce doesn’t get shipped in long-distance delivery trucks or ships and doesn’t sit on store shelves before getting to you. It gets harvested the day before, sometimes even day of. As a result, the produce tastes delicious, is more nutritious, and lasts longer than store-bought.
3) You support local farmers. If we don’t support local farmers, we end up with food from large, corporate farms whose practices are often unsustainable and unethical. Keeping small farms in business supports the local economy, and offers good farmers the opportunity to grow food in a way that’s good for people and the planet.
4) Learn to eat seasonally. Receiving your CSA share each week helps you learn which foods grow during different times of the year. It’s fun learning about these growing cycles and looking forward to various foods as they become ready to eat.
5) It gets you out of your eating routine. It’s pretty easy to get stuck in a food rut where you buy the same things over and over at the grocery store. CSAs force you to try new produce that you wouldn’t necessarily have thought to try. You never know, you might discover a new favourite.
Google CSAs in your area or ask your local FB group for good CSAs in your city to see what options you might have!