Community Supported Agriculture (CSA's)

T

TechnoDonut

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Veteran XX
Anyone here ever buy a share in a CSA? I'm thinking of splitting a share with a buddy of mine in a CSA near Baltimore.

Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.
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What were your experiences?

General thoughts?
 
i know a lot of people who do this at my work (it gets delivered to them)

seems like a pretty good idea and if you like fresh fruit/veggies its awesome
 
Yeah, I'm pretty excited about it now! I am also starting a small garden inside and outside my apartment. We're getting straight up pastoral here in downtown Baltimore!
 
It can be good and bad. Some CSA's are actually just shitty whole foods knock offs where they'll just send you generic organic stuff that might not actually be local. The other ones get you a bunch of fresh shit that you'll go, "Huh, I guess I better learn how to cook Swiss Chard." It's cool that you get stuff that is local and fresh but sorta shitty in that you don't get to pick more of the stuff you actually like.

I was a member of a CSA and quit it because I was finding the same shit at my local farmer's market and at a better price too.
 
i had a half share last year and found that I got a lot of stuff I didn't have a use for. I could just go to my farmer's market and buy the stuff I actually wanted (from the same local farms)
 
it's a pretty trendy thing to do now

i wouldn't really be surprised if most farms used it to get rid of shit they're having trouble selling
 
well i got to pick what i wanted so it wasn't completely useless however for each month they have a chart of what they expect to harvest and you have to use that are your guideline. so early in the season its pretty much all greens so you can't say give me some tomatoes so you wind up saying ok sure I'll take some kale I guess. i tried to use my leftover space for fresh herbs since they always have those. they also have flowers and you can get those if you want.
 
we spent the last four years splitting a share, it's nice, but end up with a lot of waste.
you're also spinning the dice on what you're going to get based on weather, etc etc
 
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