S/O Choosing a CSA?

[Melaine]

I think I posted something similar last year and never followed through. But I really do want to do one this year. I'm struggling to decide between three different farms. It's difficult to compare prices it seems like, but I feel like all three seem reasonably priced. One of my facebook friends uses one, so that is a point for them, BUT they don't do eggs or meat, so I'm less inclined to sign with them. I would at least like eggs.

One of them has longer availability....21 weeks. And they are closer to us so there is a possibility that we might visit which appeals to me (not sure if we ever actually would).

I do have a question: Pick-up is a certain day of the week. What if I am out of town or something? Can I get a friend to pickup my food (and give it to them or whatever, so at least it isn't wasted?)

Other than that, how do you choose a CSA and what other factors should I consider? I have looked for reviews and am not finding very much online.

[gobadgers]

I'm so excited for CSA season to start!

This website has some information on CSAs: http://www.localharvest.org/

Our CSA is from a small farm and does not have eggs or meat either - I chose the most convenient one. I know there are other farms that sell eggs and meat separately around here, although I haven't looked into them. Maybe someday soon...

We hadn't visited the farm before (our previous CSA was a cooperative of small farms in Wisconsin, which had its own advantages), so I'm excited to take the kids to the farm this year.

[MoJo]

Thanks for sharing! I had only heard of one in another county in the seven years I lived here, and the regional one doesn't serve my area yet.

But the localharvest site lists several places that are close and convenient. Looking forward to learning a lot more!

[brittone2]

In our previous CSA, if you were going to be out of town and could give a heads up in advance, you could skip that week and get a double share a different week in the season. Every CSA would have a different policy for weeks you can't pick up, I imagine. We've also had my parents pick up and then they just enjoyed the veggies that week.

Just ask :)

[Twoboos]

I think we have at least 4-6 more weeks before our CSA starts, there's still snow on the ground here! :) I can't wait for ours to start.

I'm a part of a meat CSA (pick up once a month, goes all year) and a veggie CSA (pick up weekly, 21 weeks).

Usually if I am away I have a friend take my share. For the meat you pay at each pickup, so they pay. For the veg I've paid in advance, so I just give them my share.

I never thought about asking to do a double-share the following week. Great idea! I think I will do that this year.

[ezcc]

Can you share how much you pay for your csa and what you get? I feel like csas around here (md) tend to be pretty pricey. I have done them in the past, 500-600 dollars or so and if I miss a few weeks I feel like I have wasted a lot of $, even if I give my share to someone. Plus I did one where I got tons of greens, fine but those are super cheap in the store already. There is one that looks great near us- and includes bread and eggs plus 8 veg/fruit items a week- and it sounds like they have more berries etc but it's over 800 dollars and is quite a drive. It's 24 weeks. I'm thinking about it- it gets great reviews but would love to know what others pay.

[Melaine]

Ohhh bread would be nice! I'm finding it so difficult to compare prices because the baskets aren't the same size and of course the items could be so different.

[boolady]

We had two to choose from: one that was more established, had many more shares, and was almost twice as far away, but that offered some things in the shares that the closer one didn't (like eggs) and one that is about 15 minutes away, smaller, was only in its 5th year, and had local eggs, poultry, and some fruits they didn't grow (like apples) for sale from local nearby farms using organic farming practices and had pigs on pasture that were butchered and sold to CSA members at the end of the CSA year. The bigger CSA was certified organic; the smaller one (and by smaller I mean still at least 200 shares) is too new to be certified, but uses all organic practices. For the larger one, given the distance away, we would have used local delivery, as they had several pick up stations near our home.

We went with the closer one, and couldn't have been happier. For us, in addition to the food, part of our decision to join a CSA was to help DD see the connection between her food and the earth and be a part of it. She and I would go every Saturday and get our share, pick the u-pick crops, wander around the farm trails, visit and feed the pigs, etc. She can't wait to go back this year. I could just feel myself unwind when I got there. They also had lots of events for the CSA members-- potlucks, potato digs, end of the year party, etc.

If we couldn't pick up that day, you could pick up on Tuesdays. You could collect your u-pick items any day but Sunday. If you were unable to get your share a certain week, you could have a friend pick it up for you or for them. Our neighbors took our share the week we were on vacation.

I wouldn't discount the idea of one that's close so that you could go visit. It was always a great place to interact with other adults and kids and just be outside in the beautiful surroundings. It is a safe place where I didn't worry about giving DD some independence to wander a bit because there were huge areas off limits to cars. If all other things are equal, I'd chose one near me. If that isn't important to you, then I'd just go with my gut as to which one seems more appealing on paper.

ETA: Ours is 26 weeks, $540 per share. I just don't see how that isn't a great deal at under $21 per week. There is no way with the amount of produce we eat in my house that I don't spend that at the grocery store and there is no way I could get everything we get, grown organically, for that amount.

[Jenn27]

We chose ours bc it was the best deal at $430 for 32 weeks! They are an Amish family and practice organic farming. They have eggs, meat, maple syrup, canned goods, and baked goods along with delivery. They have a greenhouse so they can extend the growing season. After eggs and delivery fee, our boxes will be $16/week! And you can skip a week and double up the next up to 3 times. I can't wait for May!

[Melaine]

Jenn, that is amazing!!

[Melaine]

Thanks for your input Boolady! I wish the "close" one was close enough to do the pickup there. It's still about 30 minutes away. But they are having an open house on Saturday so I'd really like to check it out. It does sound great for the kids to have visited the place where our produce is coming from...I'd love that!

[cucaw30]

For us, in addition to the food, part of our decision to join a CSA was to help DD see the connection between her food and the earth and be a part of it. She and I would go every Saturday and get our share, pick the u-pick crops, wander around the farm trails, visit and feed the pigs, etc. She can't wait to go back this year. I could just feel myself unwind when I got there. They also had lots of events for the CSA members-- potlucks, potato digs, end of the year party, etc.



This is exactly why we love our CSA too. It is about 20 minutes away and with us both working FT, it can seem like a haul to bring DS1 and DS2 there every Thursday night during the season but, it is totally worth it! DS1 loves it. This will only be the farm's third season. Since we started and DS1 was less than 18 months, he has loved going. He loves to sit on the tractor and also help pick the u-pick stuff. It is great to see him eating stuff that he picked himself. As he gets older, I think it will be even more important. It will be exciting this year because DS2 will also want to sit on the tractor.

We pay $575 for 22 weeks. To me, it is a great deal. There is unlimited u-pick herbs and flowers. We usually get about 7-10 items and it forces us to try new things. The final share at the end of the season is huge. We are still working on winter squash, etc.

I think it is a great experience and couldn't recommend it more. :thumbsup:

[brittone2]

Our old CSA did a drop off in my town (5 min drive). A few times a year they invited members to help harvest garlic or dig potatoes (optional).

We didn't go the farm all that often, but we did an annual farm tour (25+ farms open their farm up to visitors. You buy a badge and visit as many farms as you'd like over the course of a weekend) each year and we visited many of our farmer friends from the farmers market and co-op grocery (co-op sourced a lot of things locally).

I have found my kids are more adventurous with trying things when they've seen how it is grown, met the farmer, etc. They also liked the "surprise" factor associated w/ what we were going to find in our box each week, and the fun things we got like purple carrots, blue potatoes, sungold (yellow orange) tomatoes, stuff like that :)

I love that my kids know where our food comes from. We currently buy a lot of meat/dairy from a local farm and hung out with the baby goats there last weekend :)

[Pepper]

Our CSA is actually a co-op that works with several growers. It's great because you usually have some choice of items each week. For example, everyone will get 4 ears of corn, 1 lb tomatoes, and a head of lettuce, but then you chan choose 3 of 5 different items to round out your share. (Just makeing those choices up off the top of my head - the actual offerings and quanitites were different).

For 20 weeks of veggies, I think the cost is ~$200 for a "single" share and $330 for a "family." For our family of 2 adults and 2 little kids, the single share has been enough - I can use everything up every week and supplement with farmer's market shopping or my veggie garden.

Our CSA also offers a fruit share, which is more expensive ($190 for a family share) but I do it b/c my kids are fruit fiends. They also have bread ($75/19 weeks), local/organic cheese ($75, for 15 weeks I think), and herbs ($45, not usrehow many weeks since I haven't opted for it). In addition, you can place bulk orders if you plan ahead - so I buy flats of raspberries and bushels of peaches to make jam. I would do pick-you-own but my kids are way to hyper for it - this way I get the fresh fruit without having to do the work :-) In the fall, you can place bulk orders for storage veggies, mapel syrup, honey, and other goodies.

I love all these additional features but the bit about having a little choice each week is really key. We get our meat from a separate CSA (which also has eggs), and I recently joined a fish CSA too. (When I told my hubby about the fish one, he looked at me seriously and said "Honey, I think you have a problem...") :rotflmao:

[squimp]

The biggest factor is convenience for me. If they drop off at my house, that is huge. We are kinda locked into supporting our friends' emerging CSA, but we would definitely prefer one that drops off for the convenience factor (and some do around here). I also like that our CSA gives us some choice if there are things we really don't like, they don't send them.

When we're gone we usually just have someone else pick up - we wouldn't want a double share the next week.

[Melaine]

If I could have found one to drop-off at my house, that would have been awesome!

I just signed up with one of my top three choices. I decided to just start with a medium share for a seven week session and see how it goes. Thanks for all the input!