What is CSA?
Community supported agriculture (CSA) allows residents in urban and suburban areas to have access to high quality produce from local farms. This is done by purchasing a “share” of produce from a local farmer. For the summer and early fall months, the farmer delivers your share of produce to various convenient drop off/pick up locations.
How much does a CSA membership cost?
A CSA membership costs about $450-$650 for an entire season. A membership to CSA provides an average of 7 to 10 different types of vegetables and herbs (and some provide fruit) per week. Some CSAs shares offer half-share memberships.
Farmer’s Markets
Farmer’s markets provide city and suburban dwellers access to fresh (and organic) produce and other products.
What does it mean to be local?
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, local is defined as being within 250 miles from the city/suburban area—a reasonable day’s drive for farmers and other vendors.
What are the benefits of purchasing from local vendors?
There are many benefits to purchasing from local farms. When your food only has a short distance to travel, the carbon footprint is significantly smaller than purchasing produce from large vendors that obtain their products from all over the world and continent such as Chile, Mexico, Peru, and California. Local is good for the environment.
Another benefit of purchasing from CSAs and farmer’s markets is that it allows you to develop an appreciation for, and connection to, how your food is grown.
More and more people these days want to know where their food is coming from and who handles their food. Many say that food sold in large supermarkets is incomparable to the quality, flavor, and freshness of local products.
Interested in finding CSA or farmer’s market near you?
Take a moment to browse these websites and mobile apps to find CSA pick up locations and farmer’s markets near you.
Websites
www.justfood.org
www.usdalocalfooddirectories.com
www.localharvest.org
Apps:
Farmstand
Farmline
U.S. Farmers Market Finder
