First, you may be asking “what’s a CSA?” It stands for Community Supported Agriculture and it means exactly that — the community supports its local farmers by buying into their planned, or future, crops or products. The benefits are win-win for both the consumer and the farmer.
There are many CSAs in the mountains of western North Carolina (check it out on ASAP, which stands for Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) but, unfortunately, the majority of those CSAs only run during the warm months. But hey, there’s nothing like a challenge, right? I got the bright idea of offering a winter CSA. Most of us small producers would love to have year round income; not just during the summer months when there are many local farmer’s markets in which to participate. There was only one problem with this brilliant idea — small producers can be hard pressed to supply all of the products needed to make a varied and appealing CSA box each week. Hence, a cooperative CSA.
Six of us “farmers” got together to provide a wide variety of products to 14 members who signed up and paid for a share of what we raise. Together, we offer a wide range of goodies to our members. There’s Sandie B., our veggie farmer; myself, the microgreens queen; James J., our free range egg provider; Hall Y., our pork farmer; Travis D., who provides chicken and/or rabbit; and last, but not least, Matt M., our gourmet mushroom grower.
How does it work? Interested consumers pay a preset amount at the beginning of the CSA to receive a weekly box of what we’ve grown. So, for sixteen weeks, from mid-November to the end of February, our members pick up a box each week that contains fresh winter vegetables, microgreens and free range, non-soy and non-GMO eggs. The price for this basic box is $478, which is less than $30 per week. All our produce, eggs and microgreens are grown naturally. Members are also given the option to sign up for a weekly selection of pork, chicken, rabbit and/or mushrooms at an additional small cost.
We are now into the sixth week of our Cooperative Winter CSA and it’s going really well. Our members are delighted with their weekly boxes of freshly harvested foods. We realized that a winter CSA meant vegetables and greens that aren’t as well recognized as tomatoes and green beans so we included a section on our website that provides interesting recipes for that week’s box of food. While a bunch of mustard greens may seem unexciting (and unappealing), a step by step recipe for Winter Greens Gratin makes it easy, and interesting, to eat healthy winter foods. An additional benefit is that our members are “eating with the season,” instead of chomping on hard, store bought tomatoes in December. Ever try crispy turnip fries? Yum!
One of our members reported a tremendous drop in her cholesterol after being tested just before the start of the CSA and, again, after four weeks of eating CSA provided foods.
What does a typical box look like? You’ll find a dozen free range, non-soy and non-GMO eggs, a box of freshly clipped microgreens, a winter green like mustard greens or kale, sweet potatoes or winter squash, heirloom apples, cabbage or bok choy and, usually, a special goodie from one of us. This week, it’s freshly baked, organic whole wheat bread (but shhhh – don’t tell!). And, for those who signed up for extras, they’ll get a beautiful box of gourmet mushrooms, a cut of pork such as chops or sausage links, and a plump hen, freshly processed. Both of our animal producers practice organic methods (no hormones or antibiotics) and both practice humane methods of dispatch.
A CSA is a win-win for everyone. The farmer (or provider) earns a living wage. The member eats fresh seasonal foods while supporting the local economy. The local health food store allows us to do the pickups there so our members also have the opportunity to shop for additional healthy items. Another win-win. We get a warm and hospitable place for the CSA weekly pickup and the store owner, Tara, gets additional customers through her very lovely shop.
Here are a couple of photos from our first pick up. Each farmer brought an appetizer using the foods they produce and we made a party of it. The CSA has been lots of fun and continues to be so each week . . .
