{"id":1415,"date":"2016-12-20T10:11:19","date_gmt":"2016-12-20T15:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/?p=1415"},"modified":"2016-12-20T10:11:19","modified_gmt":"2016-12-20T15:11:19","slug":"csas-and-small-plot-homesteaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/csas-and-small-plot-homesteaders\/","title":{"rendered":"CSAs and Small Plot Homesteaders"},"content":{"rendered":"

First, you may be asking “what’s a CSA?”\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The benefits are win-win for both the consumer and the farmer.<\/p>\n

There are many CSAs in the mountains of western North Carolina (check it out on ASAP, which stands for Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project<\/a>) but, unfortunately, the majority of those CSAs only run during the warm months.\u00a0 But hey, there’s nothing like a challenge, right?\u00a0 I got the bright idea of offering a winter CSA.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Hence, a cooperative<\/em> CSA.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 Together, we offer a wide range of goodies to our members.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

How does it work?\u00a0 Interested consumers pay a preset amount at the beginning of the CSA to receive a weekly box of what we’ve grown.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The price for this basic box is $478, which is less than $30 per week.\u00a0 All our produce, eggs and microgreens are grown naturally.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

We are now into the sixth week of our Cooperative Winter CSA and it’s going really well.\u00a0 Our members are delighted with their weekly boxes of freshly harvested foods.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 An additional benefit is that our members are “eating with the season,” instead of chomping on hard, store bought tomatoes in December.\u00a0 Ever try crispy turnip fries?\u00a0 Yum!<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

What does a typical box look like?\u00a0 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.\u00a0 This week, it’s freshly baked, organic whole wheat bread (but shhhh – don’t tell!).\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Both of our animal producers practice organic methods (no hormones or antibiotics) and both practice humane methods of dispatch.<\/p>\n

A CSA is a win-win for everyone.\u00a0 The farmer (or provider) earns a living wage.\u00a0 The member eats fresh seasonal foods while supporting the local economy.\u00a0 The local health food store<\/a> allows us to do the pickups there so our members also have the opportunity to shop for additional healthy items.\u00a0 Another win-win.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Here are a couple of photos from our first pick up.\u00a0 Each farmer brought an appetizer using the foods they produce and we made a party of it.\u00a0 The CSA has been lots of fun and continues to be so each week . . .<\/p>\n