Small Change: Find a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Share!

Although we have started our own garden, we aren't seasoned enough to be able to count on growing all of our own produce.  This year, I am very excited that we have purchased a share at a local farm.  The share will consist of 17 weekly bundles of fresh goods.  This coming Wednesday is the first week and I am super excited to pick up our goodies!  I am looking forward to seeing the benefits of buying and supporting local food and learning how to cook with in season veggies that I don't usually eat or cook with.  If you are interested in this idea, here is how we got started:

1. Visit the Farmfresh.org website and search for farms offering shares in your local area;
2. Reach out to the farms of interest and ask any questions you may have about their practices, use of chemicals etc.  Many of the farms have websites that offer all of the information at your fingertips;
3. Find out information about the different sizes and costs of shares;
4. Go for it!

If purchasing a full season share feels like too big of a commitment, don't forget that websites like farm fresh also provide a lot of information about local farmers' markets. Farmers' markets are another great way to eat local, fresh food and support local businesses without the full season purchase.

For our first season, my sister-in-law and I decided to share a large family share.  This would allow us CSA rookies to use fresh, local produce for our families without risk of wasting.  As for the budget, the 17 weeks of fresh veggies breaks down to about $17.65/week for each family.  Not bad!  I'll keep you posted on the goods as they come in!

Although our CSA share is just starting this week, I am confident that this will be a small change with large benefits.  Here is how I see it:

Small Change

• Research local farms offering shares;
• Reach out to the farms to get more information;
• Plan and purchase a CSA share for the season!

Large Benefits

• Support local farms/business:
• Feed the family freshly grown produce;
• Meet the people who grow your family's food;
• Learn how to cook/bake with new foods that are fresh and in season!

Here's to a great summer!

$30 Challenge

Today I took a trip to the Amherst Farmers' Market as part of my quest for feeding us healthy, fresh, minimally processed food.  Lately, I have been internet surfing about the cost of eating organic foods and I have been paying closer attention to the cost difference between organic and non-organic products.  I'll be honest here- it's hard not to pay attention to the difference when you try to eat this way as much as possible because the grocery bill does go up.  That said, I do believe that the costs of basing our diets on unhealthy foods may not show up in the grocery bill but they will show up eventually in health problems and quality of life issues.  My goal is to find a balance that allows us to eat the freshest, healthy food without spending unnecessary money.  I'm confident that there is a happy medium there somewhere.  Perfection isn't necessary- I think every small effort for a healthy lifestyle pays big.

So today's shopping trip was for produce and I came up with the idea to set a limit of $30 and see how far it took me.  We're a hungry bunch.  We're active and we eat.  Here are the goods:

- 1/2 lb spinach

-1 head romaine lettuce

-shitake mushrooms

-2 large tomatoes

-1 small tomato

-1 pint sugar snap peas

-1 quart strawberries

-1 pint raspberries

-1 loaf multigrain bread

All of the vendors I bought from were organic and I'm happy with my purchases.  I do have one confession: I did go over budget by $1.  I had $4 left in the budget challenge I set and the pint of raspberries was staring at me.  Yes, they cost $5.  Yes, they taste amazing.  I considered hiding them from my husband before he polishes them off in one sitting, but I guess that would be mean. 

Overall, I felt good about buying from local vendors and farmers.  Amherst isn't a location that's convenient for me to go to every week, but it certainly is worth a trip once in a while and it's motivated me to keep an eye out for other farmers' markets.  If you have any recommendations in the Massachusetts and New Hampshire areas, send them my way! I'm off to eat :)