Today’s question is from Emily:
I have been doing some research on local CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) and I was wondering if anyone has participated in this. I would love to purchase local fruits and veggies (and possibly eggs and meats) in bulk, but it seems a little expensive considering that most of the CSAs in my area only run for 15-20 weeks (in the midwest) and cost around $500 and up for a full share. Any additional information including pluses and minuses from your readers would be great! Thanks!
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You might search around until you find one that’s right for you. I’ve always wanted to participate but they always seemed quite expensive to risk getting veggies you may or may not like. However, we finally found one that’s cheaper and, so far, we’re really enjoying. This one is 28 weeks and I believe we paid $450 which turns out to be less than $17/week. On average we’re supposed to receive 2/3 a bushel of various veggies, I think. Yes, most of it is greens right now because that’s what’s in season. We’ve been able to eat most of what we receive although I did end up throwing out a head of Bibb lettuce this week. That made be sad cause I had really wanted to use it for making lettuce wraps. Oh, well! I guess $17/week plus still buying fruit and other veggies we always have on had it more than I normally spend but I think it’s worth it. I love the challenge of trying to figure out what to do with veggies we’ve never had. This week I baked chicken on top of a bed of fennel. The chicken came out with a very nice mild flavored that I thought was very tasty.
I joined a CSA several years ago and was very disappointed with the produce we received weekly. So much of it was vegetables that most people have never heard of so they had to include the description of what was in our box and how to use/cook it. I didn’t mind trying new food but when my husband and I signed up, we were hoping to get items that we would grow in our own garden.
I noticed the next year, many of us the had used the CSA that year did not return for the next season. Now we have our own garden with the produce we love.
I would much rather support my local farmer by shopping at the local farmers market and buying eggs from my local chicken farmer.
I did a CSA for a couple years… I think it is worth it just to expand your horizons in terms of food. With a CSA, you get things that you perhaps wouldn’t normally buy/eat, and it forces you to be creative! I discovered many new foods that my family now loves, AND we were eating local, organic, and in season vegetables that maximized the nutrition we could get from veggies. WORTH IT.
I participated in one a few years ago and didn’t find it worth it. I have been using a delivery service that I can customize though and find that it can be worth the hassle of shopping with my little ones!
How timely! I just got back from unpacking my box of produce from a farm stand about 30 miles from my home. My entire “banana box” of assorted fruits and veggies that I got to choose in variety and quantity was $27.64. That large box will last me one month, when I will go back to the “city” and do my monthly “stock” up grocery shopping and get another large box of the freshest fruits and veggies in season. So, here in the Pacific Northwest, the cost of a CSA (while very good community support!) if not financially cost effective for my family of 4.
We are in our 3rd year of vegetable CSA membership and 2nd of a chicke, pork and lamb CSA membership. We are fortunate that both of our operate differently than the ones I have seen mentioned here. Ours are both debit system CSAs. We pay our total amount upfront and then get to choose each week what we want. There is no box prepacked for us, we get only what we want that week. With this system we have no limit as to what we can spend each week or if we even pick up at all. This really helps when we are on vacation, I never have to worry about wasting our share for the week. I can get more tomatoes when they are ready so I can preserve them, etc. We would have to forfeit any money left in our account at the end of the market season (it runs May 1- October 31 for us) if we didn’t use it all by then but that hasn’t happened to us. I usually finish it out around the middle of October and then they give the CSA members a 20% discount when their account is depleted.
We have loved the food choice opportunities our CSAs have given us and will continue to subscribe. I would highy recommend that you look into a CSA that lets you debit from your account rather than prepacking a box for you.
have you asked if your CSA farm does 1/2 boxes? If price is still too high for you, ask a neighbor to split the cost and box every week. Here in MA/NH town farmer’s markets have really taken off – you can buy only what you need from the CSA farm or pick up your box. The markets also have local made honey, breads, cheeses, herbs, fresh flowers, eggs and meat. Producers will often have cooking or caning demos, loads of recipes too. It’s a tad more expensive but the quality far exceeds anything imported or trucked in to the local grocery store. Plus you get to support your community.
Thanks to everyone for your responses! It’s been very helpful to see what everyone thinks about their CSAs. I think that we’ve decided to pass on the CSA this year, mainly because the up-front cost is so high. However, I HAVE been going down to the local farmer’s market every Saturday and picking up what we need/will eat for the week. Because I live in Michigan, our growing season is relatively short and with the very cold spring we’ve had, the variety of fresh fruits and veggies has been severely lacking so far. I’ve also planted a few veggie plants in my yard this year, which is my first attempt at gardening, so we’ll see how that goes! Again, thanks for all of the information. It’ll definitely be something we keep in mind for the future. It’s a great concept and I’m glad to hear so many people have had such great experiences with CSAs!
We do participate in a CSA and at what appears to be the high cost initially we almost didn’t do it this year. However, it is very hard for me to get to my local farmer’s market because of my husband’s shift work and our two very young children. Additionally when I go to the grocery store to buy organic I easily spent what I call my weekly CSA cost on just one recipe! We do a half share (which most places offer) for our very young family of 4 (2 adults and 2 under 4) and I break it down to a weekly cost of $15/week, but that also includes the weeks I am not doing the share because we freeze half of our vegetables that we get and eat them in the off season. We had a crazy past two weeks and easily have a month’s worth of kale now in the freezer and about 2 dinners worth of spinach. Additionally I reduced my produce part of my grocery budget down to $5 and take the additional $10 I used to spend and put it away for the CSA. The key to making the CSA worth the cost is learn to freeze half of the share and make it lost all year.
But I will say you get some unusual vegetables so you have to be willing to be adventurous and learn the art of substitution. We throw turnips in home made pasta sauce or lasagna because my husband doesn’t like them. We have learned that they do great in the crock pot getting nice and soft and you barely notice they are in anything and my family doesn’t even realize they are eating them. I made a chicken pot pie with tatsoi, bok choy and some corn and my family thought it was the best!
Researching the vegetables on line, being adventurous with cooking and freezing half of your share is what I think the key to getting the most out of your CSA and for our family actually saves us a great deal of money for buying organic!
A friend of mine did a great research project on Bountiful Baskets that I thought I’d share here. I think it’s great that you’re “forced” to use veggies and fruits you might not otherwise have bought…broadens your horizons, teaches your children more about what’s out there, and gives you the variety you need to eat healthy. I can hide ANYTHING in my family’s food…have put beets in meatloaf, greens in smoothies (see greensmoothiegirl.com) or scrambled eggs (see Green Eggs and Ham :), and turnips in spaghetti sauce–nothing goes to waste here! I freeze items if I have too much so they can be thrown in recipes later (like soups or stews). Well here’s her email (from Tucson, AZ…a very dry land that can still grow quite a bit of good food as you can see in our garden right now!)
Over the past year, I have sometimes participated in Bountiful Baskets http://www.bountifulbaskets.org. I haven’t done it in the past few months because I wondered if it was really worth it. You pay $15 online ahead of time and then on Saturday morning, you pick up the produce. They have various locations to chose from. You don’t select what you want; you just take whatever they give you week to week and each week it’s different. You can also opt to buy “extra” items like tortillas, bread, bulk produce, granola, baked goods, etc.
This week I decided to try BB again, particularly because they offered tortillas. After I picked up my (regular, not organic) order this morning, I weighed everything and then went to three grocery stores to compare what it would cost me if I had purchased the exact same items, same quantities, elsewhere. Here is what I found: Bountiful Baskets: $15 ($16.50 with handling fee), Safeway: $31.06, Sunflower Market: $27.69; Fry’s $27.85
Here is what Bountiful Baskets had this morning: 1 bunch spinach, 1 head romaine, 1.5 lb zucchini, 1.5 lbs stem tomatoes, 1 lb carrots, 3.75 lbs bananas, 1 cantaloupe, 2 grapefruit, 1.5 lb asparagus, 1.75 lb. apples, 2.5 lb yams, 1.5 lb mangoes.
So is it worth it? I’m still trying to decide. Fortunately, I can use BB occasionally and there is no obligation to participate week to week.
ABSOLUTELY! We ran a CSA last year (moved so we are not doing it now). I had multiple members comment that they liked the variety of veggies and they were able to try things they did not typically have before (like okra, not common in our area). Plus, you are supporting local agriculture. While you are paying more, you are not contributing to pollution with increased fuel consumption and you know EXACTLY where your food in coming from. Cons – sometimes you get a lot of one thing… last year, it was radishes. Also, you are a stakeholder in the farm – so if the weather affects growing conditions, you get what you get. If the weather is perfect, you reap the benefits. If it floods, then you don’t.
And I completely agree with the comments that Emily had above. I spend at least $20 a week for our family of three in fresh produce. It is by far the biggest component to our family’s diet. Yes, it is not as cheap as huge coupon deals. But the health benefits are far superior to canned veggies. And I’m with you, Emily, I could not let a single thing go to waste.
CSA’s are the right thing to do for yourself, your community and your family! Local, organic, and pesticide free. We are healthier for eating this produce, we helped support our local family farms and we tried new clean foods that we would never have simply “picked up” in the grocery. Our farms CSA cost 625.00 for a full share. Last year the crops were plentiful and we had more than our family of four could consume. We canned, froze things, cooked for friends and shared the bounty. It was a wonderful experience for our family, a great learning experience for our children. We tried new recipes from the farmer, we loved the family picnics at the farm and we met lots of wonderful shareholders. Everyone in our family insisted we get the farmers veggies AGAIN! With the money you have saved all year getting store bought “deals” do yourself a favor… buy a LOCAL CSA! You’ll be glad you did.
We just finished up a springtime CSA and, fun as it was to see what we got each week, I was usually disappointed in the quantity of items for the price paid. I discovered that about half of what we got in our CSA were items we didn’t care for, and we are not at all picky eaters. We already grew some of the items and actually told them to give double to someone else because we didn’t need it. I plan on frequenting our local farmers market to be able to choose for myself what to bring home.
I am a new member of a CSA and am really enjoying the experience. If you are a personal who struggles with the unknown, then a CSA is not for you. I want to comment on a couple of themes in the above posts.
First, we all know that deals abound on processed grocery products, but are few and far between on fresh items. I’ve seen far to many couponers who overlook the nutritional need for fresh fruits and vegetables. For me, a CSA membership is a smart way to make sure fresh produce is incorporated into my meal planning.
Secondly, I have to say I’m upset by how many people mention throwing away items that they don’t like and/or throwing away items that they’ve let spoil. Especially on a website like this one, we should all understand how important it is to make use of what we have. I swap produce and homestead eggs with the girls at work. If there’s an item that you and your family just doesn’t like, and you can’t make a trade, cut your losses and donate it to a family or food bank where it can be truly appreciated. There is no need to ever let food waste.
I joined a local CSA that only required a 6-week commitment for $25/wk. I was supposed to pick it up weekly, but the delivery girl lived 1/2 a mile from me so she was sweet enough to drop it off to me. I absolutely loved everything that they would bring. I was excited to get things like kale, swiss chard, beets, blueberries, potatoes, herbs, cucumbers, etc. However, it was sooo much food for 2 adults, a toddler, & an infant. Usually at least 1/3 of the produce would go bad before I could use it. It killed me to cancel it, but I knew that for us it was not a good value because of all of the waste. Like others have said, going to your local farmstand & picking out what you like/need may work out better. This particular CSA was all organic, which was a bonus…I know that a lot of farmstands don’t have a lot of organic, so I’m a little bummed about that.
I volunteered to have my home be a dropoff point for our CSA, which lowered my cost by half AND gave me the opportunity to meet other like-minded folks in my area. I basically agree to have the boxes dropped off and picked up within a two hour window once a week. It is worth a try to see if your CSA might have a similar opportunity available!
We bought a half-share from an organic farm last year and it was awesome. It worked out to be $12/week for 15 weeks starting end of July on. We got free delivery to our doorstep (the farm was over an hour away) and all I supplied was a cooler to leave the produce in. We had options to do a half or whole share, or even every other week delivery. I loved that it was organic, well priced, and that I could offer my family variety!
This is the third year my family has participated in the CSA program. We researched all the farms at our local farmers market and chose the one that sounded best to us. My husband and I split the CSA with my parents. After the first year we decided we loved it so much that we wanted to do an extended one. We pay around $600. It starts the first weekend in June and goes to the first weekend in November. We love having the fresh produce and we even get a discount when we purchase from them at the Farmers Market! It has been a great way to try new fruits and veggies. We look forward to it all year!
As a vendor at a local farm market, I’d encourage you to hit up the local markets! Speaking personally, I’m a teacher, and this is the summer employment that is making my student loans disappear a lot faster than a teacher’s salary will allow. You get to know some of the local vendors, you can plan around your own meals (rather than having to plan meals around what surprises you get in your basket), and all of the markets I’ve been in have criteria regarding selling things that are not grown locally.
I agree that you need to research the particular CSA. I’ve priced out a couple of our local options, and it just isn’t worth it to me. I can pick out the fruits/veggies our family loves from the downtown farmers’ market (all local, mostly organic) for much, much cheaper. I also have a local farmer’s market that sells meat and milk for a fraction of the cost of any CSA I’ve found. So, in my experience, you can still buy local, organic/no-spray vegetables, meat, and milk without paying the high prices of a CSA.
One thing that I noticed not too many people mention, research, Research, RESEARCH before choosing a CSA!!! Like others have said, if they don’t have current info on the web, can’t give you references, or answer ALL your questions, find someone else!!
We just “jumped” into one last year and were very disappointed! We got a 1/2 share that was mostly greens and vegetables that not only had we not heard of, but didn’t know how to cook with! It was a total waste of money.
But lesson learned, we have an AWESOME csa this year (for anyone who may live in the Cleveland, OH area check out freshforkmarket.com). They are not a farm, instead they work with over 70 local producers in the area to put together each week’s basket. Last year’s subscribers had over 350 unique products in their shares over the course of 22 weeks! Plus they offer 3 different “levels” of membership ranging from $25 to $50 dollars a week. Yes, this may be expensive, but for a family of 4 like us, we are doing the $50 a week “share” and plan to not have to supplement it at all (thanks to our stockpile) until fall! Also, Fresh Fork sends out a weekly e-mail alerting us what to expect in each week’s delivery and even gives recipes and other suggestions on how to use everything in the basket. Pretty spiffy if you ask me. =)
Our health insurance offers $200 rebate on a Csa share. We get a “small” biweekly box for $205. After the rebate, it only costs $5 for wonderful fresh local veggies. Can’t beat it!
what health insurance is this??????
Besides getting local, organic food (which was tasty and cool to support ‘neighbors’ instead of corporations or other countries), for me it made shopping and meal-planning easier.
We participated in veggie and meat CSAs last year in IL and the veggies forced me to eat more greens (just am not inspired to pick up lettuce at store) and I honestly think the more-balanced diet helped me get pregnant.
For the meat CSA, it is more expensive than buying it in the store, but again, it was free-range, hormone-free, etc so that is better for our bodies and since it is all frozen, I can just pick out what I want to make for dinner w/o running out to the store. Also, I personally get grossed out by meat so it is much nicer not looking at it at the store.
We live in the Chicago suburbs and pay $120 upfront for our CSA, and $19 per week for the delivery. Last year was our first year, and we were very pleased.
I’m sad to see all the okra haters 🙂 I grew up in Georgia and my family loves okra (my 10 mo old gobbles it up). We are now living in Northern California and fresh okra is super expensive and we cant seem to get our okra plants to live (they like warm weather). If you’ve never tried panned fried okra or okra and tomatoes I challenge you to give it a try. Super yummy!!!
Fried okra (for 2 cups okra cut into 1/2 or smaller pieces, measurements are guesses)
Put about 1/2-3/4 cup of cornmeal in a ziploc baggie (start will less and add more if you need to you dont want extra in the bag after the okra is coated). Add salt and pepper. Wash okra and put in bag of cornmeal. Close and shake until okra is coated. Heat about 2-3 T oil (i like to use olive oil) in a skillet. Pour okra into heated oil, after a couple of minutes turn with a spatula. Dont mess with it too much or the breading will fall off, but dont let it stick. After you’ve turned a few times. Lower heat and cover and let cook around 10 minutes or until the okra is tender. (I’m not sure exactly how long it will take, but a simple taste test will let you kow when its ready. 🙂
You can use frozen okra also, but do not thaw the okra first. Just rinse the ice crystals off. If you thaw it, it will fall apart while it cooks and be a gross mess!
I hope you enjoy!!
What does it taste like? I grew up and live slightly north east, so this Okra stuff is unique to me.
I’m not real sure how to describe it, and I cant think of another vegetable to compare it to. It is kinda woody. It is pod like with lots of seeds inside. I think alot of people are turned off by it because it can be slimy cooked certain ways. (its not slimy when its fried) If you buy it make sure to look for small pods, the bigger ones can be pretty tough and fiberous. I think you should def give it a try 🙂 If you order it at a restaurant you will get it deep fried with a crunchy shell, I dont like to eat it that way, pan frying is so much better.
I am def not an okra expert. Fried okra just happens to be my husband’s favorite so I’ve gotten pretty good at making it. 🙂
As others have said, it depends on the CSA. Mine (in Florida) runs from November to May and is $30/wk from a local farm. For this I buy virtually no vegetables anywhere else with the exception of mushrooms and garlic. I only buy in-season and local fruit and I rarely buy eggs. I did not join to save money so much as to get better quality, organic, and local produce as I found farmer’s markets to be unsatisfactory here. I easily average $30/wk when I buy produce in the store as we (3 adults) eat mostly veggies and fruit with meat, grains, and dairy playing a much smaller part on our plates. I love knowing exactly where my food comes from.
It did take us a while to get used to it. You have to know what to use right away and what will last if packaged properly. I have now developed a repertoire of recipes that I can use a variety of produce in (it helps if you think of it more as developing techniques rather than specific recipes). My husband has also expanded his repertoire of recipes to include several veggies we receive frequently. We did have to agree beforehand not to supplement or substitute from the store until what we had was gone when we began and it took a while to figure out how to cook some of the more challenging produce in palatable ways. Also, while some of our friends have joined with us, others are unable to get past having to eat new foods every week. Most of us have our food habits firmly in place and find it difficult to change. I was able to get my family to go along because we were having to change our eating habits anyway so a few more changes were not a big deal. But one of the downsides is that I must do most of the cooking because the others in my household simply won’t use enough of what’s there, preferring to fall back in old patterns of eating.
It isn’t for everyone.
I found that for my family it is much cheaper to buy at our local farmer’s market than it is to join a CSA. We buy exactly the produce we want when we want it. Nothing goes to waste that way, and I am still supporting local farmers.
This is my first year to join a CSA. I paid $400 for 20 weeks of food (or $20 a week) and I love it! The farm is certified naturally grown so I know all my produce is grown without pesticides. I get a newsletter at the beginning of the week telling me what I can expect in that weeks box. There is always an unusual veggie (such as fennel, beets, or kohlrabi) and lots of “normal” summer veggies. The box changes as the weeks go by–we started with lots of lettuce and now moving into summer veggies which will mean lots of cucumber and squash coming soon. We’ll start getting tomatoes in 2 weeks! I do have to drive about 40 minutes one day a week to get to the farm to pick up, but completely worth the drive. The owners of the farm love explaining how they grow things and talking about the different vegetables they grow. Last week, my parents went with me to the pick up and we spent about an hour in the fields with the owner talking about what he’s growing and some of the growing techniques he is using (my parents have a garden at home). They really love sharing their knowledge and my dad learned lots of new techniques to try with his garden.
I didn’t join a CSA to save money, though I probably have saved money at the grocery store. I plan my meals around the veggies I am getting which means I really limit my trips to the store. I also like knowing how my food is grown and where it is coming from. For me, a CSA is much cheaper than buying the same items at the farmer’s market.
If you’re not someone who will eat a large variety of vegetables or do not like to cook, a CSA might not be right for you and your family.
I’ve looked into them before and LOVE the idea. However, I think they’re better suited for two-income families who don’t have as much time to garden and/or visit the farmer’s market. You can still support your local community AND get fresh, organic produce by starting a garden and supplementing with fruits and vegetables from a local farmer’s market.
As a side note, I had to laugh at everyone who said they’ll never use the okra they get. That’s one of my favorite veggies! 🙂
Like many people have said, I think it all depends. I went with an organic (not certified but follows the guidelines) CSA that costs me $26 a week for 12 pounds of vegetables (plus melons a couple times a month thrown in for free). I went with this particular one because he only grows veggies that I know we will eat. It is a full share and even though I knew we couldn’t eat that much a week when I signed up, I plan on freezing the excess to last us awhile once the summer is gone. While I could probably get some things cheaper at a grocery store/farmer’s market, this is worth it to me for the convenience because I do not have to get up early on Saturday morning, dragging my 2 year old and newborn out of bed, to go to the farmer’s market, hoping to get the produce I want. I also live at least 30 minutes away from decent produce, so the time was also a factor (this particular CSA delivers but since I live farther out I am meeting the farmer halfway each week which is still going to be good for me).
thats suppose to where vegetables come from not kids… its been a long day allready
i rather would have my own garden, its a great way to teach kids where kids come from and you can be def sure its all organic caus you the one that takes care of it. for those who think that the aren’t any good try container gardening, seriously i used to kill any plant we ever bought but then i read the vegetable gardeners container bible, and we tried out some of the harder to kill plants we are currently waiting on our harvest of strawberries, tomatos, peppers and beans, plus a whole bunch of herbs. CSA you still pay alot of the convience of having them harvest and put it in basket, rather make friends with the farmer and pick ur own.
We joined one a few years back, and I did not think it was worth it. We got mostly vegetables, and a lot of them were odd things that were not things we normally eat and I could not get my kids to try. And my girls do eat their veggies pretty well, for the most part. Eggs, meat, etc. were not an option.
I started visiting the farmers market instead, and for under $20/week got a variety of fruits/veggies that we will eat. Plus enough tomatoes, onions, and peppers to make a huge amount of spaghetti sauce that we’ve eaten throughout the winter. My CSA came to $35/week ($700 for 20 weeks).
So I will continue to frequent the farmers market, and this year I’m trying my hand at a garden as well, so maybe I can grow my tomatoes and peppers myself.
I joined an organic one last year and it was ABSOLUTELY worth it!!!! We only buy organic and juice everyday and otherwise were spending $50 or more a week! After joining the CSA it came down to about $10-$15 a week. The CSA for us worked out to about $23 a week. We had an abundance that we gave to friends some weeks.
If you don’t eat that much and don’t care whether it’s organic then it might not be worth it but for us it definitely was!!!
In case you’d like to check it out, I am writing a guest post for Modern Alternative Mama on things to consider before joining a CSA. It will be posted on 5/30.
Great question!
It depends. CSAs vary too much to make generalizations.
Some include only what they grow, others represent a network. Most you take what you’re given, a few allow some amount of choice or substitution.
You should also know that there are no official standards to be a CSA. I’ve never heard of one that’s not local to the area but it could still happen – there’s no regulating body. There are definitely CSAs that are not organic.
So you have to either buy a pig in a poke or do your research.
We were part of a CSA for a few years. It was a great way to try new vegetables and heirloom varieties of old favorites like tomatoes. It wasn’t a great deal for produce in general but it wasn’t a bad deal for organic produce and it was cheaper than buying the same items at market each week. Plus all of our vegetables came from farms within half an hour of home so they were very fresh.
We are trying a CSA for the first time this summer – it’s something I have always wanted to do. I think for me it’s definitely not going to be a money saver on produce, but we are doing it for other reasons.
It’s costing about $20/week for a half share, and we paid up front using our tax refund. I’m hoping that it will help us eat more veggies and try new varieties, as well as support local agriculture. Another thing that really sold me on the particular farm we picked is that they have a U-pick bonus each week, where you can get a little extra produce for free by coming out to pick it. You also get free admission to the farm any time, which includes animals and lots of attractions for kids. So in my mind we paid for a summer of outdoor fun as well as a box of produce.
Forget about “carbon footprint” and just grow your own. You can do container or square foot gardening. There’s a garden for every type to fit your needs.
We have participated in both meat CSA’s and produce CSA’s and we love them. I hands down think the meat CSA was a great investment. The meat was more expensive than what I would buy on sale at the store, but it was local meat that was grass-fed or free-range. Our box would have chicken, pork and beef and we would receive it at the beginning of each month. I didn’t buy meat at the grocery store at all, and meal planning was loads easier because I already knew what meats I had to use. Our monthly box also lasted more than a month, so we took a few months off of the CSA to use up our surplus. We love it!
I would LOVE a meat CSA!
We did a half share last year for $325- the season ran mid may through mid oct… no pesticides, picked up vegies/fruit every week, free range eggs every other week- I loved the variety and quality of the products. It forced me as a cook to be creative with my food each week as I didn’t always know what I was getting until pick up and had to fine tune my menu plan to be sure I used everything up! Forced me to try things I have never had before (kohlrabi) and introduce my children to foods that I wouldn’t have picked up at the store or farmer’s market (radishes).
I loved it so much that we are sharing a full share this summer with my parents. I still have a small garden of tomatoes, peppers and herbs- my mom is still planting her green beans-
The other side of it (and if you bring your children to the farmer’s market with you this also applies)- is having them understand where their food comes from. You are supporting the local economy, it brings an appreciation for the food (free range chicken eggs really do taste better- though I save those for eating and use the grocery store ones for baking! and freshed picked berries- they wolfed them down!), even if you are not a vegetarian- showing them the beauty of vegetables (besides potatoes, corn and carrots) and helping them enjoy a healthy diet. Important stuff!
If you were to tend a garden large enough to get the variety of what you get from a CSA, you would probably spend more time than picking up a CSA basket and deciding what to eat each week. I figure that I have to menu plan anyway- I just leave it more open in the summer (pasta+?, griled chicken+?, steak stir fry with ?, pizza with ?) and fill in the ?s with the vegies for that week. I saved all my menu plans from last summer so I will have a general idea of what I will be getting each week in my basket and can use those as a guide. My pick up starts next week- I am happily awaiting that first batch of eggs, asparagus and spring onions!
Some of these comments frustrate me because a CSA’s “value” is dependent on two things:
a) where you live (and which CSA you belong to) and
b) if you are the type of person who enjoys the challenge of cooking with the seasons and trying new foods.
If you live in a sunny place like CA, you will get a HUGE variety of veggies and fruits all year long. Our CSA offers herbs and dried fruits from summer time during the winter to keep things interesting. So we don’t get inundated with kale all winter. If you live in AK, however, you will probably get much less variety.
If you don’t like trying new produce (things you normally pass over at the store), then a CSA is NOT for you. Because essentially, a CSA lets someone else do the shopping for you. You get what you get. You can embrace it or not. Since most CSAs are non-certified organic, they can be a very affordable way to feed your family organic produce a lot cheaper than from a regular store.
Oh, and like others have mentioned, some farms will let you work for your veggies. Our farm has a work share. Come work 4 hours a week and you get a couple’s share for free.
Also, check to see if it’s a true CSA. A true CSA has produce that only comes from that farm. There are many in our area that buy produce from other farms. I find them more expensive. With our CSA (www.jubileefarm.org if you’re in the Seattle area) the summer CSA is just from their farm. So I know exactly where my money is going. It’s the only one I know of in our area that is a true CSA in the summer. It’s impossible around here to have a true CSA in the winter, sadly. But our farm does do a locavore box where everything they get is grown within 100 miles.
Yes, totally worth it! It forces us to eat a greater variety than we would if I just went to the store. And it is cheaper than comparable produce at the farmer’s market. Our CSA also does a canning share, so I get cucumbers and such to pickle. Our farm also does free “farm school” for kids once a week in the summer – huge bonus! And I love that my kids come with me, help pack the box, and help do the upick so they know where the produce comes from. If you ask most grade schoolers, they think produce comes from the store! Mine know all of it is grown on the farm, and throughthe kid’s program they know how a lot of the farming is done and how to harvest some of the vegetables, etc.
I had the same concerns as others which prevented me from joining a CSA. But it turned out I just hadn’t heard of the right CSA for me. Enter Farm Fresh To You (literally, a representative was going door-to-door in our neighborhood). No contract, produce is delivered to your door step, 7 different kinds of boxes are offered each week (a list of what is in each box is on their website and you can customize it if you don’t like something), small/medium/large sizes are offered, you customize how often you want deliveries, you can cancel at any time, the produce is DELICIOUS (better than any store) and you get the produce for about $1.50/lb. That’s a good price for organic produce AND it’s delivered to your door! Also, deliveries are year-round. The company and farm is in California, so if you’re in the area I would check them out. They made a believer out of me.
farmfreshtoyou.com
My husband and I started http://www.olympialocalfoods.com which is an alternative to a CSA. It is an online farmer’s market! They are popping up all over with markets in Eugene and Santa Cruz. See if there is anything similar in your area… if not… start one! 😉 The pro’s of the website is there is no waste (like at a farmer’s market/store), more products, no minimums, and more than just produce! 🙂
It IS worth it for my family! We joined a CSA for the first time last summer. I don’t know if it was more than buying the fruit and veggies from the store but I had much less waste, my veggies lasted much longer, I didn’t worry about pesticides, my son loved going to the farm and seeing where food comes from, I got so many tips from the CSA’s website on recipes to use with the produce we got that week, and there is nothing better than looking the farmer in the eye and saying thank you for providing good quality food for my family.
Having said that, I thought Cindy’s post above was right on. You need time to prepare the food and a family willing to try new things. I am lucky enough to have both so it was perfect for us!
We are also a family thay eats about 90% of it’s food organic so it just depends on where your priorities are and where you can put your grocery money. Good luck on your decision. Try it for a year if you can and then let us know what you thought!
Am I reading this correctly, it’s 585 a week for CSA in my area? Who can afford that? It’s for 5 months (20 weeks) and that would equal $11,700?????
I’m guessing they mean 585 per season. Which would make more sense. Most CSAs charge up front because they use the money to purchase seeds and pay laborers to work on the farm, etc.
Another way to try a csa is to contact the farm and see if they know of anyone who wants to sell their share while they’re on vacation.
There seem to be two types of csa’s. One is what I like to call the Mystery Basket CSA. Each week you’ll get a basket of veggies and while you may have a little choice, basically you get what you get. Be sure to get a couple of good cookbooks. “From Asparagus to Zuchini” is a great one. I think this type of csa is great if you like being creative and spontaneous.
The other type of CSA is more of a wholesale csa. You pay for your share as a credit and then you spend that credit down on the veggies of your choice from that week’s harvest. Usually you get wholesale prices or some sort of discount. You need to make sure your farmers communicate well or you could be surprised by what you get. I ordered summer squash the first time it was offered expecting small or even baby sized squash and instead got a couple that were baseball bat-sized. Another time I ordered a bunch of what were described as pickling cukes and expected little gherkins and instead got regular sized cukes. You’ll also have to watch you balance and how much you spend each week.
I prefer the mystery basket because I like to look into my weekly basket and make plans with what I have. If I’m ordering off a list then that’s when I’m making plans and it’s hard for me to switch gears when something else shows up. I also had huge balances at the end of the two years I tried the other type of CSA and had to buy a lot of winter squash (stores well) to spend it all.
I love my CSA, for $25 a week I get enough fruits and veggies to last us the whole week, and I also get a dozen eggs as well. It works out really well for my daughter and myself, but we also eat everything. If you’re not into veggies (some more exotic than others), and you’re not a huge fan of scratch cooking and planning your meals out around what’s in your box, I would probably just buy fruits and veggies from the farmer’s market.
We participate in a local CSA. If you want local, organic foods then a CSA is a great option and worth it. ours pulls from 70 local farms and we get meat, dairy, baked goods, pasta, veggies, fruits, etc. Love it!
I heart our CSA! Ours works more like a credit at a farmer’s market–we pay in $500 (full share) and get $575 “credit”. Then every week the CSA “store” is open on Mondays and Tuesdays for us to order what we want; it’s delivered to my workplace on Wed afternoons. The prices are the same as the farmer’s market (before the discount for pre-paying) and we can choose what we want. They have a weekly “mystery item” that is whatever they don’t have enough of for everyone–this week it was zucchini, beans or cucumbers (luck of the draw which one you got). While I miss the adventure of “what in the world do I do with this?”, we can buy what our family will eat (and had a fully stocked freezer and root cellar for the winter–we still have two packages of spaghetti sauce in the freezer!)
What a great arrangement!
We absolutely love our CSA. We’re in SoCal and it runs $250 every 10 weeks. No, I would not normally spend $25 a week on vegetables, but for the quality and freshness it was absolutely without a doubt worth it (I had some of the best strawberries of my life). We buy all organic anyway, so our produce is a little bit more expensive, and we give ourselves a nice buffer for food costs, so it wasn’t hugely cost prohibitive for us. I definitely did not do it to save money, but we sign up every year regardless. It has also given us the opportunity to try new things, which has been fantastic!
A CSA would in no way be cost-effective or a wise choice for our small family of two now! But…I am going to try Share WI this summer and see how I like that.
http://sharewi.org/
You can get produce boxes as well as numerous other items from them. The small box is around 9 lbs. of produce for about $7. They also offer around 10 lbs. of organic produce for $15.
For us, a CSA was the economical choice (in NJ) AND organic, which I love. It runs from Jun 1 to Dec 1, and a half share is $380. About $15 a week, I think. We get fruits, veggies, greens, herbs and flowers. They showed me last years output, and we’re leaning to can, just to keep up. Some weeks last year the half share had 8 lbs of tomatoes.
And it’s going to force us to cook more from scratch. My meal plan will revolve around what we get. The basics (whole wheat flour, regular flour, rice, etc) will just be stocked up. I LOOOVE kale chips, so the 10 million weekly bunches of that, will get used! And now my 16 month old loves them too. That discovery taught me that I can find something tasty to do with anything…and this is going to force me to put in the effort. And save us money!
I have always wanted to join a CSA, but found it cost prohibitive for my family. I spoke with the farmer when I toured the property. I asked if maybe she might let me work the land in exchange for some food. I was shocked when she sent me an email out of the blue. I work for a few hours every week and bring home the healthy stuff. You never know until you ask. 🙂 Hope this encourages someone!
I am a member of a local place here in Seattle, Full Circle Farms, where they deliver organic fruit and veggies. It is worth it, but the prices don’t even come close to yours AND you get selection. It was a win-win for us.
I love love love our CSA. While not the cheapest option around , the quality is amazing, and it is encouraging us to have a more plant based diet, something we’ve been wanting to do for health reasons. It’s healthy, and it makes me happy to feel that we are eating well and supporting the local economy. Thanks to our CSA we are about to sit down to eat a beautiful artichoke, some unusual broccoli-family vegie, new potatoes, (and salmon). 🙂 Without the CSA, we would be eating salad over and over and over…
My husband and I bought a 1/2 share a few years ago but found there was too much we wouldn’t eat. For the same money, we have lots of little local organic farmer’s markets in our area where I can spend the same money and get what we will really eat. The CSA share was fun though.
Shop around since more and more are popping up and they’re all different. What I LOVE about my CSA in the Pittsburgh, PA northern suburbs:
4 box sizes/pick up frequencies to choose from
at least 1 fruit every week
trade table for that veggie you just can’t brave
their regular veggie stand is in the same barn, so I can complete my shopping on site.
I can gift my share to a friend when I’m out of town
Referal program (I saved $60 this year!)
Freebies (how many zucs and lopes can you eat?)
My kids know where veggies come from, and are more willing to eat them
While the grocery prices climb, my CSA prices haven’t changed in 3 years
While I spend more on veggies in the summer, I spend much less on meat. I’d call it even.
We were looking for raw organic milk. We started looking into a local CSA for milk and cheese and the price was so high! We would have been paying over $13/gallon of milk. I forget how much the cheese was, but it was REALLY high!
I loved having a CSA share for the last two summers. Our cost was $375 for June through the third week in October. I shared the cost with my mom and grandma. Its a surprise box with lots of variety, all organic. I loved getting things I would never have purchased at the store and having to figure out how to use them, like kohlrabi, chard, and beets. I did not like getting small quantities of things – sometimes we would get 2 small zucchini, not enough to make much with them. Our share also supported our food bank and local at-risk teens were hired to work the farm for the summer, so that is a nice element. Plus, lots of things grow in our Valley (Willamette, in Oregon).
We joined a CSA with my parents last year. We did just the summer share. We weren’t horribly impressed with the variety of items – although we did get to try a few new things. One of the problems I think might have been the weather in the spring affecting the produce in the summer. I liked that I didn’t have to worry about where my potatoes, green beans or squash were coming from for the summer, though. It was definitely worth it for the experience, but we probably won’t do it again.
Research your CSAs first. We wanted organic and there were 2 near us. One is located in the middle of 2 bio-engineered corn fields and the other is located in the middle of a nature preserve. Many have memberships that allow you to work in place of money. Lots of people do that one. In addition, they always had a lot left over you could take to can, etc… They even had an opportunity to buy your thanksgiving day turkey from them..so much tastier than Butterball. We visited the farms and talked with the farmers before we entered into anything. Highly recommend visits.
CSAs are usually not money-saving ventures, but an investment into your community and local farmers, which are a dying breed. Whether it’s worth your investment really depends on the CSA. My husband and I took part in one in 2009 and it was not a good experience for us. We paid about $350-$400 for the smallest share size (“sampler”) and we got sadly small portions.
I think the main problem was that the farm was too small to adequately accommodate all the CSA members. When I signed up, I expected the “sampler” to be just a smaller portion size of whatever was available that week, but once the season kicked in we found that during many weeks the “sampler” members did not even get the full variety of produce available because there wasn’t enough to go around. Our CSA was also big into growing some really rare veggies which were fun to try at first, but after the 4th week in a row of getting 1 piece of kohlrabi and a 3 different kind of salad greens, we could practically hear our money being flushed down the toilet. The CSA had peppers maybe twice during the whole season, strawberries twice, and never had carrots, so we ended up having to buy our regular produce at the grocery store or farmer’s market on top of the money we already paid the CSA.
I’ve seen pictures from people who were members of other CSAs and they got boxes overflowing with gorgeous produce. I would only join a CSA again if I knew I would get a nice weekly variety of produce that I know we’ll eat. Otherwise, the farmer’s market works much better for our family.
We joined one last year… I wasn’t thrilled with the quality of the produce and selection… I think we’ll do better this year going to local farmers markets with $20 and pick produce that looks fresh and we are actually interested in… plus we love to go and pick our own fruits and berries so every other week or so we’ll do that!
We LOVE our CSA. We have eaten more vegetables than we normally would, tried new things, and its organic, which I can’t normally afford to buy. Our CSA includes ‘pick-your-own’ crops, and they figured out that, at the end of the year, if you had utilized all ‘pick-your-own’ crops, the total cost per pound for organic veggies was somewhere around $1.20/lb. Even without doing all the u-pick, it was still only 1.80/lb. We have also found that since we pick up at the farm, the experience is so worth it. We take a picnic, walk around, etc. I couldn’t be happier with it. It is $545/20 weeks, which works out to be about $21/week I think.
I should have also said that if you do the CSA, get a good vegetable cookbook (like the Best Recipe one), organized by vegetable, so when you get something you don’t know how to cook, you get some ideas. And make everyone (including you) do the “No thank you bite”– you never know what you may end up liking. I also think a half-share is a great idea for newbies. If you approach it with the right attitude, I bet you get hooked too!
We’ve done a CSA for 6 years. We love it. We now eat many more veggies than we used to, and support local farmers, eat food the day it was picked, etc. etc. etc. Whether a CSA vs Farmer’s Market is worth it is up to you, but remember, just because something is at a Farmer’s Market doesn’t mean that it is fresh or local. (There are no pineapple plantations in Pittsburgh, yet there are pineapples at the Farmer’s Market.)
I love saving money as much as the next person, but I save other places so my family has the most nutritious, least impactful food possible. I believe, in the long run, it will end up being the best investment in our health and our community that we can make.
I think it depends on the farmer’s market. Our market only allows produce grown by the farmer or food products made by a person/business (such as a bakery). No pineapples at our farmer’s market!
Yeah, that bugs me too. I have seen so much out of season produce sold at farmer’s markets, and people buying it up thinking they are getting some local deal. You need to know your local growing season. For example, if the market in VA is selling watermelon in May, it’s NOT local.
Haha..this made me think of the farmer’s stand down the street from me. He has a big sign saying “Locally Grown” yet he’s selling bananas and watermelons! And the place is always packed.
Yeah, it always amazes me when people unthinkingly say they are getting local if they shop at a Farmer’s market. Newsflash – avocados don’t grow in the Midwest!
We were a member of a CSA for two years. I believe they had a waiting list both years, so this year they decided to raise their prices quite a bit. I don’t know how it worked out for them, because we decided to drop out. They didn’t give us that much variety, and for two years in a row they had fantastic turnip and beet crops but no carrots for some reason. It can be pretty unpredictable. And I also found the greens went bad very quickly. I’m not sure why they didn’t last as long as the ones in the stores, but we had to use them ASAP.
Also, don’t assume the CSA is organic. Ours did the best they could, but their fruit definitely wasn’t organic. We bought it because it was local, so this didn’t bother us.
So true. Our farmer’s market has a vendor aisle and a local aisle. The vendor aisle is essentially like buying from the grocery store, and has so many people. The farmer’s aisle, even in summer, only has about 4 booths with the same things (tomatoes, squash, peas, corn, and peaches). It’s always disappointing when I hear what others have available.
Um, yeah, my post should say “cucumbers” and “10% off anything”. I should spell check before hitting submit. 🙂
I only read some of the responses, so I’m sorry if this is repeating a lot of the sentiments.
I love our CSA. We couldn’t wait to sign up again. We had the option to go and pick it up, and we’re able to choose the best looking of the bunch. They also have a swap box where you can put what you don’t want and take what others didn’t want.
The thing I love most is that it forces me to try new things. Last year I tried bok choy for the first time – now we’re some stir fryin’ fools. I tried kale and beets for the first time this year. We get a ton of squash, tomatoes, corn, cucumers, potatoes… things I love anyway. The only fruit we get is strawberries, and that’s only for the first few weeks.
Another great perk to ours is 10% anything in the market and at the u-pick farm. It’s great for produce that isn’t included in the CSA, but that I need anyway.
On their website they feature recipes from other CSA members and local restaurants. The thing I mostly like is the sense of community and sharing/gathering. We get more vegetables than we can use, so we’re always inviting people over for dinner.
If you’re looking to save money, the CSA isn’t the way to do it. You can do better if you shop only the bargains at the farmer’s market (though keep in mind, that means you’re buying *anything* that’s in season, so if you’re picky that doesn’t always work well). However, we have done a CSA for about 5 years now and love it. We love getting veggies we wouldn’t normally select. Our CSA does a pretty good job of giving a variety (shop around and talk to people who already subscribe to get a sense for how well its managed), though if you’re a picky eater you WILL get some uncommon veggies (kale, beets, kohlrabi, turnips, etc). If you’re going to toss them and not even try, I wouldn’t recommend a CSA! If you are open to trying new foods, are ok with cooking them all, and are concerned about feeding your family local and organic foods, I think the CSA is a good option. If you want to bargain hunt though, I’d stick to weekly shopping of the farmer’s market and stores with organic options.
We love ours but I likely could buy more cost-effective if I didn’t use it. However, ours is actually a combined CSA, so we get all sorts of local products, including some items like jarred salsa, pasta, meat (whole chickens, ground bison, sausage), beans, eggs, rice, bread from a local bakery, etc. And we only have a 6 week break in March and April – it goes the whole rest of the year. I love the variety and that it isn’t just vegetables, and that while not all organic it is all relatively local while still pulling from a bi-state area. So I can make whole meals out of the weekly share, and they do a good job of making the boxes work for whole meals (ie you get pasta, jarred sauce, bread and greens for a salad, among other share items). I realize this is not the norm for CSAs, but it really works for us and our family.
http://www.fairshares.org
Great posts. I looked at one in my area about a month ago, it runs mid-May to Sept/Oct. It was very expensive up front, they wanted a membership fee up front then a yearly amount. Do most of the CSA’s have a one time membership fee?
I live in Southeastern Wisconsin where we have a relatively short growing season. Our CSA is $400 for late July to late October with one last delivery the week before Thanksgiving. It is an organic farm but is not officially certified. We also have the option of paying upfront for produce from their Farmer’s Market stand at wholesale rate.
In my experience being part of a CSA is not a money saving venture. The question of whether it’s worth it depends on your family’s budget, convenience, and values. I have the luxury of a more flexible food budget so I choose to support local small farms by participating in a CSA as well as buying our meat directly from a poultry farm and preserving and stocking up on produce that comes from our local Farmer’s Market. Our CSA farm has experienced some weather related problems like flooding and cold temperatures (Hence the late July starting time) so there have been weeks where we’ve received very small boxes and even times when there hasn’t been a box for a few weeks. When you purchase a share of the farm you are taking the risk that farm will not have a good harvest. If you are in a position where this would mean no money for vegetables that week I’d hesitate to join a CSA.
I would also do some research in terms of what the various farms in your area end up distributing to members. Your family’s tastes may or may not be suited for this kind of experience. Outside of the fall we were over run with turnips and rutabaga (yuck) we haven’t received boxes that were full of stuff we thought was weird. However, I’ve heard other families in our CSA complain about things like bok choy and salad turnips. Many CSA farms try to grow a wide variety of vegetables, including heirloom varities most people haven’t tried, so if you’re not adventurous it might not be a good fit. 🙂 If you’re very new to the local food scene in your area I’d spend a summer frequenting various farmer’s markets to see what farms are producing. Almost every CSA I know of also has at least one Farmer’s market stand.
That said, I’m so glad we’re in the CSA. It’s been a great experience for our family.
This post just prompted me to calculate how much my CSA costs per week — it’s $15/week, which I feel is pretty fair — it includes mostly vegetables, but a pint of fruit (goes instantly w/ the kids!), herbs, and a dozen eggs. We’re sharing with my parents too, so that shaved some money off the price — a full share is 2 bushels a week, which is a lot.
I like getting different things every week, and the owners of our farm send an email at the beginning of the week saying what’s in the basket and that helps me meal plan. I like cooking and coming up with new recipes, so that doesn’t bother me. Almost anything can either be made into a stir fry, grilled, or mixed with pasta and olive oil.
It also matters about the quality of the contents. The farm we use is not certified organic, but uses earth-friendly and mostly organic practices. The quality of the produce is outstanding — fresh and more delicious than anything from the grocery store.
I’m also lucky that my 2 kids are young and not picky when it comes to trying new things.
I just signed up for the summer and autumn seasons with our local CSA. This will be my first year and I am very excited! My family of 6 is very adventurous when it comes to trying new produce and fruit, so I’m looking forward to the challage of implementing new recipes. We don’t have any “produce only” markets in my area, so it’s worth it to get almost totally organic for the cost of a share. We have a Wal-mart and the produce prices there are higher than what I will be paying at the CSA. Not to mention that the CSA will be much fresher. I am all for supporting our local farmers. The CSA is produce only, so unfortunately we won’t be able to get fresh eggs or meats. A home garden is pretty much out of the question in our current location.
Can you get cheaper vegetables elsewhere? Absolutely. Don’t do a CSA simply to save money.
I joined one in 2009, had none last year, and joined different one this year (no space in the first one and also inconveniently located).
Pros for me:
– Ate more veggies than I would have otherwise
– Tried out new receipes/veggies I wouldn’t have eaten otherwise
– Get outside (with old farm, not new) because part of our shares were items we were to pick ourselves (things like beans, all herbs, cherry tomatoes, raspberries)
– Support those in need – both the farmers and my CSA donates a large share to food bank groups
Cons:
– More expensive than supermarket sale veggies
– Sometimes have more than you can eat and you waste food (need to be diligent about menu planning)
– Not always convenient to get out to farm (new CSA has close pickup instead, but with more limited hours)
In short, I found it fun to look forward to and healthier for me, which outweigh cost considerations.
Also: In both cases I split with another family, so that it was slightly cheaper and we had someone to cover if we couldn’t make a pickup.
The first CSA also gave us some choice (e.g. pick 8 of these 12 items), which I will miss with this new one.
I think it depends on your needs and perspective. I’ve joined a CSA. Mine runs from June to Oct. This is my second year and though I’ve been pleased with it, it does have it’s downfalls. I cannot trade out produce. What I get is what I get. This forces me to be creative with my cooking/planning. Some allow you to to trades or get half shares, mine does not.
What I like about mine, is that it is an organization that teaches refugees skills to earn money via farming produce. So, not only am I getting good organic veggies every week, but I am helping someone get on their feet and earn a living to support their family.
If you can’t make that sort of commitment, eat local in other ways, like visiting your local farmers market weekly for produce instead of the grocery store for these things.
I say no. We looked at doing this with my parents and we had to assess the true weekly cost and the wide variety of produce you get. It was hard to justify a $35/week (or in your case $25-33/week) on produce. I asked myself – do I even get close to that weekly amount at present? – the answer was no. Also we reviewed the long list of veggie varieties and came to the conclusion that we wouldn’t eat at least 30% of it (nor would my parents) … so we’d be paying for veggies that we’d throw away. If you’re the type of family who eats anything & everything it may be a good idea for you, but I’d advise you calculate the true weekly cost against your current spend. It may be much wiser to start a container garden (or traditional garden if you have the land) at your house for the more expensive items (tomatos, etc) and supplement the rest from the store.
To me, the value in a CSA lies (lays? I never get that right!) in the value for the cost, rather than the actual outlay. I’ve used several in the past and found that they are worth it for my family of adventurous eaters. While the food is not rock-bottom in terms of dollars, the CSA costs were excellent for the quality of food received. I’ve picked up greens harvested the same day and which lasted for upwards of two weeks in my fridge.
Plus, it’s important to keep in mind that CSAs, in addition to being a shot in the arm to local economies, an assistant for preserving open land and providers of healthy food, are also risk-sharing partnerships between the farmer and the members. I recommend that prospective members look for a CSA that have a track record and which are led by farmers they trust. Farmers can only do so much in the face of a bad farming year, though, and it’s not a good idea to tie ALL or MOST of a family’s food budget into a CSA. If you cannot stomach the downside of a bad year (that is, smaller than anticipated harvest) or imagine your family going hungry without the CSA, then you likely are not a good candidate for membership. That said, many farms publicize reduced fees for work days, although less so now than in the past simply because so many people don’t keep their commitments. It might be worth asking.
Marsha brings up some great points!
I’ve tried several different CSAs in my area (NC). When you join a CSA you are investing in a local farmer, but also taking a risk. If the crop fails, you dont get your money back- like the year there were no strawberries. That said, the idea of investing in a local farmer who is using sustainable practices and protecting farmland is, to me, worth the additional cost.
Plus, I really like the idea that by joining and paying up front I’m helping the farmer, at least in part, avoid taking out conventional loans for seed and supplies. I know MSM talks a lot about eliminating debt, and I think this is a really wonderful way of supporting that principle!
Joining a CSA for us was so worth it. We pay per box, which is a blessing since we would not have the money for the upfront payment others require. We get a box of fresh fruits and veggies every other week, and they are stuffed full of yummy organic produce. I also feel it is good because it puts money back into the local economy as well. I would recommend this to anyone in a heartbeat. Much cheaper than buying organic produce in the store!!!
Here is one that requires no contract. It’s $15 for a Conventional Basket, and $25 for a 100% Certified Organic Basket. It is available in Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Northern Texas, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, and Eastern Washington.
I am on the other side of the country and do not know of anyone who has tried this, but I thought the price was more then reasonable.
http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/
I used Bountiful Baskets for a few months, the actual cost $16.5o or $26.50 per week, because there is a $1.50 fee each week you order.
What I liked, the variety, the abundance, I would come home with easily $40-$60 worth of produce evenly split between veggies and fruit, and the no long-term commitment.
What I didn’t like, sometimes there would be serious quality issues which could take weeks to get a refund for, not being able buy what we like to eat, getting things like okra several weeks in a row, blah! In the end it was becoming a serious drain on my budget and would force me to do extra shopping so that I could build meals around what we received. The produce is not necessarily local or even from the USA, so if you want to support local, BB is not the way to go.
We are doing BB right now, and we enjoy it, but my family will try anything. I like that I don’t have to go to the store just to get produce. We can eat insane amounts of produce between the 3 of us, so it’s a great value. I would encourage those who are in the area to try it once. They also have a Facebook page.
I use to live in Idaho and did bountifulbasket several times, you get a lot of food for the 15 bucks and for the most part it was fresh and the “regulars” with a few different things mixed in but we didn’t mind really as we were always up for an adventure in cooking.
The other good thing is you don’t have to do it every week, and sometimes they have other things like big jars of local honey, bread, granola, and items put together for like Italian or Mexican cooking.
Also if you volunteer to help set-up and clean up then you get one more item for helping that you can pick.
Our local CSA is GREAT. It’s about $350 from mid-May through early-Oct, with a box coming every other week (considered a 1/2 share). We are vegetarians, for the most part, so we enjoy the variety and challenge of the different produce (mostly veggies). Each box comes with a newsletter with recipes, storage tips, and news from the farm. While it eats up a lot of our grocery budget, on the other hand, we VERY rarely buy any other veggies during the summer. We mostly just make lots of rice & beans to eat w/our veggies, which makes it way cheaper than what we pay for food all winter. Also, our CSA box comes with a loaf of fresh, locally baked bread, which is a special treat for us (I suck at baking). And they deliver right to our doorstep. For us, it’s totally worth it (I also suck at gardening). But it really depends on your family’s eating habits.
LOVE the honesty! If it makes you feel better – I suck at sewing and attractive decorating : )
If we are all sharing, I’m horrible at ALL things housekeeping!!! 🙂
This is our first year participating in a CSA. We shopped around until we found one that had a plan we could work with. We bought a half share (10 weeks for $180.00) and get $18.00 of produce each week. We have throughly enjoyed the produce and trying the new foods that have been in our boxes. We were doubtful at first but after our research, touring the farm and the reviews from other people about this particular farm. We could not be happier. I would caution you to ask if you can tour the farm, meet the people on their land, see the crops or beginnings of them. Our farm that we chose has an active blog that keeps you updated on the progress of how things are growing on the farm. Several other local CSA’s did not have active websites or were severely outdated with no feedback on localharvest.org. Do your homeword and check it out. I have heard of several people that did not get their monies worth or got nothing at all. We plan on paying for the other 10 weeks when this half share runs out. Best of luck!
I second your recommendation to do some research before joining a particular CSA. The one I joined was working really well for me for over a month and then the guy running it disappeared with everyone’s money…I lost $50 and some people lost $250 so do be careful!!
I’ve participated in several, and I think that whether it’s worth it really depends on several factors. One, of course, is cost, especially in comparison to what you’d buy in the stores. For me, paying for an organic CSA isn’t always worth it because I would not buy all organic at the store anyway. And if you have stores like Henry’s, Sprouts, etc, which sell local produce at great prices, then the CSA will be unlikely to beat those prices. But if you only have large chain stores, then a CSA may be more competitive price-wise, as well as being local.
Second is what you get in it. I liked having the CSA when I had a lot of time to cook and try new recipes and I was really focusing on trying to eat more fruit/veggies. We got a lot of items that I’d have never bought at the grocery store, so I got to try new things. Then things got busy, with less time to cook and try new things, and I found myself throwing away more and more of my CSA delivery since I didn’t use it in time. So if you have a picky family or don’t like to cook, you’re probably better off making your own choices. If you are a creative cook without a lot of picky eaters, the CSA will likely provide a lot of fun for all involved.
But other factors are important too, such as convenience. When and where do you have to pick it up? Is that convenient for you, or would you drive all the way over town on a busy day just to pick it up? Do you have kids whose activities/naps might interfere with getting there one time? Many pick-ups are scheduled for a fairly narrow window and if you don’t make it there, you lose it. On the other hand, if you have a busy schedule with little time to shop for produce, a CSA with a ready-made bag for the week can be a Godsend!
By the way, many CSA’s will let you try them for a delivery or two before signing up long-term, and different CSA’s even in the same area can be vastly different. See if you can try a few different ones to find the one that fits you the best. Alternatively, look into forming your own farmers market co-op where you all pitch in and then split bulk purchases – I do this now and I find it’s better than any of the regular CSA’s that I’ve done in the past.
@cindy I completely agree with Cindy’s assessment. She brings up very good points…especially the time and picky eating element we faced.
It depends on what they give you, whether or not you have to travel far to pick it up and if there are rigid times to pick up your basket, or if you have a choice as to what is in your basket.
You really have to find out what they give you. Estimate the pounds and figure the actual cost. Compare it to what you would pay locally.
I have done it before and it really is worth spending a few extra bucks for quality. That being said, there are some CO-OPs that charge way, way too much and make it inconvenient to pick up.
What state are you located in?
Lauri
We just picked up our first week’s worth of vegetables from our CSA this afternoon! Its works out to be $10/week for us and we did mostly get greens today(plus a pound of radishes). I plan on deducting that from my grocery budget and making it work. We may have a lot of salads but we wanted to give it a try to support and enjoy locally grown produce!
Wow, I just looked at the CSA in our area, and it’s about $200/month per family, JUST for fruits and vegetables. That’s 2/3 of my monthly grocery budget right there! If you have the room, I would recommend starting a garden. My little one LOVES eating all the strawberries I can pull of the vines. Fruits and veggies are important to our family, but I can purchase organic produce in the local farmer’s market for cheaper, and with stuff I know I’ll use. (Unlike beets, okra, and dill and come in the CSA boxes.)
I had to laugh as I read your comment because I’m sitting here eating a roasted beet and goat cheese salad, as I read you won’t use beets. I LOVE beets! 🙂 We were CSA members for 2 years and we never got a beet in our box.
If everyone liked the same thing, the shelves would be awfully empty 🙂
I did it once and while it is a great concept and I enjoyed getting the produce, I prefer growing my own and visiting my local farmers markets. Our CSA gave a surprise basket and at first that was fun and exciting, then it got old. I didn’t like getting things I couldn’t use, like fennel, multiple times. Do I think they are bad and not worth it, absolutely not. They are great. Are they for my family, no. I would evaluate your families needs and go from there.
I have noticed that our CSA’s, too, are even more expensive than I can buy organic eggs for at the grocery store at full price. And I’ll agree with the other statements that our CSA’s are mostly all veggies, and veggies that we do not use very often (leaks, okra, kale, etc.)
This. We joined a CSA a few years back because I wanted to reduce our carbon footprint (and growing all our fruits and veggies in south america may be cheap, but it’s bad for the environment). We came to the conclusion that as cool as it was, we just don’t like enough of the things that are grown around here to make it worth the money. We ended up substituting out most of the weird stuff, and I’m not willing to pay $20/month for a few pounds of carrots and sweet potatoes.
That said, you can get the same net environmental effect by patronizing your local farmers’ market. You get the same local produce, in season, you can pick it out yourself (so you only have to buy the things you’ll use), and you can choose the best-looking fruits/veggies at the market instead of just taking whatever someone gives you.
I totally agree! Get to know your local farmers! 8)
How on earth is growing your own produce in SA bad for the environment???
I think she means that growing produce in South America and shipping it the whole way to the US for us to eat is bad for the environment.
I think she means she lives in the US and what you buy at the grocery store is grown in South America and trucked in.
She’s not growing her veggies in SA. They’re being shipped thousands of miles to her by pollution generating transportation.
Kale chips are sooo yummy. But I agree that if I get some of the more odd veggies, they’re more likely to sit in my fridge until they go bad before I get around to finding out what to do with them. Especially if you’re getting much of the similar items week after week.
CSA’S are great,but the benefits of starting your own garden,are much better!You grow what you want,and you could probably share the cost of starting with another!
We did a CSA last year that I just loved. I still went out every week to the farmers market to get fruit. My CSA was mostly veggies. We did have some local cornmeal and flour as well. The biggest plus to me was the sense of community and supporting our local farmers. Everyone participating in the CSA was invited to a potluck at the end of the season where we all made our fave recipes to share. We got a tour of the farm where our veggies were grown. We also recieved weekly recipe emails and cooking videos created by our farmers to give us ideas on things to make with some of the veggies. I totally support doing it if you can fork over the large lump sum. Some CSAs do half shares where you get either every other week or 1/2 the amount each week. We did split with my aunt, which was more then enough for a family of 4.
It is worth it! Great investment in your health and community. Support your local economy!
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
Around here, the CSA produces mostly greens most of the summer. That is not worth $100 a month.