So, I’ve heard what the talkers were talking, and the murmur has been formulating around, more or less, the same question–how can we possibly use all that food in just one week? I’ve got a basket of answers, and some things for the reader to consider–a few questions that might lead you through a consideration of CSA life.
One. Do you tend to cook more or eat out more? (This is the same question one farmer asked me while he was trying to determine whether I’d be a good candidate for CSA life) I would even extend the question further: do you place a priority on cooking at home? Also, are you adventurous enough to figure out what to do with overwhelming amounts of say, lettuce? Are you willing to do this for the entirety of the summer, and into the fall?
The less than glamorous truth about eating locally [in every state] is that some weeks you open up the box and find abundant amounts of vegetables that you might not know what to do with, or that you never even thought you’d try. Unlike what is available at most grocery stores, local produce is governed by local seasons, and that means that you don’t get peaches in your June share, or asparagus in your August share. I’m sure it is somewhat shocking news to many in this contemporary age that all fruits and vegetables are not available at all times, even in the summer. Hence, the realistic truth about eating locally: you must eat what the earth is giving. My dad refers to this as feeling, intimately, the pulse of the earth. You learn to live with the seasons. It is a more simple way of life, and, in my opinion, often more satisfying.
So, in Michigan, this means that sometimes most of what is in the weekly box is greens. But, if you’re committed to cooking and trying new things, committed to the idea that maybe there are tasty recipes that include spinach, then you’re probably a good candidate for a CSA share. And, you must be willing to put the time into actually cooking it, otherwise it goes to waste. Another related question: will you be around for most of the summer? It would be an oversight to buy into a summer’s worth of produce and then be on vacation for a quarter of the summer.
Two. How many people are in your family? Do you like vegetables and fruit? Would your family consider eating meals that are more vegetarian-oriented?
It’s a good idea to check with the farmer of the CSA farm you’re considering to find out how many people a share would feed. If you are a small family, feeling less than hopeful that you’d really use ”all that produce”, or even trying CSA life for the first time, you might consider splitting a share with another family. We are a family of two, with one guest for the next sixth months, and I am fairly ambitious about cooking most nights of the week. My husband is also willing to eat meals composed of greek salads and homemade foccacia bread. When I tell people I made lettuce soup last week (remember all that lettuce I mentioned earlier?), they look at me a bit increduously, like I just insisted lettuce would make good soup…which, I did, actually. Having the earth choose your weekly groceries means that you have to think harder about what you’re going to cook, and, if there are less people in your family, consciously think about how you can incorporate more vegetables and fruit into all your meals.
Three. Can you afford it?
It’s prudent to budget all expenses. I’d like to one day pay off my student loans, have my own farm, build my own bread baking oven, start my own market…and though I have no problem at all blowing through lots of money on fine foods–from smoked trout spread to microbrewed beer–I have these other goals for my money, and I appreciate that I share a bank account. Also, the cost of buying a share of produce for a summer can seem daunting to many people. Five hundred bucks for produce?
It’s helpful to break down the total cost of the share over the amount of weeks that you’ll be getting it for. $550/20 weeks equals just $27.5 dollars a week. Is this what you would spend normally? For the amount of food that you’re getting, are you actually getting a good deal? What would the same amount of food cost at a store like Whole Foods? From what I can tell from my own share, (only 2 weeks into it, currently), I do believe I’m getting a deal, actually getting organic produce more on the cheap than I would at the grocery store.
Four. Would you be willing to preserve it? Do you have a place to store frozen food? Would you actually eat the food after you’ve canned or frozen it?
From what I understand, a lot of people who buy CSA shares end up freezing or canning parts of what they get each week. They do this because it’s hard to sometimes eat “all that produce” in one week. For me, canning or freezing is just another way to extend my harvest, and make it possible to have this local produce last even longer. My mom and I usually can peaches and tomatoes each summer, but it’s not an easy process.
I see it as an adventure, but this is coming from the girl who likes to sit around and make homemade stock (with occasional trips out to gaze at the herb garden). I told my Dad about the lettuce soup (which was delicious, by the way), and how I was really enjoying that for the first time in my life, I’m really considering vegetables, and doing many different things with them in my cooking. He said, grinning over the phone, “You’re coloring with more colors than are usually in the crayon box, aren’t you?” And it’s true. Yet, beyond my personal adventures, I know that placing more of an emphasis on fruits and vegetables is good for our bodies, and good for the environment. I love meat, but it’s just not sustainable to have it every night.
