Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

For those unfamiliar with the term “CSA,” it stands for “Community Supported Agriculture.”  By joining a CSA, you are basically buying a share in a local farm and receiving your share’s worth of produce all season (most run May-October).  This website has quite a bit of information on the history of CSA’s in case you’re interested.

Most shares in local, Colorado farms run from $20-$25 per week.  If you’re buying organic or non-organic produce at the supermarket and your family eats a good amount of fruits and vegetables, you may well be spending close to that already (probably more if you’re buying organic). 

That said, CSAs aren’t for everyone.  You have to be willing to actually eat the vegetables if you’re going to spend the money, and you also have to be willing to use some creativity when you receive vegetables you’re not accustomed to (like turnips, beets or kale).  I found some wonderful recipes experimenting with the new veggies we got each week, but it definitely took a bit of effort!  Depending on where you sign up, you may have to drive to a weekly pick-up location, as well.

If this sounds a bit daunting, you could stop by the Broomfield or Boulder Farmer’s Markets this summer to try the produce from these local farms and talk to the people that grow the food.  If, on the other hand, this sounds fantastic, check out this site to find a CSA near you.  You can type in your ZIP code on the right hand side to find the farms and then you can see details about each by clicking on the title.       4/10