Our CSA

For some time we have been trying to eat locally grown produce and supporting local food producers as much as possible. The challenge is that our local farmers' market only runs from May to October and even then many of the vendors are not actually farmers but middlemen who buy produce from a food terminal and resell it at the market. BAH

The ideal solution to this would be a CSA.

What are CSA farms?

CSA farmers receive a set fee (from you - the consumer) prior to the start of the growing season. In return, you receive shares (produce) in the farm's bounty and you also share the risks due to weather and other factors beyond the control of the farmer.

In the past I have never been able to find a CSA farm that was nearby. Recently I discovered a CSA site created by the government of Ontario, and wouldn't you know it - there was one that delivered to Burlington!

'Our' farm is Plan B Organic farm. They grow 30 acres of certified organic mixed vegetables for sale at 5 farmer's markets and a 1000 member Multi-Farm CSA that serves Hamilton, Halton and central Toronto. The owners focus on growing delicious, high quality vegetables, herbs and fruits using organic farming methods that are in harmony with our surrounding environments. They also partner with other farmers doing the same in order to provide variety to the CSA deliveries.

Plan B has their CSA service year round which means the winter shares are items that are greenhouse grown or things that have been in cold storage.We signed up for a year-round service - you can choose to receive just local produce or you can add on imported organic produce (we just selected local). The farm lets you add items to your share i.e. organic, fair trade coffee, spelt wraps, or eggs from small-flock pasture-raised chickens. We added on the eggs.You can also choose a large or a small share. We decided to star with a small share and to go from there.

Our first delivery was to me on Wednesday - the day that we were DUMPED on with a late spring snowfall. I was sure we'd not receive our delivery until the next day. However, at 8 PM a cube truck showed up at the front of the house and a blue box was carefully placed on the front porch.

It was like Christmas. It was all we could do to control ourselves long enough to snap a few photos prior to open up the box.

This is the box the share is delivered in:

When we opened the lid this is what we found:

Lots of fresh, local (well relatively local, the greens had travelled some distance from their greenhouse homes. :-) )

It isn't easy to see from this picture what was in the box so we took it all out for a 'glamour shot'.

There were mushrooms, carrots, a butternut squash, a small cabbage, onions, potatoes, apples, a head of boston lettuce, arugula, pea shoots, and a dozen eggs.

Now the fun begins - figuring out what to make with our selection of produce!

Comments

[sandrac]

Brilliant idea!

[JDeQ]

We're having a great time figuring out what to cook with what shows up each week. :-)