Suzanne_Marques's Blog

In my dreams, I have a beautiful garden.  I venture into my backyard to pick greens for a salad, vegetables for grilling, or pluck a fresh carrot out of the ground just like Bugs Bunny.

In reality, my backyard is a wild, rocky hillside and the closest I get to fresh vegetables and fruit is my local market, which sells a sad sample of wilted organic produce.  I admit some blame, because I live and work near two fantastic farmers' markets, but they are often so busy I can never find parking and lose patience.  I sell out and head over to Ralph's/Albertsons/etc.  (Whole Foods & Bristol Farms are for special occasions!)

I discovered a story today that seems so timely with this tomato recall.  First of all, California's tomatoes are not suspected of being part of the salmonella outbreak.  But when I go to the market, it doesn't normally say where the produce originated.  By the way, I bought some of the tomatoes with the vine still attached - which the FDA recommends right now.  They were a pretty penny - $2.61 for two tomatoes!

Let's get to the new concept.  What if you could buy a share of a local farmer's crop.  Say, a farm in Bakersfield?  They'd send you a box every week of their best produce, right to your doorstep.  It's local and fresh. 

More people in the US are doing just that.  It's reducing trips to the supermarket and the cost of shipping food.  Did you know California is the top agricultural state in the nation and it's been that way for the past 50 years?  We have an abundance, a cornucopia of options!  (Ok, I've been waiting for an opportunity to use that word outside of Thanksgiving... finally.)

The concept is called community-supported agriculture programs, or CSA.  You can buy a share of a farmer's crop, but the drawback (right now) is that it isn't cheap.  It costs between $500 and $600 for a a weekly box of vegetables and fruits during the summer and fall.  A box typically feeds three or four people for a week.  Sometimes farms offer half-shares if you are single or a couple.  I could break it down and do the math, but plunking down a half-grand for fruits and veg is a concept that's a bit hard to swallow.

If you're game, or just curious, find a CSA farm near you at a California-based website called LocalHarvest.

It is becoming so popular, there are waiting lists for many farmers.  Plus, it's a chance to help out your local farmer by skipping the middleman and paying the farmer directly.  You've heard of Farm Aid right?  :)

CSA farmers and members save on gas because rather than having produced shipped hundreds or thousands of miles, produce is dropped off and picked up at central locations.  It's often just a few miles away.    We all like saving money on gas, and the reduced emissions don't hurt either.

Could this be the start of something big?  Who knows.  Remember when shopping for groceries online was the next big thing.. and then it went belly up?  I still like the idea of buying locally, supporting your local farmers.  Plus, I love mail.  Especially when it tastes delicious.

By the way, I snagged this photo from a blog called Love and Veggies.  Check it out! They detail their CSA weekly surprises.