When CSAs Go from Small to Big

In truth, The Box did very little to connect me with my foodshed; I didn’t learn anything about the farms behind the food nor, I’ll admit, did I care much at the time. On the other hand, it was through this service that I developed a borderline-unhealthy obsession with cooking everything we’d gotten one week before the next delivery arrived. I also learned that I liked chard, fava beans, and a few other seasonal foods I might not have tried. More importantly, I became a Person Who Got a Box of Organic Vegetables Every Week. And, looking back, that was a big step toward becoming the person I am today (a local food- and farm-obsessed gardener and home cook who reads and writes about food politics for a living).

Grist has a recent article about the rise of community-supported agriculture, and how the rise has made some small farms become bigger — not industrial big, but medium-size, and what this means for people who want to support small farms.

I’ve often thought that I might be the sort of person who might enjoy paying to get a box of mystery produce delivered to me each week, which would force me to change up my meals a bit more. But knowing my history with watching fresh produce go bad in my fridge, it’s probably best that I just buy it when I know I’m going to eat it. But perhaps you can convince to look up a good CSA in the city. Yay or nay on CSAs? (Or jeah? Are people saying jeah now? I refuse, Ryan Lochte.)

Photo: Annemod

Support The Billfold

The Billfold continues to exist thanks to support from our readers. Help us continue to do our work by making a monthly pledge on Patreon or a one-time-only contribution through PayPal.