CSA Seasonal Adventure

In an effort to eat more local, seasonal food while supporting the local economy, we are excited to be part of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) with Sauvie Island Organics! If you're not familiar with CSA, as a member you purchase a share of the harvest in advance - in our case its for 28 weeks (last week in May to the first week in December).  The farm gives you an idea of what crops they are growing and when they expect to harvest them, and you get farm-fresh produce once a week from whatever the current bounty is.

Purchasing a CSA share connects you more directly to the farm, and the risk that the farmers are taking in growing their (and your) harvest each year.  Paying up front for the whole season often gives small farms the capital they need to get plants in the ground, and while it may seem like a bunch to fork over before you see a single veggie, its usually quite reasonable if you work out the weekly rate.

With Sauvie Island Organics (SIO), we have the option of getting a 'full share' also known as a 'family share' designed for 2-3 vegetable loving adults or a family four, or a 'half share' designed for 1-2 adults or smaller households, or even a 'salad share' to get a 1/2 pound bag of mixed baby greens each week.  The full share is $945 ($33.75 per week), the half share is $515 ($18.39 per week), and the salad share is $145 for 25 weeks, or $5.80 a week.

I was gung-ho to get a full share, even though we usually are just a family of two humans and one homemade-raw-food-eating canine, we do qualify as veggie-lovers after all!
 But then reality set in, and I realized that with one human being away on business a lot, that would mean lots of 'putting up' (or food preserving) for me.  Logistically, I cannot put up that much food, and really don't want to be slaving over the canner on the stove each week because I lack freezer space.  And really, I'm in this to eat fresh veggies after all!

Seeing as I also grow a modest amount of food at home - check out some of the varieties on my latest Gardening in the Round post - I also like to peruse the many local farmers markets here, especially when friends come to town.  So that all being said, I was reasonable for once (!) and decided on a half share.  I'm excited to push my imagination each week in coming up with new and delightful dishes, and really stoked that the veggies are being grown less than 12 miles from my house. I'll do my best to post each week, check it all out under the label CSA Adventure on the right-hand column.

If you are intrigued by the CSA model, I encourage you to seek out farms in your area.  CSA's exist for not only veggies, but some include fruit, eggs, and even mushrooms! And while it would work for us, there are even meat CSAs too.  If you are in the Portland area, SIO still has shares available if you are interested.

Check out their blog to see what is in a share this week, along with seasonal recipe ideas to enjoy the harvest, and check out their website for more info on CSAs, what they grow and to sign up.

Happy Seasonal Eating!

(These are all my pictures, to check out some of SIO connect with their Flickr account)