Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Eating Green...Not the Vegetables

Spring is in the air, and it's time to purchase your share...of a CSA farm. Eating local and organic is one way to green your eating habits.

One way to eat local and organic is to become a member of a Community Suppoted Agriculture (CSA) farm. So here's how it works:

-buy a share of the farm for set fee, essentially investing in the farm
-then, each week head to a pick-up location to get a week's share of locally, grown, organic produce

In Fort Collins, the main CSA is Grant Family Farms. It was the first farm in Colorado to be certified organic. Located in Wellington, the farm grows an array of herbs,root crops, traditional vegetables, and even flowers. These are the items to epxect in the pick-up box. The pick-up dates for Grant go from June-December. That's 26 weeks of fresh produce!

CSA farms are not the cheapest option ($725 for a family share). But, you get what you pay for. Along, with quality, CSA farms also ensure socially and environmentally responsible practices. Fewer pescticides, fewer food miles, and fair wages are just a few benefits of CSA's.

I can't wait to get my share; or rather my portion of my parent's share.

1 comment:

Matt Brown said...

What a crazy and great idea! Does this benefit the farmers more so than say, if they were subsidized by the government? I'll definitely have to keep my eye out for this once I'm out of school.