Yes! CSA is a Beautiful Thing!

here is one more week of summer shares but many of the Every Other Members will get their last box today or Saturday.

I always get a little sentimental toward the end of the season. While I'm excited for the season to come and thankful we'll be sharing it with Yearly Members (who continue receiving boxes) and welcoming new members to our farm, I feel sad about those who will be leaving us. We hope many will be back next year.

Community Supported Agriculture or CSA is a beneficial, symbiotic relationship between growers and eaters. As you know, you, the farm members, purchase a share in our farm and we, the farmers, grow food in return. The pre-payment funds the endeavor, guaranteeing a market for the food produced and securing a portion of the food for each member. This arrangement keeps local farmers like us in business and ensures you have a personal connection to the food you eat.

You may have purchased a CSA share because you feel organic food grown locally tastes better, because you are trying to have more vegetables in your diet, because you are concerned about pesticides in conventionally-grown food, or for another reason. You are also asserting your right as a consumer to protecting your food choice and availability which is an important consideration in this world where political leaders are greatly influenced by big money.

Yes, CSA is a beautiful idea. But we realize in reality there is work involved -- and not just on our side. It can be inconvenient to pick up your box. It can be overwhelming to come up with an idea for supper with the vegetables in your box, especially if you aren't familiar with some of them, get something you don't care for, or have had a busy day. It can feel bad to throw out or compost food you weren't able to use.

We provide recipes and tips to help you, but you still have to invest time and energy to transform the raw ingredients into a prepared dish. The flip side is having just-picked cherry tomatoes, peas, snap beans, cucumbers, or radishes to snack on. Or a meal including a salad made of fresh lettuce and tomatoes, a side dish of rich, creamy red potatoes, sauteed garlicky kale and maybe even a pasture-raised roasted chicken that tastes delicious (my mouth is watering!) and you know is good for your body.

We hope you've found it a worthy endeavor. We are certain it has been good for your body, hope you enjoyed the experience of becoming more (or continuing to be) familiar with different vegetables.

It has been a good season for us as we continue to improve our farm, increase our experience and knowledge of growing both vegetables and animals, refine our vision of our farm, and find better ways to make our business sustainable.

We love our CSA Members!

Bill, Liam, Aidan, Marlee, and I thank you for letting us be your farm this summer.

We've appreciated not only your dedication to supporting the local food movement and our farm with your membership, dollars, and time but also your friendship.