CSAs

I can’t believe I haven’t written about CSAs before this. Since almost every person I’ve bumped into in the last week has mentioned their CSA, today seems like the right time to do it.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Local farms sell weekly shares and deliver in-season fruits and vegetables through the growing season to the subscribers. Typically, there’s a centralized drop-off/pick-up point. It’s not exactly like Simon/Coborn’s Delivers. In-season means that you get peas early, beans and cabbages and beets about this time of year, and root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and onions later in the year. You could still be getting raspberries or blueberries, too. But, it also means that you’re not going to get broccoli every week of the growing season.

The reason CSAs have been such a topic of conversation in the last week is everyone is wondering what to do with some of the produce! Not everybody is used to cooking beets or red cabbage or Brussels Sprouts. So, it’s a challenge to come up with recipes for the weekly bounty. (Some of the CSAs I’ve heard about do provide recipes for the produce they grow—a huge bonus, I think.)

The Land Stewardship Project provides both a list of CSAs in Minnesota and some questions to consider when choosing a CSA.