Despite the growing popularity of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model, there tends to be some confusion around what it really means. While being a member of a CSA certainly entails an uber fresh harvest box on a regular basis, for the farmers, it means much more.
Each membership in a CSA is a purchased share of the upcoming harvest. And each harvest has its successes and failures. CSA members are not unlike investors, reaping what’s been gained and grieving what’s been lost right alongside us.
Take, for instance, our high hopes of snap peas all summer long this year. We transplanted hundreds of carefully nurtured snap pea seedlings, watered accordingly and... they grew. But they quickly succumbed to the stresses of unusually high temps early on followed by irrigation interrupted by unrelenting winds. In short, the snap peas failed.
And so here you see how you, our CSA member, share in our highs and our lows. Your current lack of fresh Prema snap peas in your summer dishes is the direct result of our struggles with an unpredictable climate. And yet, the fresh bounty landing in your meals each week is only possible because of your support before the plants were even in the ground. Indeed, the real power of the CSA model is its ability to support small farms like ours when production is at its lowest point in the year. We open our CSA list in January and have it nearly full before the end of March, offering us the capital we need to make the large seed purchases that a robust season ahead demands.
CSA’s make small, organic farms like ours possible. They keep us connected with those we
nourish. They offer more transparency about how your food is grown. And in many ways,
they’re helping to transform our food economy into something sustainable and nostalgic.
For every challenge out here, there are at least 247 gifts of beauty. Our job is only to notice them.
Inside Your Box This Week
Juane Flamme/Green Zebra Tomatoes
Dandelion Greens
Purple Radish
Head Lettuce
Curly Kale
Red Onion
Cucumber
Bok Choy
Zucchini
Parsley
Recipes Worth Trying...
{click images to go to recipe}
For supporting our small organic farm.
For helping pave a way forward for regenerative agriculture.
For investing in young farmers.
For buying local.
We're honored to nourish you!