Benefits of a CSA
Explore Your Creativity! We weren’t designed to eat the same thing every day.
While it is wonderful to be able to get strawberries in Colorado in January, and avocados here ANY time of the year, there are benefits to eating seasonally, and being a part of a CSA is one way to do that.
I am surprised at how often I recommend that a client join a CSA, and they ask, “what is that?” A CSA is Community Supported Agriculture. A CSA is a way to buy local seasonal food with weekly pick up. How does it work? In the late winter or early spring a consumer buys shares of a farm’s harvest by paying upfront for 13 weeks (typically time frame) of food. It is a type of crop sharing that connects the consumer to a local farmer.
There are fantastic benefits to being a part of a CSA. You get high quality, nutritious, and incredibly fresh food that is often harvested within days to even hours of delivery. This ensures that the produce has a higher nutritional value and stays fresh much longer. No more buying lettuce on a Monday and having it no longer be fresh for your salad on Wednesday. Produce can last for a couple of weeks or longer, without going bad.
The next benefit is it TASTES WAY BETTER! Even though I buy high quality organic produce, it still never tastes as good as something that was sun ripened on the vine, close to my home, picked with love, and only driven a short distance prior to pick up, before ending up in my mouth. It’s DELICIOUS!
It also forces you to expand your creativity with food prep and cooking. There are constant surprises with a CSA. This week I made the very BEST tomatillo salsa. I have never bought a tomatillo in my life. But I had a bag full of them. So, I made salsa. It was so easy! This won’t be the last time I make that! The day prior we had stuffed poblanos with corn and tomatoes fresh from the CSA. Another winner! Again, we had never cooked poblanos before. This is a massive benefit of a CSA. We are not designed to eat the same 10-15 foods over and over. Our bodies thrive on variety. It is the only way to ensure we get all the nutrients that we need to optimize our health! But often, people get into the habit of cooking the same 5 dinners and eating the same things every day for breakfast. Sound familiar?
Other benefits???
It is usually MUCH cheaper that buying produce at the grocery store, especially if you are buying organic. It usually breaks down to around $12-$18 per week.
You get to support a local farmer, and therefore support your local community. Always a win!
It is much better for the environment! Wahoo! There is much less CO2 emissions produced than with the transportation and refrigeration of produce from your grocery store. There is healthy nutrient cycling of the soil. There is little to no pesticide, fertilizer, or other chemical use. This isn’t only good for the environment and our groundwater. This is critical for our bodies and their toxic load as well.
While most CSAs are sadly winding down for the season, I encourage you to look for one in your local community early next spring. I can almost promise you it will be a rewarding experience!
The photo above? The latest surprise in this week’s CSA pick up: gords!