Fresh Fruits, Veggies and Other Goodies in Your CSA

As people become increasingly aware of where their food comes from, Community Supported Agriculture programs are rising in popularity. The concept of a CSA is pretty simple. You pay a seasonal or weekly fee in order to secure a share of fresh produce, eggs, cheese or other farm-produced food. Depending on the item, CSA programs can run as long as April to November.

Gain access to the freshest, most delicious produce you will ever taste.

CSAs provide you and your family with the freshest possible food. Many times, I have arrived to pick up my farm share and been told something like, “Hey, that zucchini was just picked about an hour ago!” Imagine all the nutritional content still lingering, and the taste... Wow!

When you bring the vegetables or fruits home from a CSA share, you will know what I am taking about. They taste different, and by different I mean really good. Most farms will dole out whatever is just-picked or the most delicious each week. You never know what you are going to get, so CSA can help you rediscover ingredients you forgot about. Or, you might find you actually like freshly picked Brussels sprouts!

Save the planet while you eat.

Have you ever heard of the term food miles? That’s the distance your food travels from where it is produced to your plate. If you have a garden in your backyard or shop at local farm stands, your food miles are negligible, but most of us have shopped at the grocery store and never even thought of how all that food gets there.

According to the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, “Processed food in the United States travels over 1,300 miles, and fresh produce travels over 1,500 miles, before being consumed.” Some studies estimate that food transportation accounts for 14 percent of energy use within the food system, and that’s not even accounting for the energy used in processing, packaging, retail operations, restaurants and home refrigeration!

All of this energy adds up to increased carbon emissions, adding to the problem of global warming. Of course, some foods that we commonly eat cannot be easily grown in local climates. The energy use would be increased in trying to do so. Yet, reducing food miles for products that can be grown and produced locally is proven to curb carbon emissions.

So, why not grow your own veggies or get them from a local farm stand to improve your heath and the health of the planet? You could also try out the tactics of the couple in the book Plenty by Alissa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon (it's a great read, anyway). For one year, they ate only food that was produced within 100 miles of their home!

Where do I sign up?

If you are ready to sign up for a CSA share, visit the Local Harvest web site. Finding a farm share is as easy as typing your zip code into the CSA search tool. Find a farm that produces the type of food you are looking for and then sign up for a share. If you are thinking you would rather just stop by the farm whenever you need something, think twice. A CSA will definitely serve as a reminder you eat your veggies. Good luck and stay healthy!

Kate Schertel is director of community outreach at Group for the East End, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of eastern Long Island’s environment. For more information visit www.eastendenvironment.org.