Summer 2009 - Brethren in Christ Church

VIBESThe joy and the challenge of aCSA share is the surprise and thequantity. For example, not many ofus would go to a grocery store andpurchase a few pounds of organictomatoes or three heads of lettuce inone trip. But this kind of selection isnot uncommon in a CSA box. Membersof a CSA are challenged to findnew and creative ways to incorporatemore vegetables into their diets.Sure, if you’re not already buyingseveral pounds of produce per week,the share price may not seem like abargain. But consider this: With eachshare, you receive not only fresh produce,but also the knowledge that itcame from relatively close by and thatyou helped provide a local family’slivelihood. You also likely encouragedsustainable land use, received a fewrecipe tips, and participated in a community.From this perspective, payingfor food becomes less about bargainsand more about what is good for youand those around you.More than metaphoricalChristians today are continuallychallenged to understand our relationshipto the earth as morethan metaphorical. Membershipin a CSA offers an opportunity toparticipate in a lively community andinvest significantly in an equitableand healthy system of treating theland, consumers, and producers. AsChristians—and consumers—membershipin such an organization alsohelps us ask questions about what itmeans to bear God’s image today.For me, the decision to be a memberof a CSA farm flows directly outof my values and my faith. Participatingin a community that meetssuch basic needs (food, fellowship,and sustainable land use) is a waythat I can love my neighbors and∂ ILLUSTRATION: Gregory SnaderLiving Simply, Eating WellSimply in Season, a cookbook publishedunder the Mennonite CentralCommittee’s World Community Cookbookseries, shares simple, deliciousrecipes that celebrate the ecological,nutritional, and spiritual joys of eatinglocal foods in season.Simply in Season: Children’s Cookbook,a companion publication of Simplyin Season, is filled with fun, creativerecipes featuring in-season foods forkids of all ages.Simply in Season StudySessions guides adult or intergenerationalSunday school classes or smallgroups that are “on the path to connectingfood and faith.”honor God with good stewardshipof resources. We aren’t all calledto be farmers, but we are called tosupport one another in our callingsand to live righteous lives while onearth. Whether this plays out withinthe community of a CSA or a church(hopefully both), it gives us theopportunity to enjoy the bounty ofGod’s creation in fresh, new ways.IN PART Online at inpart.org:≥ Locate a CSA near you≥ Learn more about the history of CSAs≥ see how one gardener is bringinggreens into her urban neighborhoodSarah Imboden lives in Catskill, N.Y., withher husband, Jonathan. She enjoys workingone day a week at their local CSA toclear her mind as she finishes an MA/MAin public policy and history this summer.summer 2009 15