GABRIELLA BIEDINGER - HER LIFE Magazine

herlife | green livingMembership in ACommunitySupportedAgriculture(CSA)by kathleen m. kruegerAs food prices climb and families become more concernedwith the impact of their eating habits on the environment,the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement isskyrocketing in popularity. CSA shares make it significantlyeasier for families to eat local, genetically unmodifiedfood while making a commitment to sustainability and greenliving. For some households, the idea of CSA shares is appealing, butconfusion regarding how the process works is enough to deter themfrom joining in.member that you’re not contracting to buy a specified amount of aparticular product with your contributions. In most cases, the farmersthemselves will put together the CSA boxes that go out for pickup, soyou’ll be receiving what’s in season among the crops that have donewell. Droughts and other unforeseeable environmental conditionsmay affect the viability of certain crops, which will affect your farm’sability to supply those items. Many farms also require shareholders ormembers to help, either with weeding and planting duties, or with thegathering and distribution of produce during the harvest.What is a CSA Membership?When you join a CSA collective or purchase a membership froma local farm, you’ll almost always be entering into a shared risk andreward agreement. When you purchase a share, you’ll be agreeingto accept the weekly bounty, whether it’s great or small. Your CSAfarmer will send what is in season and ripe—very rarely do CSAshares entitle a member to a specified weight or amount of food.You’re contributing directly to the budget of the farm as a whole, andreaping the rewards in terms of fresh, wholesome and usually organicproduce. Because contributions from CSA shareholders allow farmersto concentrate their time and effort on producing high-quality cropsrather than financing and marketing during the busy harvest season,small independent farms are able to sustain themselves.Before entering into a CSA agreement, it’s important to re-How Do I Get My Food?In most cases, CSA farmers will designate one drop-off pointfor everyone, or invite shareholders to pick up their own boxes at thefarm. Very rarely do farmers deliver boxes straight to shareholders’homes due to both time constraints and the costs related to maintainingfull delivery routes on a weekly basis.Learning to Eat SeasonallyTransitioning from buying the bulk of your produce in the grocerystore year-round to working with what’s seasonal and on hand inyour CSA box can be a challenge for some families, especially thosewho have never eaten seasonally before. Your CSA box won’t havesquash in June because squash isn’t actually in season so early.Being able to buy any vegetable or fruit item you like at the grocery52 HERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM