It’s that time of year again – CSA fever is in the air! I was a proud member of the local CSA in my neighborhood last year. Since the farmer didn’t allow for half shares, I split my vegetable share with another woman in my community and split the fruit share with a friend. Although, during the numerous heat waves last year it was a bit of shlep bringing all the produce back to my apartment, as my partner and I would alternate weekly doing the pick ups. Despite that, I greatly enjoyed this new experience. It encouraged me to try new vegetables and learn to appreciate seasonal fruit. A few particular vegetables which were new to me were kale, bok choy, and beets. I never really tried beets before, and now I really enjoy their sweet taste – and you got to love that color!

Unfortunately, I don’t think that I will be able to be a member again this season due to conflicts in my schedule. I was thinking about some of the above mentioned points recently when I was figuring out whether I could be a member again. When one joins a CSA, he may be choosing to make more of an effort to purchase his produce if the pickup isn’t as close to his home as a local supermarket is (which is exactly my situation), which can be more of a challenge if he doesn’t have a car. Yet, what is the benefit? This CSA’ supporter shows his concern for supporting locally grown agriculture; he is getting fresh produce which was probably cut from the land that day or the day before and wasn’t sitting on a truck travelling hundreds of miles to get to his plate; and he is getting a variety of produce, some of which he may not have ever tried before. So while I did have to expend more energies to attain my produce last summer, it did feel rewarding in the end because I knew that I was getting great produce and was doing something right at the same time.

So for this summer, I think I will resort to making my produce purchases at a local farmers’ markets to help me keep these perspectives in line. It is so easy to just say, “ahh forget it. I’ll just buy everything at the supermarket.” But, sometimes one has to expend more efforts into doing what she knows is right and can’t let the challenge involved inhibit her from sticking with her values.

Happy eating!