The Many Joys of a CSA.

Those of y’all who have been around these parts since the beginning of this humble blog know good and well about my love for Great Country Farms, our CSA.  CSAs – Community-Sponsored Agriculture – have been around for years, but only in the last half-decade or so have I heard about them in the mainstream.  This relative newness may be a reflection of the company I’ve kept – perhaps my compatriots and I were just out of the loop before 2007 or so? – or indicative of a widespread phenomenon, but either way, I’m certainly glad CSAs aren’t hiding their lights – or, more to the point, their vegetables! – under bushels any longer.

I’m not usually home when our veggie box comes each week.  Typically, by the time I arrive after work, it is sitting nicely and neatly (and, sometimes, soggily, if we’ve had a thunderstorm) on the front porch.  But today, since I’m staycationing, I got to meet our deliveryman for the first time this season and immediately bring our veggies in out of the heat to dry off and move to the fridge straightaway.

And oh, how heavy today’s box was!  Tomatoes, squash, Swiss chard, green beans, cherry tomatoes, corn … we are truly in the middle of the summer season, that’s for sure.  Some of the bounty I’ll use right away – tomatoes for canning, corn for a weekend cookout – and some, like the green beans and perhaps the chard, I’ll save for later by putting it in the freezer.  But rare is the week we don’t make it all the way through our share by the next delivery!

Now, since we are here at The Kitchen Recessionista, I’ve got to ask: Is this frugal?

Financially, one of the nice things about the CSA is that you pay up front and then receive 20 weeks’ worth of vegetables all through summer and into fall.  Further, in our CSA at least, there are U-pick bonuses every week, whereby we can go out to the farm and pick a certain amount for “free” (or, more accurately, as part of our membership), and any amounts exceeding that at a 10% discount.

But is it frugal?

One of these years, I will take the time to work out a per-vegetable figure, counting out each and every item and figuring out its equal farmer’s market cost.  But for now, let’s take the back-of-the-napkin approach.  The CSA is costing us roughly $30 a week during the season for good, healthy, high-quality local produce.  I’m not sure the farmer’s market would be any less expensive, that’s for sure, and all told the cost would likely come out a bit higher.  But for our family, $30 a week for fresh produce is not at all unreasonable.  And if having it delivered to our home every Thursday keeps healthy eating at the forefront of our minds – and our dinner plates – then I consider it a good deal all the way around.

:)