CSA Day

Last spring, one of my new things was buying a half share in a community supported agriculture, a CSA. CSA's are farms or large gardens where farmers and community members who eat what the farm yields work together. Community members pay money up front, long before harvest, for a share of the crops. In many CSA's, that price is reduced if the community member works a few hours a season for the farmer. CSA's help farmers financially by giving them money up front, even in years where the yield is low. They help consumers by allowing them to buy locally and to have a part in growing the food they eat. Last year was my first year, and I loved it. I wasn't able to get a working share, but that was okay, given that I have a big flower garden of my own to tend to. The CSA produced a bountiful crop of everything from greens to garlic, and the variety and sheer volume of vegetables forced me to eat better and cook more.

I joined again this year, and tonight was pick up number two. Last week, there was a short meeting before the pick up; the farmer had bad news. He stood at the front of the crowded room and told us that this would be a terrible year. A record setting wet spring had ruined early crops and made it so that later ones got a late start. What did that mean for us? Low yield. Really low. This is the risk of joining; you have no guarantee that you'll wind up so laden down with tomatoes or zucchini that you're leaving them on neighbors' doorsteps after each weekly pickup. Sometimes the harvest is so puny that you're stopping at the grocery store for supplemental produce on the way home from the CSA. Tonight, I came home with a very small bag of lettuce, a bunch of spinach, and four garlic scapes. Pitiful.

The good news is that I love the idea of the CSA, so I'll have to look at this year's payment as a donation. I'll still drive out there each week, no matter what. The farm operates out of a wonderful retreat center in Loveland, Ohio called Grailville. It's a peaceful place with an enormous turf labyrinth, so veggies or no veggies, at least I can feed my spirit on Wednesdays.


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