Benefits of community supported agriculture

Hello Guide by Nicki V readers! It's been some time since I've written a post and I'm so excited to be back!

I am absolutely pumped to be writing this blog about the benefits of community supported agriculture, better known as CSA! As I'm writing this, I am just hitting "purchase" on a produce CSA through my local farm, Stillman's Farm. It's my second year participating after a great experience last year. If you sign up, I guarantee you'll love it too.

what is community supported agriculture?

According to the USDA, ​Community Supported Agriculture consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. 

In a traditional CSA model…

Members share the risks and benefits of food production with the farmer.
Members buy a share of the farm’s production before each growing season.
In return, they receive regular distributions of the farm’s bounty throughout the season.
The farmer receives advance working capital, gains financial security, earns better crop prices, and benefits from the direct marketing plan.

About Stillman's farm csa

Stillman’s Farm's produce CSA runs from mid-June through mid-October and includes a wide variety of delicious and nutritious in-season fruits and veggies in weekly share boxes delivered to various locations around Boston. I pick mine up from the Boston Public Market on Monday's. The cost per share is $450 and there are always promo codes delivered via email. If you do the math, ​$450 for 16 weeks for two people costs $112 a month, $28 a week or $4 a day. Totally affordable in the long run, if you can pay up front.

Benefit 1: local produce ​are healthier

It's so important to eat local, seasonal produce. Local produce retain more nutrients because they are often picked within 24 hours of being sold since they don't have to travel far distances. Foods from local growers may be also be safer as they are not artificially ripened with ethylene gas and often contain less pesticides. Since local produce are sold at their ripest point, they usually taste better and lead to tastier meals.

benefit 2: local produce are better for the environment

The average piece of produce in the U.S. travels 1.500 miles (!) to get to it's destination, according to researcher Rich Pirog at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. Buying local produce reduces the amount of food miles and therefore reduces CO2 emissions. 

Choosing more plant-based foods is also important for the environment as it significantly reduces water use. According to UCLA Sustainability, if every person in the U.S. gave up meat and dairy products one or more days each week, we would reduce our water use by at least half. By having so many fresh produce on hand, you're a lot more likely to eat more plant-only meals. 

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benefit 3: csa support local, small businesses

By purchasing a part of Stillman's Farm's CSA, I am proudly supporting their family owned business (read more about their history here!). The money I spend on my produce goes directly back into their farming business instead of being split many ways to profit the grocery store, distributor, etc. Stillman's prides themselves on "conscientiously grown" produce, and that's a business I can get behind.

Benefit 4: variety of produce leads to creativity

I certainly get into a Whole Foods rut and find myself buying the same bags of frozen veggies week after week (I'm looking at you broccoli, brussel sprouts and cauliflower). I get so excited to open my CSA box to see what's in store. June usually calls for leafy greens. July provides bright, fresh fruit. August has lots of green veggies and eggplant galore. September shifts into root veggies and October launches into squash season. It's so much fun to cook creatively with the vegetables I get and I love being surprised by what's in the box every week. 

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