To CSA or not to CSA?

Recently we received very disappointing news that Dog Mountain Farm will not be continuing their CSA Subscriptions next year.* As such, we are on the search for a new local produce provider and I thought I would share my process with you all.

If you are just starting out, LocalHarvest is a valuable resource. I would also encourage you to spend some time at your local Farmers Market, talking to the vendors and asking questions. You’ll get a feel pretty quickly about which ones would be a good match. After two years perusing and sampling the bounties of other vendors at the Capitol Hill Farmers Market, I have gotten to know a little bit about several of them. Without having specifically experienced each CSA, I won’t comment on my opinions here, but I would be happy to chat one-on-one with any of you. :)

The most critical aspect about a CSA for us is that it is all local. Do a little bit of reading, and you’ll find out that some farms will buy produce from out of state/country to supplement what they grow themselves. Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing if eating bananas, pineapples and mangos are really important to you, but for us, it is about taking advantage of what Washington has to offer.

Secondly, we love the small farmer. Getting to know Cindy and David at Dog Mountain and watching them learn, succeed, fail – only to try again – and love their farm, has been such a rewarding and educating experience. It is hard to imagine that we would get this personal touch with a farm that supports several hundred subscriptions (see # of Shares on LocalHarvest listing or inquire directly).

Delivery versus pickup: every farm handles their CSA differently, with some doing direct delivery, some offering farm pickup and some organizing a pickup at a Farmers Market or other location. We highly recommend the pickup from the Farmers Market. And here’s why: exposure to the farmers, other shoppers, vendors, etc. Just being around the Farmers Market community will help motivate and educate you on the value of eating seasonally and locally. Plus, you can supplement your CSA with things like fruit, flowers, dairy and meat. Read Price Challenge: Hollywood Farmers Market vs. New Seasons to see how you can save money!

There are lots of other differentiators that you should explore when chosing a CSA; flexibility in size and occurrence of packages, ability to pick and choose items, and of course price.

The funny thing is, we have pretty much decided that we are not going to sign up for a CSA next summer and instead challenge ourselves to put together our own produce package each week at the Farmers Market. The upside being we get to choose our own veggies (a few less weeks of Kale perhaps?) :) and shop at multiple vendors. The down side being we won’t have pre-paid so there is no forcing function getting us to the market every Sunday! Please let me know if you have thoughts on this!

Either way, now is a good time to start your planning for next summer’s CSA. The markets will be open for a few more weeks, so get out and start researching! Otherwise, make sure you remember to sign up in later winter/early spring as many farms do fill up!

* A full farm is a lot of work! David and Cindy have decided to narrow their focus a bit and spend more time on their poultry business. They will still be at the Farmers Markets and host their Farm Dinners so good news for us!