CSA. Community Supported Agriculture. The choice to make for good karma food. The pros for the farmer and the participant are many.I have been involved with several CSAs or farm "shares" over the past few years, and I just love the variety that Springdell's share has to offer.
The Summer 2013 share ran from June into the first week of November, making it the longest and most inclusive share that I've participated in to date. So many delicious fruits and veggies ebbed and flowed as the weather slowly turned from hot to cold. It all happened like a well-orchestrated symphony. Each season, Farmer Jamie and crew take into consideration all of the feedback from their customers to tweak the formula. This keeps things in the share box at the perfect ratio of new and interesting to comfortable and familiar. This is all an incredibly difficult job as Mother Nature is not always on the farmer's side. This season, the 'dell dealt with a great flood that took out the onion crops. Without missing a beat, Jamie and her team kept the share boxes filled with other delicious things while planning ahead for next year's crop placement.
There's something incredibly exciting about getting a crate full of mystery produce each week, but If the new and interesting part scares you, fear not! The Springdell share comes with a built-in support group, both in-person with Springdell's staff and online via the share's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/540924465936098/) . Got home and checked your share box and not sure what that veggie is? No problem! Post a pic on the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/springdell.farm) and find your answer. Want to know what your fellow shareholders are doing with their veggies? Check the Facebook page! When you partake of a Springdell CSA, you are not only doing your part to help to support a sustainable food movement, you are also becoming part of a farm family that is there to support you when you are just not sure how to keep those Brussels sprouts interesting.
There's usually a period of shell shock that occurs the first few weeks after the Summer CSA ends. Symptoms include walking around the supermarket completely disoriented, picking up and putting down packages of processed food items that were once a staple in the household. This year, I am not finding that to be the case as the Summer CSA continues to feed my family. There always seemed to be a well-thought out "surge" in the share box at the peak of a veggie's season. This allowed for freezing, preserving, and storing of the favorite fruit and veggie varieties. Thinking ahead with items such as peaches, berries, apples, tomatoes, kale, corn, peppers, basil, pickled cukes, radishes and squash ensured that my summer share will keep on giving well into the winter. Being willing to preserve some of the produce from the share box is an important part of the share commitment as it ensures minimal waste of produce, keeps you from being overwhelmed by too much of a good thing, as well avoiding the aforementioned supermarket shell shock.
Joining the Springdell community brings meaning to the phrase "food is love". If you are ready to dive in to the way of the locavore, come and join the Farm Fam! The Springdell Summer 2014 share is for you!
-Jess A.
Labels: Straight from a Shareholder
