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Pretty sure we're not doing a CSA this summer
I kind of decided not to, and by procrastinating, I am missing the deadline.
I love the concept of the CSA, and I know last year was a tough growing season (at least by us in NY), but we got so much stuff that was tough to use, so I'm going to try to hit the farmer's markets this year.
For example, we'd get like, 1 eggplant. Or tons and tons of swiss chard and radishes. It was just tough to be creative with a lot of the stuff and I grew to dread the bags of endless swiss chard or whatever.
I figure I can do better this year choosing my own veggies, especially since I am going to be making my own baby food (so then I can buy tons of peas or whatnot).
Sad about it... but at least I can compare farmers market vs. CSA and re-evaluate next year. Anyone else in this 'predicament'?
Re: Pretty sure we're not doing a CSA this summer
Yep. All of the CSAs in my area do whole shares for 4 people or half shares for 2. But have nothing worked out for just 1 person. I tried to find another person to do it with me, but no one was interested. There's no way I would eat 2 people's worth of food every week.
I love farmers markets though. Its much more relaxing than grocery stores for me.
That is pretty much why I don't do a CSA. I like to have more control over what I buy, and the farmers who do CSAs are also at my farmer's market. So I can still support them by shopping there, I just like more flexibility.
That's why we decided to skip it too. The farmer's market still allows me to support local farmers, I just get to more control over our eating choices. However, I do need to be "forced out of my box" sometimes so I did sign up for a local organic food delivery service. It's similar to a CSA except I can cancel at any time and they post their weekly delivery list online and allow you to make up to 3 substitutions each week. You can also add additional items for a small price. Our first delivery comes Thursday and I'm super excited about it. I only made one substitution (swapped out bananas for cabbage) and I'm excited to try some of the things in the box that I wouldn't normally buy at the store.
ETA: They also let us specify things we NEVER want in our box and they will automatically substitute those for something else. I really liked that feature as well.
I feel the same way. Our box would be half full of peppers week after week, and we don't even like peppers and there was no way we could get through them all. Or we'd get one small zucchini or something else that we'd love to get a lot of, but never did. We're going to do just farmers market this year, although I plan to try to buy some of extra produce that the CSA farmers sell, so that we're still at least supporting them a bit.
I was really torn this year but decided to do it again. I love the family who runs my CSA, so that was a huge factor in our decision. They're also 100% certified organic. We did a half share last year and it was still quite a bit of food for two people. I love to cook, so I mostly like to do it to expand my horizons and be creative in the kitchen. My farm does a great job providing us with a variety.
The problem with going to the farmers market (for me, anyway) is that I'm never focused enough. I wind up roaming around and I get so distracted. I also wind up buying the same fruits and veggies. I don't challenge myself as much. I guess it's just easier for me to get the bushel from the CSA. Also, I'd probably end up just going to their stand at the market anyway. LOL. Our farmers' market is open year-round, so I do go there during the "off season" to fill in the CSA gap.
I HATED getting kale last year!! Though, I'm actually quite happy to get loads of kale this spring since I now know that I can make green monster smoothies!!! It'll be such a saving grace.