BU: 10 Questions to Ask Before You Join a CSA

WendyGR

I remember someone was asking about CSAs before . . .

SuperGreen

I don't recall the exact list you're thinking of, but here is what I would ask:

1. Is your CSA only your products, or do you include produce/meat from other farms in the area, or somewhere else in the country? IMHO the whole purpose of a CSA is to support a single local farm, but some veggie CSAs might do meat from a neighboring farm, and some CSAs really should call themselves veggie delivery services b/c they include, say, citrus from several states south.
2. How is your produce or meat grown or harvested? Organic? Hormones? Pesticides? Meat is processed on the farm or trucked to a slaughterhouse?
3. How many weeks is the CSA, what's the cost, and when/where is the pickup?
4. How many different types/numbers of veggies can I expect in each weekly box, and how many people does a box serve?  A single tomato doesn't help much for cooking, on the flip side neither does a whole box of zucchini.  Most CSAs have a "full share" which usually feeds 4-6, or sometimes a "half share" which feeds 2-3.
5. Ask for references from previous CSA members.