A few weeks ago, I was talking with my husband about maybe taking a sabbatical from CSAs. We were agonizing over the decision. Then, I received an email that made my decision for me.
I had a feeling it might be coming. This past summer, the owners of our CSA (Anja and Michael) looked more haggard than usual. Anja talked about wanting to open a farm to table restaurant, or to focus more on cooking. Over the past couple of years they have also been resourcing a few restaurants and grocery stores, as well as selling organic vegetable plants, attending the farmer’s market, and other projects I’m sure I don’t even know about. In short, they have done a TON in our area to further the local food movement and I’ve been proud to be a part of it as a member of their CSA.
Last week we (the shareholders) received an email informing us that they are taking a sabbatical for next year so they can restructure their operations. At first, I felt like a girlfriend being broken up with in a note. Then, I remembered the conversations that DH and I had had just a week earlier.
I, too, have been wanting to focus more on cooking; beyond the “what is this vegetable and what can I do with it?” which is hard to do when you have massive amounts of random vegetables showing up every week. For example, I haven’t been able to finish Simply in Season because the ingredients I need for the summer recipes haven’t shown up in sufficient quantities at the same time. Yet I don’t want to go to the farmer’s market and buy them because I have all these OTHER vegetables staring at me with their beady little eyes. The other reason I am not jumping to find another CSA is that this one was only 2.24 miles away from my house. Talk about local!
It’s a tough decision. I’m sort of known as the CSA advocate. I’m also worried that I’ll get sticker shock at the farmer’s market and not eat as many vegetables if I have to actually pick out and purchase everything individually each week. Finally, I visited the Heifer International Overlook Farm last week when I was traveling with my Ugandan visitors, and I realized that by purchasing a CSA you are supporting your local farmers in a way that going to the farmer’s market doesn’t match. There, I became convinced that I WILL return to being a member of a CSA, but am giving myself the same sabbatical that Anja and Michael will be taking.
It’s the last week of our CSA share, which is bittersweet. I look forward to spending more time planning and cooking vs. vegetable triage, but I will miss the excitement and community of pickup day. As the leaves fall and the weather turns cold, I’m reminded that for everything there is a season.
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Hi Wendy.
I love the term “vegetable triage”!
I didn’t know about Trillium.
I will say, that if you find yourself in the mood to do the triage thing again, I am sure you have heard of Groundswell, and I have been w/ Green Wagon Farm this summer and it has been really nice. The owner used to work @ Groundswell.
Just an FYI. We are working on building up our garden so maybe we won’t be CSAing it at all this coming summer, but there are things I will miss.
Hope you are well,
adrienne
Adrienne, it has been awhile! Thanks for stopping by. Groundswell was the first CSA we joined, and we were with them for two years before taking a summer off, then deciding to join Trillium. I loved Groundswell – the only reason we switched is because Trillium was closer. I found them very similar (which makes sense, the original founders were interns at Trillium!) Our garden did not do so well this year, but I think I know the issues (less light than we thought, should have added compost even though the dirt we had delivered was a “compost mix.”) Hoping to expand next year, which I hope isn’t crazy given this year’s failure. I look forward to hearing more about your garden.
We have four more weeks of CSA and not to sound ungracious or anything, but I can’t wait for it to be over! We have really struggled to eat things up before they go bad and we still end up sending a good bit to the compost or giving it away. We succumb to food cravings and the local pizza joint too often and being pregnant has really wiped out my energy for cooking. I appreciate the healthy vegetables and know that we are healthier for having had the CSA this year, but I really miss the farmer’s market and to be honest, I think it cost less. If we put a quarter of the investment we made in the CSA, into gardening, I think we would have everything we needed, and then some. We could even afford to do a raw milk share with the money we are not spending on a CSA. So that’s next year’s plan…but the baby may change that too.
I completely understand! I think everyone has CSA fatigue by the end of the year. It’s too easy to focus on what I didn’t do rather than celebrate what I did do. My “to do” list is always way longer than what anyone has time for. Wishing you and your little one good health.
I am on the exact same bandwagon as you, Cindy. I am going to miss every Thursday pick-up and the joy of seeing my kids sit down in the pea patch and “sneak” as many as they can. Having a few plants in the back yard doesn’t compare. We were also debating a CSA sabbatical. Overall, I know this is going to be the best thing for everyone. I am looking forward to seeing what Trillium decides to do next. But, I am still sad.
I concur. We used to participate in a CSA and my kids appreciate having more “say” in what ends up in our basket at our local farmer’s market. Being able to buy larger amounts of certain foods makes the bill go down. The vendors are up for negotiating- it never hurts to ask. Ask them how many cukes they will give you for $15 instead of settling for $1 each. If you buy lots of produce from one vendor or are a repeat customer from one they always throw in an extra “thank you” or two. Or five. 🙂
In our vast, spread out area we are members of both a grocery and produce co-op. Essentially what we do is order in bulk directly from the distributors. So we get everything that we could buy at the health food stores for cost plus a small percentage to pay the 2 ladies who coordinate it all. We get groceries once a month and produce every 2 weeks. While they are from the distributors and not local farmers, we can choose which veggies and fruits we want via e-mail. Most of us have our own gardens anyway. If you’re interested in learning more, let me know. We also buy local grass fed meats, free range eggs, and raw milk through the same co-op.
we have a year-round co-op in our area that sources from local farms (produce, eggs, meat, and some other things like honey, soap). I’ve been looking into that – seems very convenient! You order online once a month (can even pick what farm you want your stuff from) and then everyone picks up on the same day of the month. Plus I think it’s cool that you can still meet the farmers on pick up day.
First of all, I want to say I love my CSA — I get overwhelmed sometimes and could do with less kale in the cold seasons and melons in the summer, but subscribing to a CSA has varied our diet more than we could have imagined. I still go to the Farmers’ Market for things I don’t get, or things I need more of, but I am more likely to buy them from “my” farm first. I can’t grow much where I live — too much fog and shade.
The other reason I’m here is I’m trying to track down the origin of the phrase “vegetable triage,” because it is so brilliant. It’s in different places on the net. Do you know anything about this? Thanks, Sharyn, aka “The Kale Chronicler.”
I came up with it when I wrote this post, but it’s possible others have thought of it too.