Farm Share

I just got the last farm share in town! My particular city has three farms that participate in CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) programs, and I just love it so much.

The idea: you pay a fee in the spring (usually late March--I'm lucky to have gotten in this late) to help pay for upfront costs like seeds and labor, and every week in the summer, you pick up a box of freshly-picked produce.

The share at the farm I'm going with is $350 for the season, from June 4th until October 15th. That means that a box of produce--locally grown, fresh, organic fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs--will end up costing us $17.50 per week. Considering I can spend that amount at one STAND at a farmer's market each week, it sounds like a really good thing to try.

I'm really excited. I wish it started today.

Balancing Frugality with Love of Food

First, my apologies to the 6 people who still visit me; I had a last-minute freelance project pop up to steal all my time for the last fortnight or so.

Now, back on topic. Recently, I've been doing a lot of reading about good foods and the right way to eat, and everything that comes up seems to sound both (a) delicious and (b) expensive. My most recent read, real food: what to eat and why by Nina Planck, urges consumption of grass-fed beef, wild salmon, local, organic veggies in season, and raw, full-fat milks and cheeses. Her particular evil is what she dubs "industrial food," the food products like margarine and high fructose corn syrup that were developed primarily after WWII.

I'm on board with this philosophy (although I would miss refined sugar and white flour quite a lot), but it's quite expensive to pursue. I had an experimental swipe at it this weekend, and though it's been delicious so far, the weekly grocery bill looked more like our usual monthly bill.

But I think it's worthwhile to give it a try, especially after the farmer's markets open next month, and hopefully our doctor's bills will go down to compensate.