Great Ways to Support Local Farmers: CSAs Explained
You know that meme, “How it started/How it’s going”? Well for me, it started with writing a big scary check for more than $300 to a local farmer and now I carry arms full of fresh, local produce into my home every week.
This is what it means to belong to a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture share. While farmer’s markets are excellent ways to buy local, CSAs help you develop an even deeper connection with those who grow your food. CSAs are a once-a-week or biweekly box full of local fruits and veggies that are in season. Some CSAs deliver straight to your door. Others require pick up.
Every week I get a text from my farmers, Jay and Ashlee, with Fern Co., in Stevensville letting me know my box is ready. I drive to the farm on Tuesday afternoons, let myself into the walk-in refrigerator and grab the produce that has been set aside for me with my name on it. My kids LOVE to help me pick up the produce and sometimes help themselves to our share straight from the box.
The season runs from June to October. So far I’ve gotten cabbage, mixed greens, HUGE heads of lettuce, snap peas, heirloom tomatoes, turnips, broccoli, scapes, and herb bundles. But my absolute favorite item to receive is cherry tomatoes. They are sweet and delicate and juicy and I barely get them home before I’ve consumed almost the whole package.
When I think about the cost savings of paying for all my produce up front for the season, I realize how much money I am saving (even though it didn’t feel that way at the beginning). We usually budget around $120 for groceries per week, and I try to make sure at least a quarter of that is produce. I’m actually sing hundreds of dollars, compared to what I would spend in the grocery store between June and October.
I tend to plan our meals around what I get every week. Try these cabbage steaks, which my family devours, or roasted broccoli. My kids think it tastes like french fries (thanks, salt). Plus, it helps to know I’m supporting a local farmer, whose hand I’ve shaken rather than a large corporation.
Going to be out of town? Most CSAs let you donate your share to local food banks and shelters.
Most CSAs sell out fast, but just in case you want to check into joining one mid-season, here’s a list of local ones, provided by Missoula Community Food & Agriculture Coalition:
Fern Co.: 18-week share from June 8-Oct 6 with pick up locations in Hamilton and at their farm in Stevensville
Harlequin Organic Produce: 18-week CSA from June 9-Oct 6.: Wednesday pickup at locations all across Missoula or at their farm in Arlee.
Homestead Organics / Cultivating Connections: Shares available in various types: Veggie, Salad Kit, Grain, Chicken, or Mixed Meat. Pickup at their Hamilton farm location beginning in June.
Missoula Grain and Vegetable Co.: Spring and Summer shares available. Spring share runs April to June, Summer share runs July to mid-Sept. Both options have pickup sites in Missoula, Stevensville, and Hamilton.
Mountain Meat Shares / Rusty Nail Farm: Monthly ongoing meat shares in regular and large sizes, with pickup sites in Arlee and Missoula.
Western Montana Growers Cooperative: Large summer shares still available, running from May 27-Oct 7 with pickup sites in Missoula, Butte, Helena, Philipsburg and Anaconda. SNAP benefits accepted along with a Double SNAP Dollars match of up to $200 per member per season.
