Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Before my son was born, if we had a vegetable in the house it was rare. If it was fresh, it was even more rare. So when my son was born, I decided we needed to start eating more vegetables. My philosophy is you can't make your kids eat vegetables if you aren't eating them yourself. Rather than go to the vegetable stand and buy the same old vegetables every week, we decided to buy a share in an organic farm. Of course, we took baby steps and split the share with another couple.

How it works: you buy a share in the farm. What that means is you get a box every week with your share of the harvest. The CSA that we belong to drops the boxes at different sites throughout Chicago. There are many convenient places to pick them up at. Or you can usually go to the farm to pick up your box. You generally know what vegetables you'll be getting (based on the season and the farm's predictions). If the farm does well, you have an overflowing box. If there is a drought or blight, you may not get as many vegetables. Even in the "lean years," we've gotten more than enough vegetables.

That first year we struggled to eat all of our veggies. I didn't even know what the kale was. Most of the greens went in the trash. I had never heard of or seen kohlrabi or sunchokes (I still have a problem figuring out these vegetables). But after getting a cookbook to help figure out how to cook some of the veggies, we started eating more and more. By the fourth year we were eating all of our half of the share. So last year (the fifth year) we got a full share and did a pretty good job of eating all the veggies.

The pros of getting a CSA:

1. No need to go to the store for your vegetables. Just pick up your box on Saturday. Saving 15-20 minutes every week not wandering the vegetable stand trying to determine what vegetables to buy is definitely worth it.
2. Get a variety of vegetables that you may not have otherwise tried. As an example, kale and brussel sprouts are now my favorite vegetables. But I would never have bought either of these in the store.
3. You are supporting your local economy.
4. Your vegetables are fresh and seasonal.
5. You can visit the farm to see the vegetables growing. Our CSA has two open houses and our kids can see where their vegetables come from.
6. The cost is about the same, maybe a little more than going to the grocery store. But see #1 above. The time saved definitely makes up the difference.

Our CSA is Angelic Organics (www.angelicorganics.com), which still had some shares available if you are interested.