Last night my internet shopping got a bit out of control. 

I bought a farm. Okay … not an entire farm. Not even a corner.

Just 7 to 10 pounds of my monthly share of produce through the

<a href=

“http://www.hazon.org/go.php?q=/food/CSA/aboutHazonCSA.html”>Hazon

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Project sponsored by the

<a href=

“http://www.jccstl.com/images/uploads/File/Hazon%20Registration%20Form%202011.pdf”>

St. Louis JCCA. Just in case you’re not up on your sustainable

acronyms (I wasn’t) a CSA let’s you pre-purchase a season’s worth

of fresh produce from a local farmer. The farmer gets a secure

market and you get a fridge full of fresh, local grub.

Frankly, before last year buying locally and organically always

seemed a bit, well, inconvenient. And expensive. I understood

the purpose for the community (and my family), but it seemed like a

whole lot of work.  Maybe something I’d get around to later.

 

It wasn’t until March when I had my “<a href=

“http://www.slowfoodusa.org/”>Slow Food” friend <a href=

“http://ayearormoreofshabbats.blogspot.com/2010/03/repairing-world.html”>

Kelly and her family for Shabbat that I began to rethink my

laziness. And the fact that I had no problem dropping a ridiculous

amount on shoes for myself , but couldn’t part with an extra dollar

or two on organic fruit for my kids. That week I made an extra

effort to make an entire Shabbat meal from local Missouri

products.  Not only did I discover I can eat two pieces of “Crack”

pie made <a href=

“http://ayearormoreofrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/04/momofukus-crack-pie.html”>

with 8 (local) egg yolks and 3 sticks of butter and not go into

cardiac arrest, but I also discovered <a href=

“http://www.localharvestgrocery.com/”>Local Harvest Grocery.

That meal (well really Kelly) taught me that shopping locally is

actually fun. It turns a hum-drum shopping trip into a treasure

hunt. 

Joining the CSA is gonna kick the fun up another notch.   Every

week our “surprise” selection of fruits and veggies will

undoubtedly lead to some new foods on our table — ones I probably

wouldn’t have purchased otherwise — and some creative cooking. 

(Let’s just hope it’s not 10 pounds of kale — but if it is I’ll

promise to write about the menu that ensues.)  And the added

bonus?  One stop shopping! I’ll be picking my weekly share up on

Tuesdays at Central Reform

Congregation starting in late May.  Which will leave even more

time to check out the remodel at Local Harvest Grocers.

 

You want to know something else?  Turns out it’s not all that

expensive after all.  A season’s share (late May to late October)

costs $650.  By my math, that’s only $32.50 per week.  Certainly

less than I’m spending on veggies and fruits now, including (sadly)

those slippery peaches in their “lite” juice.  Sorry Del Monte. 

You’re gonna need to find another sucka.

 

Sound like an adventure you’d like to embark on at your

table?  Check out <a href=

“http://www.localharvest.org/”>localharvest.org to find a CSA

in your area.  But do it soon … most farms close their

subscriptions before the growing season starts so you need to

reserve your share now.   The <a href=

“http://www.localharvest.org/”>JCCA Hazon CSA closes in a few

weeks.

 

Stay tuned for more on our CSA adventure!