Warmer weather has finally arrived here in the North Country. Farmers, gardeners, and fresh-food enthusiasts alike are eagerly awaiting the start of the farmer’s market season. And while shopping at the farmer’s market is a great way to support our local agriculture and reduce your food miles, why not take it one step further and consider joining a CSA?
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has been active for over 25 years, and is growing throughout our region. It has become a popular way for consumers to buy fresh, local, seasonal food directly from farmers, not just by shopping at the farmer’s market.
Here’s how it works: a farmer offers a certain number of “shares” to the public. Consumers then sign up early in the year to purchase a share (or a membership or subscription) and in return receive seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season. A share typically consists of a box of fresh vegetables, but other farm products like eggs, homemade bread, meat, cheese, fruit and flowers can be included. The box will vary somewhat as the season progresses. Pick-up is usually at the farm itself or at the closest farmer’s market. Best of all, there’s no waiting in line!
CSAs have many benefits for consumers as well as farmers. The farmers get to market and sell their food early in the season, generating income and supporting the farm for the year. And consumers get fresh and healthy food each week, in addition to getting to know the farmers, where their food comes from, and how its grown. Receiving a fresh box of local food each week may also cause you to cooking
more at home (which is a good thing, in my opinion), and you can freeze or can any leftover produce. It’s really a win-win situation for everyone.
If
you think you might like to sign up for a membership in a CSA this
year, you should get started soon because their lists tend to fill up
early. Below are several CSAs in our area. The list is by no means
complete, as we have so many great ones here and more start up each
year. But it will give you a place to begin:
Kilpatrick Family Farm
Glens Falls Farmer’s Market
37 South St
Glens Falls, NY 12801(518) 217-8595
New England Farms
31 Main St
Granville, NY 12832
(518) 642-3270
Quincy Farm
Easton, NY
(518) 290-0296
www.quincyfarm.net
Field Goods -Local Food Delivery/CSA
Weight Watchers of the Adirondacks
12 Mountain Ledge Drive
Gansevoort, NY 12831
Denison farm
Saratoga Mid-week Pick-up Site
Warren Street
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Lewis Waite Farm
135 Lewis Hill Ln
Greenwich, NY 12834
(518) 692-3120
Champlain Orchards
Rutland Co-Op
77 Wales St
Rutland, VT 05701
CSAs
are a great option for people looking for fresh, healthy food that also
benefits the local farmers who grow it. They’re pretty convenient, too.
If you add in shopping trips to the farmer’s market and any of your own
food that your able to grow, by becoming a CSA member you will be
virtually guaranteeing a high-quality food supply for you and your
family. Plus with a CSA, you may even get to visit the farm sometime and
see how the whole process unfolds. By learning to appreciate where our
food comes from and how it’s grown, we will become healthier and more
aware as individuals, and also help benefit the communities that we all
treasure so much.