Need To Eat More Vegetables? – Join a CSA

Healthy eating lowers the risk of developing various chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and may also lower the risk of some types of cancer.

Last year I got blood work done and even though the results weren’t alarmingly high, they were not within the normal range.  My total cholesterol was normal, but my HDL “good” cholesterol was low, my LDL “bad” cholesterol was elevated, and my total cholesterol/HDL Ratio was high.  My triglycerides were also elevated.

I am 33 years old, I’m not overweight – at least not by much – and although I don’t exercise as much as I should, I do work out at least once a week.  I know it is not enough; all I’m just saying is I’m not completely lazy.

I could exercise more often, but exercising five time a week won’t help me much if I keep eating unhealthy.  I knew I needed to change my eating habits and the best way to do so is by eating more vegetables.

Trying to get me to eat more vegetables is the main reason we joined our local CSA.

What Is A CSA?

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a program which gives city residents direct access to fresh produce grown by local/regional farmers.

When you join a CSA, you are buying a “share” of vegetables from a local farmer.  You pay the farmer up front for the entire season of produce and this enables the farmer to plan for the season.

A “share” is a box of vegetables and fruit every week for the season, which typically runs from late May to late October.  Some farmers also offer eggs, meat, and dairy.

One of the good things about CSAs is that you don’t have to go to the farm to get your shares.  You pick up your share at a central location, which is typically within 10-15 minutes from your house.

Why Join A CSA?

1.  To help the local farmer – By joining a CSA, you are helping a small family farm keep their business going.

2.  To eat fresh, quality food – Since you are getting your share of vegetables every week from your local farmer, you know you are getting fresh food.  Your food goes from the farm to your house.

3.  To get exposed to new vegetables – Whenever I buy vegetables, I just buy broccoli, squash/zucchini, and green beans because that’s all I know, but now we get all kinds of different vegetables that I probably would have never tried.

4.  To force you to eat more vegetables – You pay for the vegetables upfront and you are getting them every week for the next few months so you have to eat this week’s share or risk having too many vegetables.

5.  You know where your food is coming from – You know exactly which farm your food is coming from.  Most farmers even let you visit their farm to check out their practices.

6.  It makes food shopping easier – You don’t have to worry too much about what to cook that week.  You already have the vegetables and you know you have to eat them or they’ll go bad, so you only have to worry about meat/rice/pasta.

Our CSA Farm

The CSA/farm we joined is Alstede Farms and we have been very satisfied with our shares (we signed up for 1/2 shares).  We have received so many variety of vegetables so far and we’ve also received strawberries and blueberries.

As the season progresses, the variety of vegetables change, which is good because nobody wants to eat squash for three months straight.

You also get a book with recipes and ideas on how to use your vegetables, and a weekly newsletter from Farmer Kurt – our local guy.  We haven’t really used the book too much because Kate is a certified Chef – at least in my book.

One of the many great things about Kate is that she can cook pretty much anything and make it taste delicious.  Let’s be honest, vegetables are just not that tasty, but thanks to Kate I’ve been able to eat them without too much fuss.  You can check out some of her delicious recipes on her blog Babaganosh.org.

Does it Save Money?

CSAs have the potential to save you money on groceries, but in our case, it really doesn’t.  It doesn’t save us much, but it also doesn’t cost us more.

It’s hard to calculate our saving on just vegetables so we just calculate it on our overall grocery budget.

Prior to the CSA, we were spending on average $300 a month on groceries.  After the CSA, we are spending on average $200 a month.  The CSA needed to be paid in bulk upfront, but based on the number of weeks that we will receive vegetables, we calculated to come out to $25 per week or $100 for a typical month.  So if we add the $100 a month for the CSA to our grocery bill, it comes out to about the same.

We are eating a lot more fruits and vegetables now and most of it is organic or sustainable so it’s a little hard to say whether we are saving or spending more.  I say it’s about the same… for us.

Disadvantages of CSAs

I love out CSA, but there are disadvantages about joining one that you should be aware.

1.  You have no choice on the vegetables you get.  You get what they were able to grow that week and that’s it.  You don’t have the luxury of saying “this week I want to eat broccoli.”  If broccoli is not on the box this week, you’re not eating broccoli – unless you go buy it at the store.  Right now, we’ve been eating squash for about a month, but luckily Kate has made some good recipes including yellow squash tots.

2.  You have to pick up your box every week.  If you go on vacation and can’t pick up your box that week, you can sometimes get in touch with them and they let you pick up two boxes the following week, but that’s a one time thing.  The good thing is that you can ask a friend to pick up the box and have them eat your share.

3.  You have to pay for it upfront – Not only do you have to pay a lump sum upfront, but you have no idea if the weather is going to cooperate.  The winter in the northeast this year was a little long so we didn’t start getting decent vegetables until mid-June.

A CSA is an investment, and like with any other investments, it comes with some risks.  But those risks are minimal when you compare with the benefits it provides.

We’re helping out local farmer, but the main benefit for me is eating healthier.  I highly recommend everybody join a CSA if they can.