Buy the Farm!

Article by healthybalance.com staff
Posted on April 12, 2007

Are you looking for a great way to eat healthier? Buy the farm! Not the whole farm, purchase a membership in your local CSA farm. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Members pay an upfront fee, usually in the early spring, that the farmers use to purchase seed and cover the farm’s seasonal maintenance costs. In return, members pick up fresh, chemical-free produce every week of the growing season. Often, they find themselves canning, freezing or sharing the excess.

More nutrition.
While the organic produce at your grocery store is better for you than chemically grown fruits and veggies, much of it travels long distances before reaching the refrigerator case. Picking produce green and extended travel times lower nutrient value. Taste suffers, too. Farm fresh, chemical-free produce reaches your table chock full of all those phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that are hyped by healthcare experts in the media—and the flavors are amazing.

Earth friendlier.
If you care about your environment, CSA membership is one more way you can help the earth. CSA farmers use gentle farming methods that help restore environments rather than pesticides and chemical fertilizers that degrade them. These farmers often plant heirloom seeds and native varieties that provide higher nutritive values as well as a botanical legacy that is being threatened by hybrid and genetically modified seed.

Because locally grown produce does not require shipment across the country, or across the oceans, pollution created by transport is reduced, as well.

A community builder.
When you go to the CSA farm to pick up your produce, you meet families, like your own, who are interested in good health—and good times. CSA farms often host potluck gatherings, weeding parties, canning events and harvest celebrations that are fun times for members of all ages.

When children first visit the farm, they are amazed to learn where their food really comes from. They may realize, perhaps for the first time, their own connection to the earth. The fruit or vegetables they saw sprout and grow suddenly taste far better than the highly processed goodies in the snack food aisle at the grocery store. Children also love visiting the chickens, goats, cows and pigs that are raised on many CSA farms.

Do you want to buy the farm?
Since 1990, the number of CSA farms has grown from an estimated 50 to more than 1,000. Most require your membership fee up front, but some offer payment plans or monthly payment arrangements. Singles or couples without children may be able to split a membership with another member. Many farms also offer the opportunity for working members to help with farm chores as part or all of their membership fees.

To locate a CSA farm in your area, visit www.localharvest.org/csa.