Community Supported Agriculture

CSA

"The box gets you out of your shopping rut and invites you to try new things and consult your languishing cookbooks." In other words, they bring the excitement back to the age old question, "What's for dinner?" -Michael Pollan

Annotated Bibliography:

Green, Julia. "Food For Thought." Breathe. 2008: 11

In this article, in Breathe magazine, Julia Green explains the benefits of eating local through community supported agriculture, a CSA. This is where a person or family pays a local farmer a certain amount of money at the beginning of each season in exchange for a weekly supply of fresh, seasonal produce. Not only is this good for the consumer, but also the small farmer, and the environment.

"Locally grown food is better for you and the environment-it's fresher, more healthful, and simply tastes better. Although it may seem a luxury to pay more for CSA food than grocery-store food, it may not be such a significant luxury in the years to come. As gas prices continue to rise, so will prices in the grocery store. Instead of buying food that's come from thousands of miles away, consider joining a local CSA for produce that's more nutritional, flavorful, and environmentally sustainable."

In this quote Green explains why one should become part of a CSA. She also brings up the fact that so much of our food today comes from thousands of miles away.

My project is about eating local and supporting local farmers. My goal is to educate by stressing the importance of local farms, CSAs, and farmer's markets. This article is dealing with these exact issues.

Topic Summary:

Eating local and becoming part of a CSA are becoming more and more popular. If the average person was to walk into a commercial grocery store on any given day they would be surrounded, unknowingly, by asparagus from Peru and apples from New Zealand. Why spend money on produce that has traveled half way across the world, when fresh, local produce is so available. Buying local supports the small farmers, the local economy, it's better for the environment, and better for you.