As the season winds down...

Next week is our last CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) vegetable pick up. I'm having end of CSA anxiety: Did I put away enough veggies for winter? Did we let too much go to waste? Why didn't I get anything canned while the crops were being produced?

This is the third time that my husband and I have participated in a CSA season. The first year we tried, we wasted a whole lot of produce while we learned what we were doing. CSA's aren't necessarily easy things to be a part of for more urbanites. Once a week you are faced with a plethora of local vegetables, some of which you may never have seen before or which you don't cook often with. If you don't get through those, there is more coming next week, and the week after. The veggies can start to pile up, and eventually rot. It can turn people off of a CSA very quickly.

Let's be honest. Even with three years into my CSA experience, we still lose some veggies during the season. It reflects on how busy our lives are, and how much work it really is to clean and cook veggies all the time. But, like most things, practice makes us more efficient. Compared to our first season in a CSA, we lose next to nothing now. We make a point of freezing more items, and making more meals at home during the week. Sometimes we lose a few things.

I think of rotting CSA veggies as food for my composter.

So at the end of this season, I know we've done ok because we're getting better and better at it. I have food in my freezer to eat over the winter, even if it's not quite as much as I've put away last year. Maybe we're eating more of it when it's fresh, because we're not really wasting much.

CSA's offer a lot of benefits. It provides you with locally grown produce, usually harvested a day or so before you pick it up. That means very fresh produce which hasn't had much of a chance to lose nutrients. It's also almost always organic produce you get. Better for your body, and for the environment. You make a social statement when you join a CSA that you want organic and local foods, it's supporting a movement. You make a relationship with your farmer(s), and know everyone that has been in contact with your food. You can donate your time and help on the farm, contributing toward the harvest. And the constant stream of veggies means you're eating foods that are good for you too.

I encouraged my Mom to try a CSA. I wasn't sure she'd go for it, and when she jumped on the challenge, I was wary she'd enjoy it. Now, at the end of her CSA season, she is telling me how much she enjoyed it, and how she was looking forward to joining again next year. She got a small share, and made a routine for herself that weekly she cleans and processes most of her veggies for the week, and was able to keep up with most of it. My mom isn't someone that looks for organic/local foods, but it's so encouraging to see her getting benefits out of it. It's allowing her to watch the seasons, and enjoy new foods.

CSA's can be a great experience for anyone, although it takes work. I can't recommend them enough.