OT:Question for those who have joined a CSA (Community supported agriculture farm)

[Guest guest]

I am thinking about joining a CSA this year, I'm in southern New

Hampshire....there isn't a huge selection, the one I am leaning towards is an

hour and fifteen minutes away, but fits what I am looking for to a T. There are

two others within thirty minutes.....both seem okay, but not great.

 

So my question is, if you have joined a CSA in the past.....did you like it?

What did you find to be the upsides and the downsides? It's myself and my three

girls in my house (they are 13, and 9 year old twins) my oldest goes away to

overnight camp for a month, I'm wondering if we will be able to use a family

share or if it would be better to get a single share? Any feedback from your

experience would be great.

 

Thanks so much!

 

Michelle (In New Hampshire)

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Wow, driving an hour and fifteen minutes for a CSA share. Wow.

 

Yes, I have d to a variety of CSAs over the years, which are

very available where I live (in San Francisco). Currently I am not

subscribing to any, however. I love the idea, but when it came time to

trim budget, that is one of the things that had to go. I was also

having trouble with produce spoiling too soon with one of them. Some of

them allow you to specify produce you do NOT want, some don't.

Inevitably I wanted more produce of a specific type and would end up

buying items (like greens) that I wasn't getting enough of. (One CSA I

d to didn't provide any greens at all -- due to the spinach

scare they wouldn't even grow greens other than heads of lettuce.) It

varies enormously but I would say most have been a good experience and I

felt good about being involved.

 

But over an hours drive. Wow. I would not have d if I'd had to

drive that far. Most delivered right to my home and one I had to drive

to a " hub " location which was about a mile away.

 

Sharon

 

Michelle wrote:

>

>

>

> I am thinking about joining a CSA this year, I'm in southern New

> Hampshire....there isn't a huge selection, the one I am leaning

> towards is an hour and fifteen minutes away, but fits what I am

> looking for to a T. There are two others within thirty

> minutes.....both seem okay, but not great.

>

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

That was a most helpful reply, Thanks! Yeah, it would be quite a drive....but

she is very flexible, lets you make payments,etc. Very good reviews. There are a

couple within a thirty-ish minute drive but they are not as flexible, and mixed

reviews. A few of the ones that I contacted within my " range " were almost

cliquish, their replies gave me the impression that they considered themselves

to be exclusive and I was not lucky enough to get a membership.

 

Michelle (In New Hampshire)

 

 

--- On Sun, 1/18/09, Sharon Zakhour <sharonzakhour wrote:

 

Sharon Zakhour <sharonzakhour

Re: OT:Question for those who have joined a CSA

(Community supported agriculture farm)

 

Sunday, January 18, 2009, 1:29 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, driving an hour and fifteen minutes for a CSA share. Wow.

 

Yes, I have d to a variety of CSAs over the years, which are

very available where I live (in San Francisco). Currently I am not

subscribing to any, however. I love the idea, but when it came time to

trim budget, that is one of the things that had to go. I was also

having trouble with produce spoiling too soon with one of them. Some of

them allow you to specify produce you do NOT want, some don't.

Inevitably I wanted more produce of a specific type and would end up

buying items (like greens) that I wasn't getting enough of. (One CSA I

d to didn't provide any greens at all -- due to the spinach

scare they wouldn't even grow greens other than heads of lettuce.) It

varies enormously but I would say most have been a good experience and I

felt good about being involved.

 

But over an hours drive. Wow. I would not have d if I'd had to

drive that far. Most delivered right to my home and one I had to drive

to a " hub " location which was about a mile away.

 

Sharon

 

Michelle wrote:

>

>

>

> I am thinking about joining a CSA this year, I'm in southern New

> Hampshire... .there isn't a huge selection, the one I am leaning

> towards is an hour and fifteen minutes away, but fits what I am

> looking for to a T. There are two others within thirty

> minutes..... both seem okay, but not great.

>

 

 

[Guest guest]

I belonged to a CSA in my area last year and quit after 4 or 5 months. I

think it will just depend on what you've got in your area as to whether it

will be worth it for you. The one I was with didn't give much out compared

to what I've seen in CSAs in other areas. The quality wasn't all that great

either....I even picked up product which was rotten the last couple of

times. They started selling fresh eggs, but were always out when I got there

and didn't take reservations. And I had issues with my payments...they were

taking out double, not taking out others, etc. It was just a mess. Plus now

I'd have to leave work early and drive almost an hour to pick my product up,

which would not make it worthwhile.

But if I got word of a better one in my area, or I found out this one

improved, I'd go back. I did enjoy getting food I'd never tried

before...like swiss chard. And it was like Christmas every week...you never

knew what you were going to get.

Do you know anyone else who uses this CSA? It would really be great if you

could find out about their customers' experiences. For me, the single share

wasn't even enough when it was just me eating it - and they said it was

enough for two. I'd get two or three bananas, and I could eat that within a

day and a half, and would end up at the grocery store buying more produce to

last the week. But like I said, I've seen CSA baskets on tv which were huge

compared to what I was getting. I think the amount you get might show

whether it's worth the drive for you.

All in all, I really like the idea of CSAs and would love to be able to

participate in one again. I do live in a small town enviroment where very

little is available, so things might be different where you are!

Michelle in VA

 

On Sun, Jan 18, 2009 at 12:58 PM, Michelle <twinglemomi wrote:

 

>

>

> I am thinking about joining a CSA this year, I'm in southern New

> Hampshire....there isn't a huge selection, the one I am leaning towards is

> an hour and fifteen minutes away, but fits what I am looking for to a T.

> There are two others within thirty minutes.....both seem okay, but not

> great.

>

>

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

That is great information, Thank you! I can't find anyone who belongs to one. I

have asked around and the closest I have gotten is at work there are some people

who shop at a coop. The local harvest website has the ability to post reviews,

but all of the CSA's in my area had either no reviews or one review that just

said... " They were great " . I googled CSA reviews and got reviews from people in

different parts of the country, which was helpful because I was looking for what

people found to be the benefits and the pitfalls.

 

One of the reasons I am wanting to join is because money is usually very tight

for me in the summer, the CSA share would be paid before the budget tightens and

would help cut the grocery bill a bit and ensure that we have fresh produce. The

prices around here range from $500 to $700 for a family share.....I haven't seen

any with a family share under $500. The single or half family shares look to be

$300 to $400 range. I currently spend about $50 to $60 on produce and fruit

combined each week for myself and my three kids, which is why I am leaning

towards the family share.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Michelle (In New Hampshire)

 

--- On Sun, 1/18/09, Michelle Reeves <michfellows wrote:

 

Michelle Reeves <michfellows

Re: OT:Question for those who have joined a CSA

(Community supported agriculture farm)

 

Sunday, January 18, 2009, 4:30 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

I belonged to a CSA in my area last year and quit after 4 or 5 months. I

think it will just depend on what you've got in your area as to whether it

will be worth it for you. The one I was with didn't give much out compared

to what I've seen in CSAs in other areas. The quality wasn't all that great

either....I even picked up product which was rotten the last couple of

times. They started selling fresh eggs, but were always out when I got there

and didn't take reservations. And I had issues with my payments...they were

taking out double, not taking out others, etc. It was just a mess. Plus now

I'd have to leave work early and drive almost an hour to pick my product up,

which would not make it worthwhile.

But if I got word of a better one in my area, or I found out this one

improved, I'd go back. I did enjoy getting food I'd never tried

before...like swiss chard. And it was like Christmas every week...you never

knew what you were going to get.

Do you know anyone else who uses this CSA? It would really be great if you

could find out about their customers' experiences. For me, the single share

wasn't even enough when it was just me eating it - and they said it was

enough for two. I'd get two or three bananas, and I could eat that within a

day and a half, and would end up at the grocery store buying more produce to

last the week. But like I said, I've seen CSA baskets on tv which were huge

compared to what I was getting. I think the amount you get might show

whether it's worth the drive for you.

All in all, I really like the idea of CSAs and would love to be able to

participate in one again. I do live in a small town enviroment where very

little is available, so things might be different where you are!

Michelle in VA

 

On Sun, Jan 18, 2009 at 12:58 PM, Michelle <twinglemomi@ > wrote:

 

>

>

> I am thinking about joining a CSA this year, I'm in southern New

> Hampshire... .there isn't a huge selection, the one I am leaning towards is

> an hour and fifteen minutes away, but fits what I am looking for to a T.

> There are two others within thirty minutes..... both seem okay, but not

> great.

>

>

 

 

[Guest guest]

One thing you can do is see if they'll show you a box of each size share, or

else tell you how much of everything you're getting per share at one pick

up. That will help you decide which way to go.

Michelle in VA

 

On Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 7:32 AM, Michelle <twinglemomi wrote:

 

> That is great information, Thank you! I can't find anyone who belongs to

> one. I have asked around and the closest I have gotten is at work there are

> some

>