How to save money on produce….

Locate a CSA in your area

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A great way to save money on produce is to join a local CSA (community supported agriculture). Basically you purchase a full or half share in a local farm, and receive produce weekly in-season. In California the season can be year round, in northern climates it is most likely between May – November for locally grown products. CSAs offer everything from produce to chicken to beef to baked goods and more. Some CSAs require participants to work the farm or pay a higher price (these seem to be few and far between though).

We joined a CSA for the first time last year. We received our first share in June, and our last share the end of November. We traveled, so we gave away approximately six weeks worth of bags to friends and family. (The CSA will donate to a local food pantry if you have no one close to pick up for you.) Our CSA offers a friends and family bag for free to entice others into the CSA. It must work as there are over 600 members and 10 distribution points as well as on-site pick-up. While some CSA offer home delivery, our CSA has local pick-up at a near-bye health food store. Once a season we are required to pick-up 20-30 bags at the farm and bring them back to the health food store where other CSA members pick up their bags. Our full share costs just under $300 for approximately 24-25 weeks. We ate more salad last year than we ever have before in our lives! The CSA had an abundance of lettuce so, that is what we got each week for months. This get-what-is-available distribution can be a drawback for many people who like a greater variety of products. We did end up freezing a great deal of what we received, and are still enjoying the fruits (actually veges) of the CSA labors. In all we received lettuce, tomatoes, onions, all manner of peppers and squashes, cabbage, beets, kohlrabi, peas, leeks, green beans, eggplant, cantaloupe, melons, watermelon, cucumbers, kale, spinach, and probably a dozen other vegetables! Because we are in the northeast our produce is more abundant from August – November. As the season wore on we received greater and greater amounts of produce as the CSA sends its members what it harvests, so the more being harvested, the more the member receives!

In all, the cost for us was about $13 per week and we received more organic produce than we could eat fresh. We’ve already sent in our check for this season as we found it an extremely economical way to eat fresh vegetables weekly, have a great deal of fresh-frozen vegetables over the winter, as well as support a local business.

On a related note, foodnews.org has a download guide that separates the good organic buys from the unnecessary ones. Take a look if buying organic is important to you.

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