Sat 2 Jun 2007
There are two food movements working to bring everyone closer to sustainability: the organic food movement & the local foods movement.
The main idea behind the local foods movement is to eat as much locally grown food as possible (preferable organic). By eating locally grown foods you are reducing pollution (because the foods don’t have to be transported across the country or world) and supporting your local economy. The movement has increased the number of locally produced goods available and now many people have local food options that haven’t existed since before factory farming.
Another result of the movement has been the rise of CSA’s or Community Supported Agriculture farms. Though each CSA is set up differently most operate under the idea that you are buying “shares” of a farmers harvest. If your farmer has a horrible harvest on year you might not get as much produce, however, you are ensuring your farmer can continue farming year after year through your support.
In Gainesville there are two CSA’s at our local farmer’s market. They have their baskets available for members to pick up and they also sell off their extra produce. Last week I began subscribing to the Sandhill Farm CSA. In Florida our summers are so hot that most farmers take a break from farming during July, August, and September. So, I’ll have about 6 weeks of baskets because I joined so late in the season. As you can see, my basket this week included purple beans, zucchini, roasted eggplant sauce, some extremely good tomatoes, peppers, flowers, lettuce, herbs, onions, potatoes, chard (not pictured), beets (not pictured) and carrots (not pictured).
One unexpected thing about the produce I received was how delicious it all was. The tomatoes were so sweet Ed couldn’t believe I hadn’t put balsamic vinegar on them. Everything tasted more like itself. Susan, the owner of Sandhill Farm, grows a lot of heirloom produce and I think that is why many of the vegetables have been so flavorful. It makes me want to grow my own.
If you would like to find a CSA in your area localharvest.org has a listing of CSA’s in the U.S. You can also find area farms, farmer’s markets, cooperative grocery stores and restaurants that use local produce.