CSA’s
CSA’s are a great way to support your local farmer. CSA stands for community supported agriculture, and joining one will grant you access to weekly or bi-weekly farm fresh product pickups. Typically farms offer “full” and “half” shares, and how much product that entails will vary from farm to farm. CSA’s in New England typically have two seasons which last about 10 weeks or one 20 week season. Some farms will give you a discounted rate for purchasing both seasons ahead of time.
To start, you will choose a farm in January through March. CT Grown has a great interactive map that can help you choose the best CSA for you: Connecticut NOFA Local Farm and Food Guide | CT NOFA Farm & Food Guide. Typically you will pay the full cost, anywhere from $300 - $1,000, when you sign up. This may seem high at first, but calculating the weekly cost over the season is helpful to determine if joining makes sense for you financially. For example, I joined a CSA that costs $800 for 12 weeks. This comes out to $67/week for my family, and includes treats from a local bakery as well as a 4 pack of our favorite local beer. The reason CSA’s usually require payment in this January-March window is because during this time of year, farmers are planning what they will produce and ordering supplies. The funds received by CSA payments can help offset these costs at a time of year where income is scarce.
Pickup days are up to the farm, so make sure you choose a realistic pickup for your schedule. Some are more flexible than others. Unfortunately if you miss your pickup, you usually cannot get a refund or “make up” week. Farms are innovative and are coming up with creative ways to ensure ease of pickup, including delivery from GresczykFarms - CSA in New Hartford. Another awesome addition to the CSA landscape that we are seeing is cut flower shares, like the one at Syme Family Farm in Broad Brook.
Another benefit to joining a CSA is that they are environmentally friendly. Can you believe the average food product travels 1500 miles to get to your plate? Me either. We can decrease how far our food has to travel and how much fuel it takes to get it to us by supporting our local agriculture.
A lot of Connecticut CSA’s have limited space and sell out, so the sooner you can join the better! I have joined New Park Brewing C.S.A. 2022 | Sub Edge Farm (square.site) this year and will be sharing tips & tricks on how to utilize all the fresh products!