CSA recommendations?

My CSA supplier is musing that this may have been the farm's last year. I won't identify it in case this is just end-of-season blues, as I'd hate to steer business away inadvertently (although the fall shipments were canceled, which isn't a good sign). But I want to be prepared as well.

So while it's still fresh on folks' minds, I figure this is a good time to ask what CSAs have been supplying LTHers and how happy they've made you, and whether you're sticking with them next year. I'd enjoy reading whatever comments and thoughts spring to mind. Thanks!

Maybe I should know, but I don't -- what's a CSA?

z

I had an Angelic Organics CSA this year. The produce was all quite good, but for a few reasons I don't think we're going to do it again next year. I don't think the problems are specific to Angelic, but rather just problems I have with CSAs as a whole. I could be wrong about that, though.

* They're expensive. AO was $27 a week for 20 weeks for 3/4 bushel of veg this year. For the first few weeks (mid to late june) the box was almost completely comprised of spinach, baby greens, and lettuce.

* The selection is, er, unusual. Some weeks you'll get a single small beet in the box, a single small leek, or a single ear of corn. Frankly I'd rather not have any beets, leeks, or corn if it means I'm going to only be able to prepare a quarter serving.

* The delivery method kinda sucks. Especially in the really hot days of summer if you weren't there within a couple hours after they dropped off the boxes the plastic-bagged greens would start to cook themselves. If you were out of town on short notice you didn't really have any recourses. My mom ended up getting 1/3rd of my boxes this year, but I lost one completely when they were out of town at the same time.

I liked some aspects. It was nice to know absolutely everything was local and organic without having to worry about that one "farmer" at the market who hit the wholesale grocers on their way into town. Some (most) of the produce was very good or exceptional.


So next year I think I'll hit the farmers markets instead. I'll be able to get some local fruits with my local veg, buy enough beets or leeks or corn to actually enjoy, and not end up wasting a head of broccoli a week. If I want to sleep in on a Saturday I can, and hit one of the Sunday or Wednesday or Tuesday markets instead. And I can still support local growers.

-ed

I did 1/2 a share this year with Angelic Organics. I have to say I've never eaten better in my life. I too don't like the beets. Loved all the tomatoes, carrots, salad greens and spinach, broccoli and cauliflower. Some of my cucumbers were bitter.

I'm not sure we'll be doing it again, mainly because of investment cost. However, I think I would spend close to the same elsewhere if not more locally.

Because I had paid for it in advance, however, I was forced to pick it up and eat it. This I actually liked. The likelihood of me making it weekly to a farmer's market is very slim. It's the psychology behind it that works for me.

Oh, we love the beets and the leeks. We just didn't get enough of them to do much.

1. To answer Zeeshan's question: CSA stands for "community supported agriculture." As used in this context, it refers to the practice of paying a local farmer (usually an organic farmer) a fixed price at the beginning of the growing season in exchange for a weekly share of what the farm produces. The produce is generally delivered to one or more local drop off sites and it's then your responsibility to go to the site and pick up your produce. Much more information here.

2. Ed and I seem to be passing in the night (hmm, just like when he was a college student living at home and just dosing off as I was getting up to walk the dog). I'm leaning toward doing it next year while he's leaning away. I was particularly taken by his argument, which I'll make since he didn't, that you easily save the cost of the week's share by being forced to cook for yourself and use up all that wonderful food you've already paid for instead of taking the easy way out and going out for dinner.

3. I had multiple samples this summer from three CSAs:, Angelic Organics, Sandhill Organics, and Scotch Hill Farm. Of the three, Angelic clearly provided the most produce--their box was frequently 50% larger than Sandhill's. Since, as alluded to above, I find an early Saturday morning run much easier to make than my son I never had the wilting-in-the-bag problems he mentions. Between those two, I would go with Angelic Organics.

But I think I'd be most likely to go with Scotch Hill. Unlike the Angelic Organic and Sandhill boxes, which I got free courtesy of my son and a colleague who had the same problem of being out of town when a delivery had to be picked up, I actually paid for the Scotch Hill bags. Maybe I'm leaning that way because I got to pick up the bags directly from the farmer, Tony End, who sells at the Oak Park market; maybe I'm leaning that way because we value most that which we pay for. I never bought a share from Tony, but he always brings a few extra bags along for people to sample (at $25 a bag) and I "sampled" a couple of bags that way. It's not as much food as Angelic Organics, but it's comparable to Sandhill. He packs it in brown paper bags and puts it in a cooler, so the wilting-in-the-bag problem is avoided entirely. Here's an inadequate photo of one week's delivery (it really doesn't show how many greens there were--a couple of bags of salad greens plus kale and chard). and another of Tony showing off the cookbook (which is excellent and which he sells at cost to his CSA members) [/url]

I also admit to being a little turned off by Angelic Organics Rudolf Steiner's "biodynamics," (while at the same time having to admit that the results are pretty impressive). Tony End is also the Executive Director of Churches Center for Land and People which is closer to my comfort level.

[url=http://www.angelicorganics.com/] Angelic Organics
[/url]
More about Scotch Hill Farms
Sandhill Organics

Ann Fisher wrote:you easily save the cost of the week's share by being forced to cook for yourself and use up all that wonderful food you've already paid for instead of taking the easy way out and going out for dinner.

This is the reason I resist signing up for such a thing. Food rots in my fridge all the time because I'm always going out instead.

Thanks, Ed, Ann, and FN. I can't easily get to any decent farmer's markets (the only one near my office is near the Aon Center and it's too small to do a week's shopping; I am going to see about the afternoon market on Randolph next year), and as Food Nut says I like knowing that I'm just going to have to learn something with most shipments. And I'm actually more likely to cook at home over the weekend than on weeknights (though I relatively rarely eat out compared to most of the forum's population), so a Friday or Saturday delivery meets my needs very well, much moreso than a market early- to midweek.

I also remember that the organic shop near me, True Nature Foods, is a dropoff point for one farm, so I'll check that out as well. In the meantime, I know more folks here use them, and I hope that means a fuller range of comments soon.

gleam wrote:* The delivery method kinda sucks. Especially in the really hot days of summer if you weren't there within a couple hours after they dropped off the boxes the plastic-bagged greens would start to cook themselves. If you were out of town on short notice you didn't really have any recourses. My mom ended up getting 1/3rd of my boxes this year, but I lost one completely when they were out of town at the same time.

-ed

When you sign up you know the pick-up location, time, and day in advance.

What was nice about my pick-up near St. Ben's was that it was in someone's basement/cellar area. I almost always got there early to get the veggies. I was excited to see what was in the box every week. Also, our drop person was willing to arrange a Sunday pick-up. No refrigeration, though.

Ed, why would your head of broccoli go to waste? I'll agree the corn thing was disappointing, but there wasn't a lot of good corn around here this year...

I've (well the family) has subscribed to various CSA's over the years. This year, we were gifted an Angelic Organics box a few times. Right now, we are getting Farmer Vicki's (Genesis Growers) fall CSA.

In general, my feelings on CSA's match Ed's above. I like the supporting farmer angle, but the boxes are just not good buys, like the time Angelic provided ONE eggplant. I mean that's not even something to chop up and put in a salad. I much prefer to buy weekly at a farmer's market. Of course, with the market season over, Vicki's fall CSA is a great option.

Bob, the Daley Plaza market on Thursday was about as good as any area farmer's market--and Federal Plaza was even better (although obviously not close to you). The only problem I can see is how to shop, keep the stuff in your office and then get it home.

Vital Information wrote:I've (well the family) has subscribed to various CSA's over the years. This year, we were gifted an Angelic Organics box a few times. Right now, we are getting Farmer Vicki's (Genesis Growers) fall CSA.

In general, my feelings on CSA's match Ed's above. I like the supporting farmer angle, but the boxes are just not good buys, like the time Angelic provided ONE eggplant. I mean that's not even something to chop up and put in a salad. I much prefer to buy weekly at a farmer's market. Of course, with the market season over, Vicki's fall CSA is a great option.

Bob, the Daley Plaza market on Thursday was about as good as any area farmer's market--and Federal Plaza was even better (although obviously not close to you). The only problem I can see is how to shop, keep the stuff in your office and then get it home.

Thanks, Rob. The other part of the problem with getting to Daley Plaza is the same problem I have going more than a block or two for lunch; taking more time than that is discouraged as part of the office culture, both on a micro level (we're just finishing up the December issue of the magazine, two weeks late) and a macro level (we have a new CEO and everyone's watching their step, although I hope that isn't an issue next spring). I've also heard good things about the MCA market, which is just a few blocks north, but it's tough to be comfortable taking that time, unfortunately.

One advantage of the CSA I've been with since '02 is home delivery -- my half-share was officially $400, but the farm charged an extra $100 to bring each box to my building, a huge bargain over 24 weeks. (Of course, that running around may have something to do with their burnout, too.) As for eggplant, I always brought the stuff into the office and begged people to take it away from me. Since I live alone, there's no such thing as a shortage, even in a half-share -- the last delivery was just before Halloween, and I still have an acorn squash, two butternut squash, and some potatoes.

Food Nut wrote:

gleam wrote:* The delivery method kinda sucks. Especially in the really hot days of summer if you weren't there within a couple hours after they dropped off the boxes the plastic-bagged greens would start to cook themselves. If you were out of town on short notice you didn't really have any recourses. My mom ended up getting 1/3rd of my boxes this year, but I lost one completely when they were out of town at the same time.

-ed

When you sign up you know the pick-up location, time, and day in advance.

....

Ed, why would your head of broccoli go to waste? I'll agree the corn thing was disappointing, but there wasn't a lot of good corn around here this year...

Yes, I know the location/time/day in advance, but that doesn't mean I'm not sometimes out of town on short notice on the pickup day. It happens. Angelic needs, if I remember correctly, two weeks notice to change your pickup location/time/day for a single delivery. Which isn't always possible.

And regarding the broccoli: Because I've never once had a broccoli prep that I found remotely tasty. I've given up on it at this point, and it's a somewhat difficult vegetable to unload.

And the corn: I had plenty of great local corn this summer from the Oak Park Farmer's market and from roadside stands up in Wisconsin. There was superb corn being grown in the Chicago area this year, just not at AO's farms. It was good, just not what I'm used to.

I had some great corn from Iron Creek today at the Logan Square farmers' market-- way better than anything I've had from our Angelic CSA. Has anyone here tried the Iron Creek CSA? I'm thinking about switching....

Not very happy with my Angelic box today-- on the good side, lots of nice tomatoes and some good-looking peppers. Haven't tried the corn yet. On the bad side, a yellowish bunch of broccoli, two measly eggplant (one under-ripe), a huge carrot best-suited for horses, and the worst, a big bag of cilantro that's already slimy-- looks like something I left in my crisper for a week. Definitely my last year with Angelic.

If you have kids, about now is when you're making summer camp plans, and if you want to eat local, now is the time to get your CSA. In fact, last Saturday was National CSA sign-up day. If you did not take advantage of that day, you have plenty of opportunities to sign up for a Chicago area CSA.

As some of you know, my wife works for Tomato Mountain, who delivers a 4 season CSA (just got a box this week!). Over the years, I've subscribed to a few other options, including Genesis Growers mentioned above. My feelings about CSAs have also vacillated over the years, and they're not as negative as indicated above. They provide a consistent source of farm food, and it is model that farmers desire. I can expand if you all want.

Anyways, as in past years, my web site, the Local Beet, has compiled a very big list of Chicago area CSAs. If you are looking to subscribe to a CSA, the list covers all the area farms (and if there IS an area farm not covered, let me know). The list is searchable and sortable and allows you to zero in on the right CSA for you. More over, we take an expansive view of CSAs. We include meat and vegetable, blueberry and apple CSAs, even a honey CSA. We also include non-farms like Green Grocer and Irv and Shelly's Fresh Picks who offer "like" CSA options. The existing list relies greatly on research done by Wendy Aeschlimann, and I'm very proud with what we've been able to do since. All items have been reviewed against the most current available data. Do check it out so you can sign up soon.

Here's the list of CSAs and here's a collection of pieces on the Local Beet talking about CSAs to help in your decision.

Has anyone here tried Global Garden Refugee Training Farm's CSA? We are about to sign up (it's the closest to us with the most convenient pickup for us, and we like the mission). http://www.globalgardenfarm.com/

Interesting article about the struggle of CSA's in the current market environment and what some are doing to try and offset the loss of subscribers.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-illinois-farmers-struggling-20180921-story.html