Burbania Posts!: Back to the CSA

I have been dealing with the snow by planning my spring. Part of this involves figuring out the future of my rather small garden. Part of it means ordering my Summer CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share once again....

Last year at the church a group of people got together and split up large shares between them. It was quite a lot of vegetables. Doing it as a group also meant that we could take turns driving to the initial pick-up spot some five miles away and returning the veggies to the parsonage porch where they are more easily accessible. I have learned since coming to Burbania that distances over 4 miles are viewed as arduous and inconvenient. At that distance, one usually crosses a town line.

This year it isn't clear what will happen. Many of the people who took part are not planning to take part this year. Some aren't sure they can eat that many vegetables. Some didn't like the fact that the food--necessarily seasonal--didn't connect conveniently to family tastes or meal plans. There were, for example, an epic number of beets that are making a mighty compost for my garden. Also, many members of the church travel quite a bit in the summer. They just don't know if they will be around enough for it to make sense. Finally, the farm added what they call a "medium" share, which is smaller and more manageable for those Burbanians who don't own a goat. This is a good thing, but it means that we don't really need to pool our resources in the same way.

None of these issues really apply to me enough not to do it, however. We don't travel much except to Maine. Also, I liked getting all those vegetables. I wouldn't have eaten as many otherwise. I even like pre-paying as money can often feel tight in the summer. There was always the security of knowing that there was a meal in the fridge. Now it turns out (what a surprise!) that we all need to be eating a lot less of everything but eating a much higher percentage of veg! Some folks are saying fruit and vegetables should be half your plate! There is no way I will be able to do this without the CSA. This winter--with no CSA, just snow--I have tried to keep up, but my vegetable eating has definitely dropped off.

This year I am getting a medium share of vegetables and a fruit share. What I have done is suggest to folks that they can order shares if they wish and we can then coordinate shared pick-up. Of course, if no one else does sign up, I am fully prepared to make that epic five-mile drive on my own. After all, there is a grocery store practically next door where I can purchase ingredients that suit what is in my CSA bag. On weeks that one cannot pick-up, the vegetables go to a good cause.