Hudson Valley CSA’s ‘The Scoop’

You might have heard the term "CSA" but not known what it is. Here is the definition from Wiki:

Community-supported agriculture (CSA; sometimes known as community-shared agriculture) is an alternative, locally-based economic model of agriculture and food distribution. A CSA also refers to a particular network or association of individuals who have pledged to support one or more local farms, with growers and consumers sharing the risks and benefits of food production. CSA members or subscribers pay at the onset of the growing season for a share of the anticipated harvest; once harvesting begins, they periodically receive shares of produce. In addition to produce, some CSA services may include additional farm products like honey, eggs, dairy, and meat. Some CSAs provide for contributions of labor in lieu of a portion of subscription costs.[1]

That is the "long boring version of what it is". The easier to understand definition is you pay money before the beginning of the growing season to "buy shares" of the farm. In return, once the farm begins to harvest, you will get a portion of the food harvested that week. Think of it as paying for all your produce in April or May and getting it weekly fresh from the source as opposed to the grocery store. Some CSA's also have the option of getting meat (chickens, pigs, lamb, etc), eggs or honey. Some even have yarn for purchase buy-in.  Is it for you? A share that goes for one -two people weekly can cost anywhere from $300-$700, but divide this over the course of the entire summer, it will average down to the $30-40 range for fresh just picked items.

Here is a list of the CSA's that are in our area, courtesy of Hudson Valley Magazine.