The Good, the Bad and the Buggy: The Low Down on CSA

I recently posted a little question on FB about joining a new CSA and got lots of good questions and feedback in return. I think CSAs are fantastic little gifts to us here in the promise land of California, where local produce is plentiful and quality farms are just up the 5 freeway (PS. They have CSA programs EVERYWHERE, not just Cali, so check it out in your area, all you cross country readers! Ha...). I know only about the tip of the CSA iceberg. There is a LOT of info out there, so click that great little Google button and see for yourself. Here are my two cents worth on the subject:

First; What is a CSA? Good question.

"Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a socio-economic model of agriculture and food distribution. A CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farming operation where the growers and consumers share the risks and benefits of food production. CSAs usually consist of a system of weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables and fruit, in a vegetable box scheme, and sometimes includes dairy products and meat." (Thanks, Wikipedia.)

The Good:

~Local produce - meaning, the stuff your getting was usually picked that day (as opposed to sometimes weeks before like in a grocery store.) That also means they are picked at peek ripeness. Local produce is also great for the economy because it supports farmers, real farmers, that care about the quality of their produce, and the health it provides for the consumer. We need to keep local farmers around, they're good people.
~ You get what's in season, so you eat what's in season, which is sort of the way God made us to eat.
~You get to try new stuff you probably wouldn't pick up at the store, like Kohlrabi. Don't know what kohlrabi is? Join a CSA! :-) It makes you try new recipes and new ways to cook stuff.
~ MOST CSAs that I know of let you mess around with the quantity and variety of the contents of your basket. You can switch out an item you don't like, say onions, and get more of something you do like, like apples. (Not all CSAs do that though). The CSA I found that has the best "Make your own basket" options is Farm Fresh To You. You can go to their website and basically choose from a ton of options to really tailor your basket to you what you want.
~MOST CSAs deliver to your door.


The Bad:
~ You don't have the luxury of picking out the best of each item like you do at a store, so sometimes I found that I was paying for stuff I wouldn't normally buy, like scrawny looking carrots. But if it's a good company they'll have some sort of "satisfaction guaranteed" policy and replace they scrawnies with something better. But it's still kind of a bummer.
~ You pay a bit more than you would if you bought that stuff at the store, but not much. I found it pretty comparable. It doesn't take the place completely of having to go the store, but it really cuts it down. I

The Buggy:
~ MOST CSAs use only certified organic produce - which is a huge selling point for me - but that means some of the produce might have a bug or two more than store bought stuff. It was a big problem for me with the first company I used, but haven't really had a problem since switching. Just wash throughly. :-) Oh, and make sure you know their policy on organics! You don't want to be paying organic prices if you're not getting truly organic stuff.

For The OC peeps:
I LOVED Farm Fresh to You and only stopped this summer because we moved and needed to pause the service for a month, then we started going to farmers markets pretty regularly. If you're interested in a CSA program I'd check them out. Right now I'm debating between them and Abundant Harvest Organics.
FFTY: Delivers to your door, lot's of tailoring options, and I know their produce is goooooooood stuff.
AHO: Christian owned company (I don't know that FFTY isn't, but I know that AHO actively is, and I like supporting companies that love the Lord), I can also buy Raw milk and grass fed beef which they'll also deliver. We already have Raw milk delivered, so it'd be nice to just combine the two and save on shipping. BUT, I have never seen their stuff, they don't really give me any control over what goes into the box, and they don't deliver to my door. So that's my debate.

I hope I did a decent job answering any questions, but if not then ask away and I'll happily answer them to the best of my ability. And I'd really love to hear your thoughts on CSA programs. Which one do you use? What has your experience been?