14 Dec
Winter CSAs and a Co-Op
I did it! I finally got my act together and joined some CSAs. Now of course, I’m kicking myself for waiting so long because I think this is such a brilliant way to get your groceries. I’ve talked pretty extensively about my experience with Farmer’s Markets, and I absolutely love some of the markets I’ve visited here (the Hyde Park, Division Street, and Green City Markets in particular). As the weather cooled down though, the markets started to close. The Green City market is still open, but parking is an absolute nightmare, TH has a commitment that prevents him from watching T1 for me so I don’t have to take him out into the cold, and the selection definitely isn’t anything like it is in the summer.
I wanted to keep buying local and fresh, but since Whole Foods tells lies about what is local and what isn’t (when I went with my dad they had some onions marked as being from the midwest, based on the label, my dad (believe me, he knows what he is talking about) said that the onions stocked absolutely had to be grown in California). The answer for avoiding grocery store lies and incredibly old imported food? CSA!
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, you buy a “share” and you receive a week, bi-monthly, monthly, etc delivery of goods. This isn’t a good option for someone who can’t cook creatively, because you won’t have any idea what you are going to get until it’s delivered. I might not do it very well, but cooking creatively just happens to be my personal culinary specialty. I really enjoy looking in the pantry and attempting to combine things into a delicious meal. TH frequently says that we never eat the same thing twice, and my predilection for experimentation is why that happens!
I joined two CSAs, one for produce from Harvest Moon Organics, another for meat from Grass is Greener Gardens.
I picked up my first produce box from Harvest Moon Organics last week, and look what I found inside!
Everything was in great shape, and I really liked that the CSA sent me an email before I picked up the box with pictures of what I would find inside, and suggestions for how to best use it. This was a very good thing for me because it spent me a lot of time googling “knobby brown vegetable” to try to figure out what the Jersualem Artichokes were! The garlic was a bonus item that they threw in, and it’s an heirloom variety with huge, flavorful cloves.
I’ve used up several items so far. Some garlic, onions, and all of the parsnips went into a soup. I roasted the apples and froze the halves in individual baggies to serve to T1. I used some onions and the cabbage in a sauteed dish tonight, and I used a cup of sweet potato puree in a baking powder biscuit recipe. Now to use up some of that squash!
Deliveries of produce are made every other week and the cost per box (similar to what you see pictured above) comes out to about $55. The produce is organic, and often the items are heirloom varieties of what you’ll find in the grocery store.
After reading Eating Animals I’m very committed to only paying for meat/fish that I feel has been raised and harvested in a manner that I feel the animals deserve, which is why we bought a meat share. The meat share is easier to manage because everything comes frozen, and unlike the produce delivery you don’t have the stress of trying to use up the items delivered before they rot. Delivery for this share comes just a few doors down from where I go to church so it’s very convenient.
I don’t have pictures for you, but inside our first share we found several packages wrapped in white butcher paper and clearly labelled with the amount and type of meat inside. Ours included bacon (2 packages), sausage, pork chops, pork roast, two beef roasts, ground beef, lamp chops and… there might have been one or two more but I forgot. The total for each delivery comes out to about $100. The meat is very expensive (even buying bulk like this) and so we try to make it the side of every meal, not the main dish. I try to figure out ways to creatively use every little bit of meat, including doing things like saving the bone and the large pieces of fat and boiling it with a stew to add some flavor. I plan on trying to make our cuts last absolutely as long as possible, and then once summer comes again we’ll cut way back on our meat consumption again!
I highly recommend both of these CSAs and plan on using both of them agin next winter (and I’ll definitely be looking into working with them this summer as well!). I found both of these CSAs on Local Harvest.
I also got my act together and figured out a way to get some raw milk, by joining a co-op called Fresh From the Farm Cooperative. This particular co-op brings several different types of providers together and a fee must be paid if you want to “shop” with them (I believe the fee I paid was $40). There is a master price list that I order from by sending an email to the manager each week, and then I drive 45 minutes from Hyde Park (that part isn’t so awesome, but it’s worth it) to pick my order up. I like it because I determine when I go pick things up (versus a CSA where the deliveries are scheduled) and because I get to choose exactly what I want to buy. Last week I picked up a gallon of milk, goat cheese, a pound of cheddar, and cream cheese, all raw, as well as two chicken breasts. The milk is the best milk I’ve ever had, grass fed, with none of those icky clotted cream chunks that I get in my whole non-homogenized milk from Whole Foods.
Again, not something you do because you are wanting to eat really cheap. I buy from this co-op because I believe in supporting local producers, and most important for me, because the things I buy taste loads better than what I can get at the grocery store! You might be able to find something similar to my co-op by looking at the options in your area on the Real Milk site.
I supplement all of this with a weekly trip to Whole Foods, where I try to pick up things like fresh fish and frozen vegetables. It’s all working out pretty well, but I admit, I look longingly toward summer and the start of browsing outdoor farmer’s markets once again!
Also:
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
Thanks for this - I was really wondering how a winter CSA worked. I don’t think there are any in my area.
1Oh my goodness!! There is a raw milk place about 15 minutes from my house. I had no idea! Thanks for the info!!!!!
2If you want to use the squash up, especially with butternut, try peeling it and cutting it into chunks, then tossing with olive oil and kosher salt and roasting at 425 until it’s all brown and soft and delicious. Then toss it into a pan with a bunch of chicken or vegetable broth and pureeing with an immersion blender. Just add salt, pepper, a little lemon juice, and hot sauce for the easiest soup ever. If you’re into winter-y flavors, toss in a little sage as well.
Jenna Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 10:42 am
I asked for an immersion blender for Christmas!
Emmie Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
We have one and it makes such a difference. It’s so much easier to clean.
I hate Whole Paycheck (Whole Foods). They don’t exist around us but when we were out West they were everywhere. Will you continue on in the CSA during the summer or is this jut a winter solution for you guys?
Jenna Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 10:38 am
The convenience is certainly not, and I like being forced to try new things, but getting up on Saturday morning and browsing the market has become one of my favorite things to do so I’m not sure I’ll give it up. I will stay with the co-op though, and I think I’ll keep up my meat share.
For the Dallasites:
http://urbanacres.wordpress.com/
Unfortunately, we just quit our share. It’s just too expensive right now ($30 for a half-share every two weeks). It really isn’t that bad, but my husband repeatedly pointed out I could but the same produce organic at Newflower Market for about half the price. When my husband is no longer in med school and we have more income, I’d like to go back, as I like the idea of supporting local farmers.
We also haven’t been happy with the selection-we keep ending up with lots of beets, radishes, and green peppers. We’ve tried to like them, but it just isn’t happening
5I love the idea of the CSAs! Our markets just closed but I think there are still one or two open because it is still pretty warm here. There are things that we can’t get now, like small things, honey, cheese for Sean, etc. I can’t wait for the markets to open again.
Sean said something about eating raw milk to his parents the other day. They pretty much told him he was going to die. Coming from the same people that don’t eat squash or ginger.
Jenna Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 10:35 am
Wait, they don’t eat squash or ginger because they think it will kill them?
I almost put a disclaimer in my post about how I believe that milk needs to be pasteurized because of factory farming techniques, and so if you take the cow out of the ff environment you have a completely different product, but I decided against it. It’s certainly not a decision for everyone.
Kat22 Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
I have to admit, as a microbiologist I certainly wouldn’t be drinking raw milk. The bacteria that can make you ill are from the cow so even in ‘clean’ environments they’ll still be there. Obviously the risks change based on how old the raw milk is etc, but they are always there.
Jenna I don’t write this to change your mind (obviously you’ve already made your decision, which is fine), I just wanted to add a note for people looking into raw milk (or anything really) - it’s very important to do some independent research on it. Check out some online databases (like PubMed) then go and read the journal articles at a university library or similar. It’s easy to find a few articles that support anything and everything, so any information for or against raw milk can provide you with references, but you need to read the literature for yourself to check they’re not presenting an unrealistic view or presenting badly done science.
Sophia Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
When it comes to raw milk, when people say “it’s ok as long as it’s not factory farmed” I’m a bit confused. Pasteurization was invented around 1863, long before factory farms, and yet from what I’ve read, and heard from my Great Granny, it was seen as a vital step towards food safety to prevent people from getting sick. Necessity breeds invention, as they say, so if the problem of people getting sick from raw milk wasn’t around, why was pasteurization invented in the first place? And why was it heralded as such an important, landmark achievement? I’m not trying to be facetious, I’m genuinely wondering.
Grace Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 10:33 pm
I think that pasteurization was necessary to prevent infection (remember it was invented pre-antibiotics, when dying from infectious disease was not that uncommon). Milk can pass on all sorts of diseases to humans, including tuberculosis. It used to be a very common way to get tuberculosis actually (over 40% of English cows used to carry this disease, pre-factory farming). Since without antibiotics tuberculosis is often deadly (killed 100 million in the 20th century), Pasteur’s invention was a huge benefit to humanity.
Today getting tuberculosis from milk is not really a concern in the US, thanks to antibiotics and better public health standards. Raw milk can still contain other bacteria like e coli and listeria, and the CDC recommends not drinking it.
Honestly drinking raw milk is probably taking a fairly small risk given modern medicine and public health standards. As long as you’re willing to take the risk (somewhere between 0.87% and 12% of raw milk contains potentially harmful bacteria), and are healthy, it’s probably not a really big deal.
I would never drink raw milk if I was pregnant though, as getting listeria can kill your baby even if you don’t feel sick.
Helena Reply:
December 15th, 2010 at 2:24 am
As a physician, I feel compelled to say that I’ve treated listeria meningitis many times in otherwise healthy people and it’s quite serious. I think falling back on “modern medicine and public health standards” is a a safety net with holes considering the increasing phenomenon of antibiotic resistance.
It’s not a risk I would take (and this from the progeny of a dairy farmer!) but to each her own.
I think Kat22′s recommendations to go to the source of the data is very good advice for anyone considering this choice.
Emmie Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
I don’t drink milk so I haven’t tried raw milk but I do want to know more.
No ginger and squash and a million other things because why eat fresh vegetables, fruits and grains when you can eat take out? I could go on forever, but it would get me in trouble.
I am so jealous of all those lovely veggies!
But FYI, in case you are not already aware, although Jerusalem artichokes are absolutely delicious, they will give you absolutely unbelievable gas. So, despite the is great for hilarity in the right company, I might recommend putting some beano or gas-x on the menu as well.
Jenna Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 10:34 am
Oh my, I did not know. I think I’m going to fold them into mashed potatoes, and we’ll be prepared for some stinkiness.
I’m so jealous! I’ve research winter CSA’s in Spokane but only found ones that are way too large (and expensive, something like $500 a month) for just myself and my husband. We would never be able to go through that much food. I don’t know another couple that puts food as a high priority to share it with. I really wish they could either have a half CSA option. I’d even consider doing a full CSA and donating half to a family in need, but that system just doesn’t exist yet.
I’m lucky enough to have a winter farmer’s market near my house though, so we’ll make due with that until Spring!
Jenna Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 10:49 am
Oh my goodness, what an amazing idea. You pay a little bit more each month and the extra food goes toward a family who maybe wouldn’t eat fresh/unprocessed food otherwise. It’s especially brilliant if the other family can just be a CSA member like me, and pick up a share each week, so I don’t have to take care of arranging for them to get their stuff.
Wouldn’t this be a beautiful movement? I would love to do something like that. And I would give them a copy of Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything so they would know how to use what they got in their box each week
Jenna Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 11:00 am
Ok, new idea! Instead of delivering directly to a family (and according to TH, possibly creating a dependence that might hurt them really bad if the deliveries ever stop coming in), the CSA would partner with a soup kitchen. The soup kitchen says how much produce it would need in each delivery and then the CSA turns to its members and tells them that sponsoring the soup kitchen will be $$$$ if X members join or $$$ if XX members join or $$ if XXX members join. Does that make sense?
Oh I’m in love with this idea! Now if only someone who ran a CSA read my blog so they could make this happen.
Sarah for Real Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 11:14 am
That’s a great idea! Then the food would definitely not go to waste due to lack of cooking abilities.
Kelly Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
My local CSAs do this! If you are going on vacation or otherwise don’t need or like some of your stuff, you can just drop it in the box for the food bank. Easy peasy!
I, sadly, haven’t been able to weasel my way into the CSAs in my area because they are too popular and restrictive….a frustrating dichotomy! Happy to see that so many people want to participate and that farmers are being realistic about how much they can grow and produce, but jealous that I can’t be part of it yet
I basically have to wait until people proverbially drop dead to increase my chances 
Thanks for encouraging purchasing from a CSA. Quite dismaying to hear about Whole Foods and their less than honest practices. WFM is my home away from home…I only need food for one, usually, unless I am having friends or family over. Will definitely look into a CSA and the raw dairy alternatives. Great post!
9I might have to consider joining a CSA for the winter. Right now, we are making due with what we preserved/froze this summer, the few year-round farmer’s markets, and the grass fed beef share we bought with our family. Our raw milk people also have eggs, so usually get those from them too. I also love the green grocer for local foods. There is a food coop in my neighborhood too but it’s sort of like a mini whole foods with horrible prices.
I have purchased some shipped in produce. Since becoming pregnant, I have had really strange food aversions and right now only carbs (bagels/toast specifically) and fruit appeal to me.
You guys are doing such a great job staying local/organic!
10There’s a restaurant here in New Haven that had Jerusalem Artichoke bisque and it was SO good. Worth looking into if you can find a recipe!
11I didn’t know they had that option for meat as well. I wish I could join a CSA. Unfortunately financially it’s just not feasible for us, even though I place food as one of our highest priority. =( I budgeted and re-budget, to see if I could make it happen, but sadly no. Hopefully, in a few years though.
12I really need to get on the raw milk thing. My husband found a place to buy it and everything…I just need to add it to my weekly “to do” list!
13I actually just read a blog post (Sonja Wieck’s if your curious to Google it) about her CSA versus buying the same items at Whole Foods. Two people weighed out the same items at WF and both were more expensive than the CSA and not everything at WF was organic. Seems like a no-brainer!
14Thanks for the CSA suggestions. I’ve been toying with joining one for a while, and it’s good to see the type of produce you’ll get in winter.
15I loved our CSA! My favorite part of the week was picking up our share- the people were nice, and we had a flower share as well, so I got local flowers every week too
The end of the year harvest party was so much fun, it was worth the money just for the sense of community we got out of it.
During the winter months there is a winter farmer’s market here, so we’re lucky in that regard. We also shop at Sprouts, which is basically Whole Foods but with much cheaper products. Also, our Whole Foods specifically lists the farm the produce is purchased from, making it easy to research, which I appreciate!
16How did you go about doing the winter share? On their website they only mention the regular season. Did you call and asked if they had one?
I’ve been thinking about it, but find it a bit expensive with the fact that we may be out of town at certain times during the year.
I have however found this program where you can order straight from the farmers but I yet have to use it. I just need to get myself motivated and check into it.
I love jerusalem artichokes by the way.
For the squash, you can make stuffed winter squash with mushrooms (shitake while expensive are yummy), rub the inside of the squash (pits removes) with a mix of honey, pickappepa sauce and paprika. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook separately some mushrooms, onions, tomato, a bit of the flesh (and really whatever you want). Stuff the squash and put in the oven around 375 for I think 30mn.
An other good recipe which works with butternut squash but could work with others involves, cubing peeled butternut squash. Saute some leeks in a pan with a bit of oil, add the butternut squash and some water and cook covered until the squash is soft. Gently masht he squash with the back of the spoon. Then you can add eggs, or a mix or cornstarch and soymilk + salt and pepper. Put in a casserole pan, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and throw in the oven until golden at the top.
Have fun.
Cécy Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
I just wanted to add, this is what I’m looking into: http://www.localfoodmarketplace.com/asheville/Default.aspx
I think it’s a great idea combining the CSk A with the needs of people.
Jenna Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
I think they updated their site to reflect the coming season. You can’t join the winter CSA anymore.
And thanks for the ideas!
You can use winter squashes just like sweet potatoes or pumpkin - roast them & use the pureee in soups, baked goods, etc.
Acorn squash makes awesome bowls you can eat if you cut them in half & roast them. I like to stuff them with chili or quinoa and goat cheese!
18I’m on a waiting list for a CSA. I have no idea how long I will have to wait.
Kelly Reply:
December 15th, 2010 at 8:27 am
I feel ya, Tana! Someone I know who is involved with the CSA we’d like to join laughed when they heard that and said “Wait list? More like wish list.” Booo.
There are no CSA’s in my area but I really wish there were some close.
20I love the fact that you can get meat. I had no idea! When I read Eating Animals, I was so disturbed by the way that the animals were treated, but wasn’t sure I would be able to (or want to) switch to being a vegetarian. Being able to get sustainable and humanely treated meat would be wonderful!
21Looks delicious! I don’t know if you have made home-made sweet potato fries yet, but they are super delicious! We bake ours with some olive oil, salt, and some red pepper flakes for spice. yummy.
also - just wanted to thank you for these well-written and well-researched posts on farmer’s markets and CSAs around Chicago. They are a great resource for those of us living around Chicago.
22What an awesome idea - I love the vegetable spread. Do you think the prices would be doable for people with really low budgets? Obviously we’d still have to shop at WF for other staples, but I love the idea of getting produce from a better source.
23Jenna, I don’t see anywhere where you mentioned why you drink raw milk in the first place. What are the benefits you perceive? To outweigh the cost and risk, there must be some really compelling reason! Are you giving the raw milk to T1 also?
24I think this is fascinating! I might want to participate in one of these some day, thanks for the info Jenna!
25I think I need to join one. Have a small son, and I am more aware of what he eats than I ever was of myself. Thanks for the info.
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