August 3, 2012

New Series on CSA Memberships

We’re excited to announce a special series of posts courtesy of a cool arrangement with Greener Partners, a farm-based non-profit focused on local produce and food education.

Some background before we tell you about the arrangement, which we think you are going to enjoy...

Regular readers might think that we eat out all the time. Truthfully, we cook at home most weekdays. And one of my favorite things is to spend a good portion of every Sunday preparing my best "amateur chef"  meal.

We use meats, vegetables and fruits from local sources whenever we can. The Fitler Square farmer’s market is our go-to shopping spot, or else our own urban garden. If you’re like me, you tend to stick to the well-known basics (broccoli, tomatoes, potatoes, etc). I’m hesitant to purchase items I don't already know how to cook or may only use once, because the rest goes to waste.



Further, time is limited so it can be difficult to use new ingredients in your cooking when you just want to make something quick after work. These time and waste factors have been inhibitors from us taking the plunge and joining a CSA program.

This brings us to our arrangement. Greener Partners was awesome enough to give us a half-share CSA membership for the next two months. In turn, we are going to dive deep into how to use a CSA to educate ourselves and teach all of you.

My sister Julie agreed to be a special guest contributor as our CSA guinea pig. She has never used a CSA before but is anxious to learn, too.

She lives near Greener Partners' Hillside farm in Media, which makes it more convenient for her to pick up the CSA each week, talk to some of the farmers and workers and tour the farm. She also shares our love of food and cooking so we’re looking forward to her posts as much as you!

Look for her first post soon where she’ll will answer some starter questions such as the process to get your food, how to signup and how to think about picking your items.

Other fun posts will include recipes, tips for using a CSA, interviews and more. Ultimately, we want to teach ourselves about CSAs and bring you along for the ride.

We want to answer your questions and hear about your experiences too! Please share your questions and comments as we go or send us an email.

Finally, we want to thank Greener Partners for the opportunity. Be sure to visit them at www.greenerpartners.org. They do amazing work in the community through their educational programs and workshops and events. Mark your calendar for the Hillside Heirloom and Heritage Festival from Friday, September 28 through Saturday, September 29, at the Hillside Farm.


2 comments:

Sarah Terranova said...

Awesome! I am sitting in the parking lot of "our" farm right now waiting for my little Bubba to wake up so we can get our share ...

Casey said...

Very cool. We are doing our first year with one as well and its been interesting experience for sure.