52 Weeks with My CSA

The Tale of One Family’s Commitment to Local Agriculture

Mr. Wetzel and I are members of a CSA program. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and there are many of these programs across the country. Once a week, I drive to Terry’s Berries, an organic farm in Southeast Tacoma, and pick up a couple bags of fresh produce. The way it works at Terry’s Berries is that we prepay for a season (summer, autumn, winter, spring), then come to the farm once a week to pick up whatever has been growing well that week. Terry also coordinates with other Washington and Oregon farms to offer a wider selection of local produce than what her farm is able to grow alone.

We started as members of the CSA program last autumn, and I am often asked by family and friends what kinds of foods I get from the share. In response, I am starting this blog series to answer that question: 52 Weeks with My CSA: One Family’s Commitment to Local Agriculture. I will post, once a week, a photo of our take home from the farm, as well as chronicle how the experience affects our family.

Incidentally, after I started this project, Mr. Wetzel and I discovered we were pregnant with our first child, and our pregnancy just happened to line up exactly with this CSA blog! I write about this is the post for Week 12 with the CSA, when we were also 12 weeks pregnant. I will often refer to the developments of the pregnancy, and how the baby has had a huge impact on our food choices over the year.

Are you looking for a CSA in your neck of the woods? Here are some tips on finding a farm close to you:
(1) Check out the Local Harvest website at localharvest.org for listings of CSAs
(2) Visit your local farmer’s market and ask the vendors if they sell directly from the farm
(3) If you see a roadside farm stand, stop and talkto someone about picking up produce on a regular basis

Feel free to send me any questions that you may have.