PLENTY-SPRING-2024-joomag PLENTY Magazine Spring 2024 | Page 31

Who ’ s Your Farmer ? By Kristina Bostick

Who ’ s Your Farmer ?

by kristina bostick

Your typical household has a go-to doctor , dentist , hairstylist , and mechanic . Doesn ’ t it make sense you ’ d have a trusted expert for your food as well ? Community Supported Agriculture is just that , entering a partnership with your go-to food professional — a farmer .

Here ’ s how it works . Early in the season you subscribe to a farm to reap months of weekly harvests . Come the first greens of spring , you ’ ll pick-up or be delivered a box of freshly harvested produce each week , eating your way from the first tender asparagus and strawberries through flavorful tomatoes and all the way to sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving tables . There are as many different CSA offerings as there are farms — each with different pick-up locations and offerings . The typical fruit and veg may be supplemented with meat , eggs , honey , and herbs . Some farms offer just flower CSAs . Subscriptions can be sized for one person up to a large family .
On the farmer side , early spring brings a cash flow puzzle — the planning , ordering , and equipment repairs all need to happen months before any products are ready for market . Gathering CSA subscriptions in the first months of the year helps a farmer make
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