Do you belong to a CSA? If so, do you find it worth it?

[school17777]

I try to encourage dh to let us join one, but he thinks we are better off just buying our produce weekly at the farmers market. 

I mostly agree because we get what we want and know what we will eat.  The downside is we don’t try new produce because we aren’t adventurous on our own, if that makes any sense!  I know I could buy it, but I always think I’m too busy this week to mess with something new.  We also prefer fruit to veggies and our local csas are veggie heavy.  Some have a fruit option to add extra fruit but you have to get the main box first.

So if you sound like my family and me - not veggie adventurous and prefer fruit, are csas worth it or does it go to waste and thus, not worth the cost?

[HomeAgain]

I think it would go to waste.

We used to do Bountiful Baskets (every other week produce pick up) and that worked well for our family.  The basic basket was around $15 and a mixture of fruits and veggies.  We then added on extras like a flat of berries or bread.  Most of it was pretty "normal" and we ate everything except the broccolini/broccoli. Nobody in our house likes it.

I would join a CSA here but we have trouble finding one that has room and is nearby.  I don't want to drive for an hour for pick up. I do like the idea of supporting local farms and would be willing to cycle through their crop offerings.  Friends of ours are doing the Ugly Produce boxes and from what I see, that would be a waste of money for us.  It seems to be much more of a crapshoot and not enough of any one thing for us, plus heavy on the veggies we won't eat large quantities of (like beets this week).

[Pen]

 

If you want to do a healthy eating summer it could be great. Or prepare in advance for a lot of stir fries and salads.

However, I find it is usually easier to get what I want at farmers market.  Even as a family that eats more vegetables than fruits. If in CSA, it’s good to be in one that announces in advance what to expect so you can do other shopping and meal prep knowing that. Some CSAs have pick ups at a farmers market so you can supplement fruits as desired right then. For us though CSA pick up is in a difficult location, and is the main reason I stopped it. 

[itsheresomewhere]

We used to do one.  We are very healthy eaters but I found the CSA was not worth it to us.  I could get better deals at the farmers market and choose more that we would eat. One box once contained- 3 bunches of red beets, 2 bunches of golden beets, 3 potatoes and some other stuff. It got to be that it always had multiple heads of cabbage or lots of beets. For the price, it wasn’t worth it anymore.  

[catz]

We get a CSA. I have to say, we really do have to stay on top of it and there is some waste.  Our CSA has made it this summer so we can prioritize preferences.  Like beets and kale in abundance don't help us.  But we can find ways to use some.  But carrots, tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, lettuce - well we can't get enough of those.  We have given it up some years and say we are going to be at the farmer's market more but we don't do that well either so I feel like for us we'll eat more veggies and be more conscientous if we have the CSA coming in we have to deal with.  

[Andromeda]

We used to belong to a CSA for two or three years. It was most definitely not cost-effective (quite expensive even compared to farmer's market), but the quality of produce was excellent and we did get to try vegetables we would not have eat otherwise.

Our CSA ran from early May through the end October. The best produce was naturally toward the end of summer and early fall while the spring was mainly different types of lettuce, radishes, and other greens. We don't eat that many greens, and quite a bit of those were not eaten. In the summer we got things like gooseberries, red and black currants, tomatoes, eggplant, etc. We loved the fruit part of the share, but there wasn't quite enough of it and too much lettuce.

The main reason we stopped was the inconvenience. It was too far to drive to pick it up.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I've been in a few and how they are run makes a big difference in how beneficial they are.  I did a couple that had one house as a drop site where they delivered pre-packed boxes.  There was often bruised and damaged produce.  Although you did get a sheet with each box on the contents (which were sometimes wrong), I didn't find it worth it and we threw away too many veggies because I didn't know what they were or how to store or prepare them.   

I belong to one now that sends out a newsletter each week on what to expect (although they warn that there may be changes based upon availability.) You go and select your produce in person (they do have other sites that may be box pick up).  Since the items are labeled when you pick them up, you know what you are getting.  People are often discussing the produce and asking each other how they use it.  Plus, they have fact sheets for each vegetable that gives storing tips as well as recipes.  The newsletter also has recipes including a "kid corner" on making this appetizing to kids.  My kids learned to like many vegetables due to this.  I had never made kohlrabi before, but their simple recipe made it a family favorite.  I do have to plan meals around what we get.  Oh, and this CSA offers different types of shares - weekly, bi-weekly, split with another family, personal.  I used to split a full share with another family, but we wasted too much.  We purchased a personal share this year and it is much more manageable.

Our farmers markets are really expensive here and the produce isn't always better than what I can get at the store.  And it isn't always local.

[Farrar]

No way. I know myself well enough to know there's no way I could ever serve up that much spaghetti squash.

I have done local produce delivery services before. There are a couple around me and they let you tell them what you do not want and you can cancel your box for the week. So that can be a good intermediary thing if you want to branch out more. They did help us try more produce and change things up. The way they work is that they buy from regional farmers and give you what's in season, but you can rule out certain things and cancel some weeks - a bit like Blue Apron or Hello Fresh but just a box of produce. Some of them also give you general produce (bananas, for example) and local dairy or even meats. Depends on the service. But they seem to be in many areas. I was actually thinking of trying a new one near me that my friend was saying she likes.

[happi duck]

We ❤ "our" farm!  It is all organic and always a full box with variety.

However, we already love almost all veggies, our nearest farmers' market lacks organic produce, and I'm comfortable cooking and storing things that are new to me.  (Getting a great storage routine took some time!)

Ime, it does take more time with storage and cleaning.  If you don't have time for new veggies now I think a box could be frustrating.

[JustEm]

We love our CSA and it is totally worth it for me.  But I split a large share with my mom so by cutting the price in half for each of us we still have a reasonable amount in our budget to fill in the fruits and veggies that aren't in the box that week.  Last week we got 3 heads of bok choy, 3 heads of lettuce, 2 bunches of kale,  15 turnips both purple top and salad turnips, 3 bunches of radishes, and we can pick our own beans and herbs.  That it plenty of veggies for us to get through the week but to add to veggie trays and dishes we also bought onions, carrots, and peppers, plus our fruit for the week.  

It doesn't sound like it wouldbe very good for your family if you don't want to try new veggies.

[Carol in Cal.]

I was in one for quite a few years.  I can’t say that it was ‘worth it’.  But I thought that getting some good stuff (although certainly there was waste) and supporting a local beyond organic farmer was a good use of our (at the time) ample income.  We also tended to focus more on fruit than veggies, and ordered an ‘extra fruit’ option.  This worked out great in the late spring through midsummer, but oh those mealy apples in the early spring!  Ugh!  Apparently a big part of this farm was a mini-orchard of old apple trees, and the apples didn’t store well.  I did not think that that was in the spirit of a CSA.  So we dropped the ‘extra fruit’.  (Also, around this time I started to have significant fruit off of my own trees, which was nice.)

We order a biweekly dozen free range pasture eggs and a weekly loaf of whole grain hearth bread from ancillary parts of the CSA, and those were fantastic.

After quite a long time, I couldn’t justify the cost/benefit anymore.  What tanked me was pick up was Thursdays By 8PM, and both DH and I had latish Thursday commitments so it became iffy whether we could manage pick up or not.  Also, I got really really sick of strawberries—odd but true—best strawberries I have ever had but ugh the quantities.  And there were quite a few veggies that we just plain didn’t use—cauliflower for instance.  Whereas in a superb climate for fall and winter lettuce and for summer green beans they continually focused on things we wanted much less, like braising greens and winter squash.  So we were buying salad stuff on top of the significant CSA expense, and started to resent that.  They asked for feedback annually and I always said, more variety and more salad stuff—I did try.  But at some point it just got to be too much more of an annoyance than a benefit.

Edited June 1, 2019 by Carol in Cal.

[ScoutTN]

Ours is fabulous and totally worth it, but we eat lots of veggies. It is priced a bit lower than what I would pay at our (excellent) farmers' market and the pick up location is closer to my house. There is a swap table, in case we want to trade out something. The CSA farm is beyond organic and also offers pastured eggs and an occasional beef or pork share. Their tomato cocktail is so much better than V8, it's amazing. We know the farmer, enjoy reading his weekly newsletter and love the nutrient-dense veggies (and the fruit). I do supplement with more of certain favorites - berries and tomatoes from the farmers' market - that we eat lots of.

We get a 1/3 to 1/2 bushel a week for $20. 

Edited June 1, 2019 by ScoutTN

[AmandaVT]

We did one for a couple of years and it wasn't worth it for us. It ended up being more expensive than just buying veggies at the farmers market or coop and we got a fair amount of stuff that we don't like. I remember one year was the year of the turnip - we had SO many turnips.... We're not super fussy and love most veggies, but I don't always want kohlrabi or celeriac. Sometimes I just want some darn spinach or something. It worked out to about $50/week and we needed to buy a lot of staples at the store still.

[Pen]

4 hours ago, itsheresomewhere said:

We used to do one.  We are very healthy eaters but I found the CSA was not worth it to us.  I could get better deals at the farmers market and choose more that we would eat. One box once contained- 3 bunches of red beets, 2 bunches of golden beets, 3 potatoes and some other stuff. It got to be that it always had multiple heads of cabbage or lots of beets. For the price, it wasn’t worth it anymore.  

 

Probably different CSA s do better or worse at variety which might be possible to learn from prior customers.

if I got a lot of beets like that I’d want to marinate them, or make cabbage and beet based kimchee or sauerkraut and keep it for gradual use

 

[itsheresomewhere]

19 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

Probably different CSA s do better or worse at variety which might be possible to learn from prior customers.

if I got a lot of beets like that I’d want to marinate them, or make cabbage and beet based kimchee or sauerkraut and keep it for gradual use

 

Beet brownies are not bad.  The golden ones work the best for it. But it was the year of beets and cabbage that year.  So much cabbage my neighbor who made lots of sauerkraut wouldn’t take them anymore.  Lol.  

[school17777]

Thanks everyone! Pick up wouldn’t be an issue because dh’s work is a drop-off point (his building too because the guy who organizes it is in his department), plus we have a bunch within a short drive in our area.

I think you guys are talking me out of it.  I’ll just buy what we will actually eat at the local farmers market and stands.

[happi duck]

When we try something new to us we just all try a little bit separate from a meal.  If it can be eaten raw we do that or perhaps roasted in the oven.  It makes it a little easier to try things if I'm not worried about a recipe, kwim?

[Tanaqui]

We're actually shopping around for a new CSA right now - I did like that when you pay upfront, then even if your budget gets screwed halfway through the season you definitely have food coming in.

[JustEm]

9 hours ago, AmandaVT said:

We did one for a couple of years and it wasn't worth it for us. It ended up being more expensive than just buying veggies at the farmers market or coop and we got a fair amount of stuff that we don't like. I remember one year was the year of the turnip - we had SO many turnips.... We're not super fussy and love most veggies, but I don't always want kohlrabi or celeriac. Sometimes I just want some darn spinach or something. It worked out to about $50/week and we needed to buy a lot of staples at the store still.

 

If it were $50/week for is that simply wouldn't be worth it at all.  But without splitting the share it is $25/week, which seems reasonable.  With splitting with my mom is is $12.50 a week and that is certainly worth it because I can fill in the rest of the veggies I need for the week, if any, for about $10.

[Lady Marmalade]

I always thought I would love joining a CSA and was thrilled when my favorite farmstand offered a short-season CSA option.  I paid for a box every other week in September and October.  I thought it would be a great way to get a small supply of storage veggies for fall, plus try out the CSA model.

Turns out it wasn't for me.  I didn't like the handful of this, small bunch of that... End of season pickling cukes would have been great- but there were only about 8 of them.  Not even enough to fill a pint jar when sliced.   It seemed to me that most things came in a quantity ideal for a single person or a couple looking to add some vegetables to their meals- not a family of four.  Also, arugula. Blech. That arugula came in a HUGE bunch in every single box. 

I just had had visions of getting a nice box of produce that I would spend a few days creatively using, but hopefully have a few things in quantity to preserve some for future use.  This was not that. The mystery aspect was a lot of fun, but that wasn't enough to warrant the price tag for me.  I would much rather go to the farmer's market, and choose the produce I prefer in the quantity that I prefer. My market is a little pricey, but if I took the same $50 a box that I spent, I could still make it go a long way and bring home a decent amount for that. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Our local CSAs average $50/wk. The mix of veggies and the quantities offered just don’t work out to things that I can easily turn into meals for my family. The CSA has designed its product list for low maintenance veggies that they can keep up with planting and weeding rather than what I think people want to eat.

$50 at the farmer’s market is a much better deal for me....and I can get the herbs, berries, and fruit I want in addition to my greens and other veg.

[catz]

A few things we've found helpful with the CSA.

A spiralizer - makes "noodles" out of zucchini and summer squash

Crustless quiche or egg bake.  For a while we were getting an egg share and would get 6 eggs a week.  We'd have a random veggie egg bake every week.  Throw in some shredded cheese and maybe some crumbled bacon or bulk sausage.  

Curries or stir fries.  We throw almost anything in those.  Make some brown rice.  

Ours is $37 a week.  But it's A LOT.  It's all organic and I think the veg quality is definitely higher than even organic produce at a typical grocery.  There is stuff in there that I will not buy at the grocery store.   

[G5052]

I enjoyed the both of the ones we used. The first one had some unusual things that I really enjoyed. Both had a weekday pickup at the farm that worked well for me. It was actually harder for me to make it to the farmer's market on a Saturday.

Now I use the farm stand of the second CSA and make the farmer's market when I can. Good times!

 

[skimomma]

We are on our 19th year of being CSA members and are on our third farm (due to retirements).  I love it and it is cost effective for us.  Some years we have even ordered double shares and winter shares on TOP of my gardening.  We are a family of three big eaters and we like most veggies.  I should really say we now like most veggies.  There were plenty we had never tried or I had not figured out how to prepare in a way we like before I was forced to figure it out with the threat of wasting good food looming over me.  We waste almost none of it.  Like others have said, we got introduced to all sorts of produce I never would have tried on my own.  It still happens once in a while.  The first few years of being in a CSA taught me how to not waste food, in general.  I learned a completely different approach to menu planning and cooking that is useful to me at times other than CSA season.  I can seriously use up, or figure out how to store for later, just about anything now and that extends outside of our CSA foods too.  I am sure that the benefits I saw are not across the board for everyone but I would encourage you to consider it in the future if you have the time to devote to figuring out how to manage it and the interest in broadening your palette and skills.  I can get all of the same stuff at the farmer's market for about the same price, but I find the additional benefits worth it.

[Pen]

If you’re joining a CSA or want to explore vegetables more, this can be a helpful and fun cookbook:  Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables https://www.amazon.com/dp/1423600142/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_lRT-CbRG6WHY2

 

[school17777]

Thanks for all the responses on this thread.  I had log on issues after I posted for a couple of days and then I forgot about it until the most recent post.

You all have convinced me to bypass the CSA and stick with the farmers market.

[catz]

I know this isn't relevant to the OP anymore, but I thought I'd throw it out there for anyone else considering a CSA.  Our CSA started using this online app this year that allows you to personalize your food share.  There are 800+ farms using this at this time.

https://www.harvie.farm/

It allows you to set foods at 5 levels, order extras on your shares, ours has an optional meat or mushroom share, etc.  I'm super excited.  You can swap out items coming to you individually.  We enjoy our CSA but there are some things we use more than others for sure.  Plus, when tomatoes and peppers come around, I'd love to have extras sent right to us.   This is the first year our farm is using this so we'll see.  But seems like a nice conglomeration of having the CSA coming in every week, but having the option to reject/swap certain items.  This week I swapped salad turnips for an extra herb pot.  Yay!