TTMA about CSA shares

[spooko]

I've looked into it a few times and always get hung up on the not knowing what you're going to get/getting something you don't want. They seems like such fantastic ideas but I can never quite pull the trigger.

[Deleted]

I did one a few years ago. It was a waste primarily because I was newly KU and had massive good aversions.

Secondarily, it was a shit load of veggies on a weekly basis and I could never keep up with finding ways to use them when some/most weren't in my regular rotation to begin with.

I think my location also made it less than ideal for CSA. I wanted certain veggies and those weren't ready until late summer. The early summer stuff I got sick of.

[Deleted]

The CSA where I got our subscription, I think I got a 1/4 share with ended up being the size of an apple box every week.

A full share would've been way too much.

And I never got any fruit, which was a bummer. I like fruit more than I like vegetables.

[rocksforludo]

I know people who split CSA shares with neighbors to help with waste.

[rach]

We haven't done one in years. I meal planned around mine though. When we got the email stating what would be in that week's share, I would then look up recipes and plan around it. That really helped minimize waste for us and encourage us to try new things.

Can you do a partial share? Might be nice to have a smaller portion the first year to make sure it's for you.

[ShtsNGiggles]

I had one a few years ago. They actually delivered at my office so it was convenient but the day of the week didn't work well for me. Our box always had a ton of greens in it and i never could cook them to make them edible. We ended up wasting a lot of it every week.

[AmazingTulip]

I had a farm share a few years ago. It was right down the street from my house. I stopped for a couple reasons. First - the first few weeks were mainly greens. I don't even know what Bok Choy is. So that wasn't very useful for me. I liked the summer best when they had lots of different heirloom tomatoes - they were definitely better than what you can get at the grocery store. They didn't have a lot of fruit, so I felt I was still spending the same at the grocery store. And then I quit because I put in raised garden beds in our backyard.

[cougarette]

I've split a medium share with my parents the last couple of years and that works out to help with waste. I like getting new things that we haven't tried before and experimenting. However, when we get something none of us want (hello beets), we put it on the swap box and get something else.

I find that most items last a lot longer than what I get in the grocery store, so if I can't use it this week I can usually use it next week or whatever.

[cinnamonsmiles]

We have done a seasonal CSA (both veggies and meat) and loved the veggie one. Do you grow your own? If so, it's very easy to end up with far too much during peak growing times. We pickle or jar excess to save for later so it's not a big issue for us personally. Also I'm not sure whereabouts you live, but generally 75% of ours has been tomatoes and squash because that's what grows well in our zone. Lastly, do you enjoy experimenting with different types of food and recipes? I've had friends who have done CSAs who didn't think it was worth it because they had no idea what to do with okra/eggplant/patty pan squash.

[Deleted]

We had a good experience using farm fresh to you but not sure if they go to your area. You can customize your box, or if you prefer fruit more then veggies you can get more fruit. It came with recipes to use and stories about the farm. We had it delivered every other week for $30.

[Deleted]

so much dinosaur kale.

[peachesncream]

I think you are in my state, we did a CSA a few years ago and hated the lack of variety (I think we got boxes full of beets/kohlrabi for about 3 weeks straight). We are trying a different one this year that does fruit which I am really excited about. I always really like the spring shares (lots of greens for salads, green onions, all pretty easy-to-use stuff), summer is hit or miss, and fall is my absolute favorite because most things have a decent shelf/cellar life. I have been testing some easy preparations of the veggies I let go to waste in our last CSA and feel more prepared. I am excited for it! I also want to look into more canning/freezing in case we do get an overabundance of any one thing.

[Deleted]

I did one and I had a hard time with it. We didn't get an email about what was in the box, I picked it up on Wednesday after work and what was in the box was a surprise. The quality was good, but there were lots of foods we don't normally eat a lot of- I don't mind eggplant, but multiple eggplants for weeks on end was tricky for me in the kitchen. They did include a recipe book, but that meant another shopping trip for more ingredients. It also meant I couldn't meal plan until the box came. Ours also came with organic meat, which was nice, but some of the cuts were weird- like I would get one chicken quarter and have to figure out how H and I are going to share it.

There are some options around here for boxes where you can pick your foods from the list of what is available and I think that sounds interesting.

[Deleted]

You should go for it! Proper storage will help with waste too look up the best ways to store different kinds of produce, and invest in some Green Bags.

[brachysira]

You have to know what you're getting. If the place offers fruits at their stand, it's no guarantee that that's part of the share. We get a single cantelope in ours but they let you add-on blueberries and apples from a sister farm for an extra fee. But when we've done that, it's been a "bad year" and we only got a couple pints of berries--we could do better at the farmer's market.

Our CSA lets you choose what you get--so each week it's "pick 5" or something, although in early summer it's like choose 5 greens out of 8 green types for several weeks. Most CSAs do not allow choice at all, and you're supposed to enjoy getting things you've never heard of and cooking them--sometimes the farm offers recipes. If you can't use a bunch of collards and kale each week and you're not willing to figure out what to do with kholrabi and weird squash, you should ask what typical shares look like throughout the year. As far as quantity, some CSAs will allow you to formally split a share and others allow you to buy a 1/2 share, or you might just have to work out a split on your own. You may not want a whole share, as sometimes it's hard to eat greens 5x/week.

Also ask what happens when you are on vacation. Sometimes they will let you go another week or sometimes they donate your share or you could have a neighbor get it.

[kbw12]

Feb 13, 2017 11:31:50 GMT -5 @thatgolfbitch said:

I use a service called Farm Fresh To You. It isn't a share, but it is local organic produce. The nice thing about it is that I can choose what is in my box. I can amend what I want as long as the price doesn't go under the minimum. Plus I can skip whenever I want. Right now I've been getting deliveries every two weeks.

I roast pretty much any veggies I get so nothing ever goes to waste. And this is California so we have a good selection of produce year round. This last shipment I got beets, kale, sweet potatoes, pink lady apples, a type of orange I forget, shallots, brussels sprouts, leeks, blueberries, and one or two other things.

You can also choose to be surprised, but you can choose fruit only, veggies only, or both. And there are a bunch of add ons.

Here is my code for $15 off your first shipment if anyone wants to try.

AMAN1972

ooh I like the sound of this service. I've held off on a CSS because of some of the ingredients I knew I wouldn't use. This would be perfect for me.

[Deleted]

Feb 13, 2017 11:33:01 GMT -5 @thatgolfbitch said:

Feb 13, 2017 10:01:24 GMT -5 @poppyc8 said:

We had a good experience using farm fresh to you but not sure if they go to your area. You can customize your box, or if you prefer fruit more then veggies you can get more fruit. It came with recipes to use and stories about the farm. We had it delivered every other week for $30.

This was a way more concise, better way of saying what I said. Lol.

Thanks! I miss farm fresh to you. We live in BC Canada now so we are out of their delivery range.

[robotpcr]

I've done a CSA twice. When I lived in CA I loved it and when I lived in NC I hated it. We would find out what we were getting ahead of time and I would meal plan around it. Stir fry is often a go to when I don't know what else to do with veggies. There was one time though that I did get cilantro for like 6 weeks straight. That was rough.

[sunshineshades]

We've done a CSA share for quite a few years. At first it was just whatever they gave you. Then they changed it to each item was worth a certain amount of points. So if you didn't want something in the share you could switch it out for something else worth the same amount.
You would go to pick up and select your items right there.

[talon]

I did one last year. $250 for a brown grocery bag of veggies every other week May - Sept. Honestly a ton of it went to waste. It was a lot of lettuce and weird veggies. No fruit. It did get me to try some new things. They teach kids in the after school program to help with the garden so I considered it a kind of donation and felt ok about it but definitely didn't get my money's worth. But it was nice to try some new things and have it delivered.

[regal]

We will be signing up for the third time this year. Year one we bought a small share through a silent auction, we liked it so much we got a large share last year.

We don't get any fruit unless our farmer makes a trade with another who owns an orchard.
We pick our veggies from a list, so it might be twelve stalks of kale or chard, 3lbs of zucchini or eggplant, 1lb of peppers, etc. We weigh it out and choose exactly what we want.

It's not cheap but I like it because I'm supporting a farmer and her family, they are local(ish) and organic, we get to try new things. Last year she did a survey of what people wanted more/less of so more tomatoes, less radishes.

One thing to consider is that with a smaller share you get the same variety but less of each vegetable which I find makes cooking difficult. One cucumber is not enough for a snack for my family, I can't just cook one small head of broccoli. The larger share was easier to cook with in the end.

[Deleted]

Ive done it many times. I don't think its worth it if you don't enjoy food prep, aren't familiar with more "exotic" produce, or your family are picky eaters. We did full box every other week, and that gave us time to prepare more thoughtfully. Ill do it again this year.

[HelloSweetie]

Feb 13, 2017 9:39:55 GMT -5 @bruxannie said:

I did one a few years ago. It was a waste primarily because I was newly KU and had massive good aversions.

Secondarily, it was a shit load of veggies on a weekly basis and I could never keep up with finding ways to use them when some/most weren't in my regular rotation to begin with.

I think my location also made it less than ideal for CSA. I wanted certain veggies and those weren't ready until late summer. The early summer stuff I got sick of.

exactly this. Even the pregnant part.