future fresh veggies!

After having talked about it for several years now, James and I finally joined a CSA this year!

What that means, for you noninitiated, is that we joined something called Community Supported Agriculture: we sent a check to Love Farm Organics, a cute little farm not too far away in Forest Grove, and in return, during the harvest season, we can expect 24 weeks of fresh veggie and fruit baskets delivered to a pickup location not four blocks from our house.

Our upfront check, several months before we actually see any food, allows the farm some initial cash with which to start their crops; then, as the crops are ready, everyone who put up money at the beginning shares in the harvest. It's a way to spread the risk and benefits of farming out amongst many people, so that it's not just the little bitty farmer who gets screwed if the weather is bad this year. It also lets them know, should they end up with tons of produce, that they already have a home for it.

We've never tried it before because we kind of like choosing the different vegetables and fruits we want every week instead of just trying to figure out how to use what happened to be picked by one particular farm--but I think it's time to try it out. This will be the quintessential experiment in eating exactly what's ripe in our climate in any given week. I'm excited!

And I'm excited to help support a farm that's only about 35 miles away from our house, run by people who sounded oh so cute over the phone. I think this is going to be good:)