Guest column
Support your local farmers
Bonnie Caesar
After a few years of debating, this spring my husband and I decided to join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. We chose a program which promised a dozen eggs and meat weekly, along with whatever crop was ready for harvest. We plunked down our $150 deposit to secure a spot.
Now in week seven of the 17-week program, to say we are pleased is an understatement. Our first week we were treated to a tour of this family-run farm with more than 100 years of history, where three generations work side-by-side. We saw chickens, turkeys, pigs, sheep, cows and more.
Each of the designated weeks we receive an e-mail detailing what we will be picking up. At a makeshift stand behind the house, we receive a milk crate filled generously with beautiful fruits and vegetables, a carton of eggs and meat from one of two large freezers. Sometimes our share includes a treat such as homemade ice cream, a loaf of bread or raspberry preserves.
Taking our share home and unpacking it makes me feel like a cross between a contestant on the Food Network show “Chopped” (since some of the ingredients are things I’ve not used or tasted before) and Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, who frequently on her cooking program visits farm stands in her Hamptons neighborhood. In fact, I’ve used some of the items from our shares in recipes from my coveted collection of Ina’s cookbooks.
I’ve turned verdant bunches of basil into pesto. Fragrant thyme and rosemary have been placed inside plump, whole chicken and roasted surrounded by thickly cut onions and plump bulbs of garlic. Zucchini, yellow squash and cauliflower have likewise been roasted and served alongside new potatoes. Strawberries and rhubarb (new to me) were made into a crisp, and kohlrabi (another new agent) was diced raw into a salad. Who knew it was so tasty? Luscious berries of all kinds, honey, varieties of lettuce, cantaloupe, beans, peas and cucumber are only a few of the other treasures we’ve received – and always each week a dozen eggs in gorgeous brown shells and flavorful meat – pork shoulder roast, ground beef, ham steak, and on goes the list.
In exchange for this bounty, after the initial deposit, we make four payments of $250 each for a total of $1,150. We are given an option to pay in full for $1,125. There was also a vegetarian option on a payment plan or a pay-in-full price of $840. Both offerings were sold out this year.
The CSA program is pretty much a brilliant marketing idea that infuses a guaranteed amount of income into a farm by assuring the farmer the sale of a portion of his crop. In turn, participants are aware that they share not only in a plentiful resource when conditions are right, but also in the risk, should spring and summer yield less than ideal growing conditions.
The entire experience for us has been more than one of unbelievably fresh foods and an opportunity to roll up my culinary sleeves. It has made us profoundly aware of how important farming is to this community and to our country. Once a nation of settlers who became farmers by way of necessity, we evolved into a nation of manufacturers and now of technologists and medical pioneers. But farming is still a vital – and unfortunately fragile – part of our infrastructure. Every day, farmlands fall away to housing developments and shopping centers. A nation that cannot feed its own people makes itself extremely vulnerable. Therefore, supporting farming is something important that we can all do in some way to have a positive effect.
If a CSA program doesn’t sound like something that would fit your family’s lifestyle, we can still support U.S. farms and fishermen by paying attention to the labels on what we purchase at the grocery store. Some supermarkets in our area advertise “locally grown” vegetables from right here in Medina and meats from Ohio farms. Patronize area restaurants that advertise their use of locally-grown meats. Shop at local farmers markets, like the one held each Saturday on Medina’s historic square. Stop at roadside stands when those tomatoes or ears of corn look appealing. It’s good stuff, and you are putting your dollars into the pockets of people who are depositing it back into our local economy and strengthening our agricultural footprint.
Now in week seven of the 17-week program, to say we are pleased is an understatement. Our first week we were treated to a tour of this family-run farm with more than 100 years of history, where three generations work side-by-side. We saw chickens, turkeys, pigs, sheep, cows and more.
Each of the designated weeks we receive an e-mail detailing what we will be picking up. At a makeshift stand behind the house, we receive a milk crate filled generously with beautiful fruits and vegetables, a carton of eggs and meat from one of two large freezers. Sometimes our share includes a treat such as homemade ice cream, a loaf of bread or raspberry preserves.
Taking our share home and unpacking it makes me feel like a cross between a contestant on the Food Network show “Chopped” (since some of the ingredients are things I’ve not used or tasted before) and Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, who frequently on her cooking program visits farm stands in her Hamptons neighborhood. In fact, I’ve used some of the items from our shares in recipes from my coveted collection of Ina’s cookbooks.
I’ve turned verdant bunches of basil into pesto. Fragrant thyme and rosemary have been placed inside plump, whole chicken and roasted surrounded by thickly cut onions and plump bulbs of garlic. Zucchini, yellow squash and cauliflower have likewise been roasted and served alongside new potatoes. Strawberries and rhubarb (new to me) were made into a crisp, and kohlrabi (another new agent) was diced raw into a salad. Who knew it was so tasty? Luscious berries of all kinds, honey, varieties of lettuce, cantaloupe, beans, peas and cucumber are only a few of the other treasures we’ve received – and always each week a dozen eggs in gorgeous brown shells and flavorful meat – pork shoulder roast, ground beef, ham steak, and on goes the list.
In exchange for this bounty, after the initial deposit, we make four payments of $250 each for a total of $1,150. We are given an option to pay in full for $1,125. There was also a vegetarian option on a payment plan or a pay-in-full price of $840. Both offerings were sold out this year.
The CSA program is pretty much a brilliant marketing idea that infuses a guaranteed amount of income into a farm by assuring the farmer the sale of a portion of his crop. In turn, participants are aware that they share not only in a plentiful resource when conditions are right, but also in the risk, should spring and summer yield less than ideal growing conditions.
The entire experience for us has been more than one of unbelievably fresh foods and an opportunity to roll up my culinary sleeves. It has made us profoundly aware of how important farming is to this community and to our country. Once a nation of settlers who became farmers by way of necessity, we evolved into a nation of manufacturers and now of technologists and medical pioneers. But farming is still a vital – and unfortunately fragile – part of our infrastructure. Every day, farmlands fall away to housing developments and shopping centers. A nation that cannot feed its own people makes itself extremely vulnerable. Therefore, supporting farming is something important that we can all do in some way to have a positive effect.
If a CSA program doesn’t sound like something that would fit your family’s lifestyle, we can still support U.S. farms and fishermen by paying attention to the labels on what we purchase at the grocery store. Some supermarkets in our area advertise “locally grown” vegetables from right here in Medina and meats from Ohio farms. Patronize area restaurants that advertise their use of locally-grown meats. Shop at local farmers markets, like the one held each Saturday on Medina’s historic square. Stop at roadside stands when those tomatoes or ears of corn look appealing. It’s good stuff, and you are putting your dollars into the pockets of people who are depositing it back into our local economy and strengthening our agricultural footprint.