In high school I was an active member of the FFA (Future Farmers of America). I must confess I had no intention of actually becoming a farmer one day. However, the organization afforded me leadership opportunities that I didn’t feel I could find with any other high school club.
After high school I went on to fashion school and never looked back. It wasn’t until recently when I was looking for local farmers markets that I found out about CSA (sorry Mrs. Burdi, I must’ve been absent the day we learned about these).
A CSA (community supported agriculture) is a program where you buy a share (a box or bag) of weekly or bi-weekly farm fresh produce. Not only is it a great way to support your local farmer, it’s a great way to eat fresh organic produce. Most offer whatever is in season and some offer the ability to add on raw milk or meats like grass fed beef. My first box came with Rainer cherries (that I devoured in a matter of minutes), Strawberries, carrots, rainbow chard, red leaf lettuce, red skin potatoes, fresh lavender, grass fed ground beef and burger patties.
Some groups require you to put in some hours of work on the farm. Here, in Southern California, I haven’t found any that do.
My local CSA is run by Abundant Harvest Organics and if you’d like to search for what is available near you, go here.
fioraliz.com 