Eat Well, Feel Better

Join a CSA and feel good about your food.
(Photo © istockphoto/jasmina007)

Ever since Matthew and I joined Eatwell Farm CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), every other Wednesday is like Christmas. It’s the day we pick up our CSA box down the street, flip through recipe books, and plan meals for the next two weeks.

It feels good to know exactly where our food is coming from. We know where the farm is (Dixon, California), who runs it (Nigel and Lorraine), and who’s in charge of planting and harvesting the crops (Jose and his crew). There is also the satisfaction of knowing we’re part of a community that is helping to provide a local organic family farm with a dependable revenue stream to protect them from being beat out by some large-scale, less environmentally friendly agriculture giant. Plus, on top of all that goodness, the food looks and tastes better! I especially love that when I pull carrots out of the box, they still have the green leaves on top and some soil on the roots. I’m pretty sure it’s the closest I’m going to get to picking it myself.

The funny thing is, Matthew and I used to be packaged food junkies. Crispy mandarin chicken from Trader Joe’s and Amy’s burritos were permanent fixtures in our freezer. These days the contents of our kitchen reflect the season. Today’s box, for example, had lemons, oranges, tangerines, parsley, spinach, chard, cauliflower, green garlic, leeks, apples, carrots, and red cabbage. Sure, it takes a little more thought to figure out how to prepare and eat all the fruit and veggies, but that’s the fun part. Have you had spicy, crispy, carrot fries recently? YUM!

Find out more about CSAs at Local Harvest. And if you don’t live within Eatwell Farm’s delivery zone, use the Local Harvest map to find a CSA near you.