From Farm to Family, A Season of Surprises
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 31, 2007; Page F04
In the large vegetable garden Cheryl Corson maintains in the warmer months behind her house in Upper Marlboro, "I've got everything but Asian greens." Still, for the past three years she and her husband, Chris, have subscribed to a community-supported agriculture program that provides more farm produce than they can use, enough to share with friends.
"We do the CSA because, in whatever small way, we need to reclaim agriculture for the small-scale farmer," says Corson, 50, a landscape architect who is a member of the CSA at Jug Bay Market Garden, a mile from her home. "And it's also important to me to know exactly where my food comes from."
The growing season is months away, but enrollment in CSAs for 2007 is happening now. More than a dozen farms in the area operate programs, and most fill up quickly.
Customers pay an annual membership fee in advance to cover farm production expenses, such as seeds, salaries and machinery maintenance. In return, the farmer gives them a share of the harvest: a weekly box of ever-changing seasonal produce, sometimes with cut flowers and sometimes with eggs, milk and other dairy products, for a set number of weeks, usually from late spring through early fall. A full share on most farms provides enough vegetables for a family of four, or for two vegetarians, for a week. Half-shares are available.
The program is not for those who want complete control over what they'll get, especially because the content of the box is a weekly surprise. If you're throwing a dinner party, Corson cautions, "you can't plan on serving, for example, string beans, because the harvest is equally divided, and you may only get enough for two."
There are many other variables. Most of the participating farmers provide organic produce or use organic farming methods. Crops, length of season and prices vary from farm to farm. Vegetables are picked up at the farm or at a delivery site. (At Jug Bay, a full share is $570 for 20 weeks, with pickup on Capitol Hill.) Some farms deliver right to your door.
That means if you are interested, you should proceed as you do in the supermarket or farmers market: Shop around, and pick what suits you best.
