Colchester Farm CSA Week #6

My CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share program has started for the year. Check out Week #1, Week #2, Week #3, Week #4, and Week #5.

Our season runs for 26 weeks from June – November. I purchased a small share which means I get to choose 5 units each week during my pick-up. I happen to pick-up my share on Tuesday, which works perfectly for my schedule – this lets me enjoy fresh food all week and then re-stock at the Farmers’ Market.

I’m in California this week, so Johnny picked up the share and ran the cost analysis! Here’s what he chose: lacinato kale, scallions, yellow squash, sweet corn, and green beans.

Photo credit to Johnny!

How we’ll use them

Johnny already prepared a baked dish that included squash. The corn will be used to supplement dinners – stir fry mixes, salads, etc.  Kale is one of our favorite side dishes (I love it cooked), same with green beans. The scallions are an excellent edition to almost any recipe that uses garlic or onion.

Cost comparison

A small share for 5 units costs $365 for 26 weeks. That translates to $14/week.

It’s important to note that I chose to compare these five items because they are the items I picked for the week. There were other options, too. This cost analysis will be based on the pieces that I choose to take home with me.

Johnny visited two Kent County grocery stores and compared the prices for the same items:

Of the items Johnny chose this week, there’s a difference in the price at the store vs. the price for our share. Two notes: neither store carries the lacinato kale variety (my favorite), and store #2  didn’t have scallions at all, which skews the price slightly. Once again, I think the value this week is in the freshness of just-picked produce vs. produce that has traveled a distance and sat on a store shelf.

I think it will be neat to go back through each cost analysis post at the end of the 26 weeks, and determine when the CSA is the best ‘bang for the buck,’ dollars-speaking only. It would be helpful, too, to understand the prices of the items that I did not choose cost at the store each week. Perhaps next week I’ll post a full list of what is harvested for the CSA, so anyone following this analysis can get a sense of the items offered for the week, not just the 5 items that Johnny and I choose to take home.

More on the CSA

My CSA pick-up works this way: every Tuesday from 4-6 p.m., 1-2 people from Colchester (farm manager Theresa, or one of the apprentices) will set-up tables and produce with signs that indicate how much you can take of each item. Based on the share you purchased, you can take either 5 (small), 8 (medium), or 14 (large) different items.

If you live near Kent County, there’s still time to join! We’ll work to prorate your share (so you only pay for it when you start picking up), or you can investigate a fall share or flex share season option:

I can’t wait to continue this project throughout the 26 week program!