Colchester Farm CSA Week #1

My CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share program has started for the year. 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.

Items I chose this week: garlic scapes, broccoli, kale, kohlrabi, and sugar snap peas.

(Johnny gets the credit for this photo – I handed off our share items as I went to teach class, so they didn’t have to come into the studio with me or sit in my hot car).

How I’ll eat them

We’ve already eaten the broccoli (roasted, my favorite way to eat it). I plan on eating the sugar snap peas raw (snacks!!), the kohlrabi’s fate might be in a salad mix or into a coleslaw, and the kale will become kale chips. The garlic scapes might end up in a stir-fry, or be used to make garlic scape pesto or even garlic scape hummus.

Cost comparison

One thing that I hear that deters people from participating in a CSA program is ‘the cost.’ I decided this year to initiate a small cost analysis project, to understand if these claims are true in my area.

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.

I visited two local grocery stores and compared the prices the following for the same items:

I didn’t expect to find either garlic scapes or kohlrabi in my local stores, so that was not a surprise. I was surprised that I couldn’t find sugar snap peas at one of the stores. There were no fresh peas at all! I was also surprised to see the big difference in broccoli prices between the two stores.

So, for this week, it’s hard to compare because I couldn’t find everything in each store! Perhaps that’s one of the added benefits of a CSA – you get access to produce you wouldn’t normally find in a local grocery store.

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.

Here’s an example: one unit = 10 garlic scapes.

It’s totally operated on an honor system; you check in with Theresa or one of the apprentices, then it’s up to you to make sure you’re taking your share. It’s best to bring your own bags and keep reusing them each week, too.

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!

Full disclosure: I am a board member of Colchester Farm CSA. I pay for our small share and receive no monetary compensation for being a board member. All opinions are my own.