Colchester Farm CSA Week #3

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

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 (Johnny actually) chose this week: broccoli, golden beets, kale, red cabbage, green cabbage.

Photo credit to Johnny!

How I’ll eat them

Broccoli will likely be steamed, roasted, or used for a stir fry. Both cabbages will be used for Johnny’s awesome cole slaw, beets will be juiced (apple/carrot/beets, do it now!), kale will become kale chips or cooked with garlic scapes.

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.

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

I found all the items in both stores this week except the beets. We got golden beets and both stores only had red beets. What’s the difference? Color, texture, and taste. Golden beets are sweeter and have less of the ‘earthy’ taste. I love both, but golden beets are much better in fresh juice. They almost taste like carrots, and they’re a little easier to cut.

The costs are pretty comparable across the board this week, give $3-4. This week, I think taste of the local vegetables will win. There’s nothing comparable to getting a vegetable the day it was picked from the fields, versus getting produce shipped from California.

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!

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.