Eat Local, Support Local Ag: Join a CSA (Pt. 2)

We started a blog last week (PT.1) highlighting some of the biggest benefits of joining a CSA. We talked about the increase of transparency between the grower and the consumer; we talked about the way it benefits your community economically; we talked about the savings, and we also talked about the real food variety you’ll experience. In addition to shopping your local farmers’ market, joining a CSA is the best way to experience our Llano Estacado food shed.

There are so many benefits we had to break it into two blogs for you. So if you needed additional reasons after you read last weeks’ post, here are a few more:

Joining a CSA is More Flavorful

It’s in a CSA farmer’s greatest interest to provide the most flavorful varieties the Llano Estacado can produce. You’ll get the best nature can provide and you’ll get produce that hasn’t been stuffed, stored, sprayed, or transported half-way across the country to be stuffed, stored, and stacked some more. You’ll be getting groceries that are at the height of freshness. You won’t be eating things bred for eternal shelf-life or glossier color, you’ll be eating things bred for flavor.

Joining a CSA Keeps it Local

In our last post we talked about how joining a CSA contributes to a local economy by empowering small farmers in the face of industrial giants. This time we want to emphasize the fact that it keeps your dollars local. You’ll pay your CSA farmers directly and they’ll likely spend their money directly as often as possible, because they know the value of a home-spent dollar. CSA farmers place a real emphasis on being a party to the locality that allows them to flourish. They’ll likely spend their money as locally, or more locally than you… It’s in their nature.

Gets You In Tune With the Llano Estacado

We live in an agriculturally rich area. The High Plains are steeped in agricultural history and heritage, but with the majority of people getting all their sustenance from local grocers, you’d hardly know this to be the case. CSAs allow people to begin to regain a bit of that neighborly, communal approach of living in a community that in some sense revolves around common sources of nourishment. One thing that facilitates this is the special events often hosted by CSAs. It’s common for producers to host barbecues, tours, pot lucks, education events, and even work opportunities that present a chance for you to actually work the produce that would soon nourish you. You’ll get to meet other members and you’ll probably all learn a lot about food health, biological health and diversity; you’ll probably come away with some good knowledge about the food industry at large too.

Allows You to Be a Steward of the Land

One of the great things about CSA farming and ranching is that they represent a sustainable model. Sustainability is a dominant factor in the small farm mentality. That emphasis is a huge benefit for economies, varieties, emissions, quality, and biodiversity. The land is used in symbiosis with the crops it’s producing. Growing produce, the way it’s done by a CSA, isn’t in opposition to the areas’ climate, resources, or sparsely populated region. The CSA model is sustainable. It’s usually an environmentally safer means of agriculture. High consideration is given to minimize soil depletion, chemical application, processing mishaps, and inefficient distribution practices. Joining a CSA is stewarding the agricultural heritage of the Llano Estacado.

Joining a CSA is an All-around Healthy Decision

Not only will you be preserving the areas’ history, ecology, and economy, but you’ll be getting more real food. And as Yale researchers recently concluded, a real food “diet” is the best diet. Most CSAs are also of the organic variety, which can be beneficial as the following video explains.

If you think you’d like to know more about joining a local CSA be sure to visit our Producers page to find a producer nearest you who offers memberships. Tell them Local Llano sent you.

And as always, leave your comments in the box below, especially if you feel like we missed a CSA we shouldn’t have.

https://youtu.be/oB6fUqmyKC8