Acton Eats: Choosing a CSA

Part 2 of 2

In part one of this series, I talked a little about the basics of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), a form of partnership where you can purchase a share in a local farm in exchange for a portion of the harvest. My wife and I have been long-time CSA members, first at Meadow Brook Farm (now Siena Farms), and currently at Lindentree Farm.

In this post, I'll discuss some of the questions you might want to ask when choosing a CSA. And if you are thinking of joining a CSA, now is the time, as many farms are in the process of signing up members for 2010.

What is the price of a share? CSA shares typically range from $250 to $800 for a season, which might seem like a lot of money, but if you build your meals around the week's produce, you'll likely find yourself spending less at the supermarket.

What sizes shares are available? Some CSAs only have a single size share. This might provide you with more vegetables than you can possibly eat. If you live in a smaller household, look for a CSA that offers a half share, or ask if it is possible to split a share with another family. At Lindentree, a small share provides more vegetables than our family of three can eat, with plenty left over for pickling or freezing.

Where are the pickup spots located? Some CSAs require you to drive to the farm to do your weekly pickup. Other CSAs may provide alternate pickup locations, for example, at area farmer's markets.

What are the pickup times? Most CSAs allow you to choose select one of several pickup times, but as you will be making a long-term commitment, make sure one of these will fit into your regular routine. When we belonged to Meadow Brook, I got off the train after work in Lincoln to do the weekly pickup, and my wife would meet me there. At Lindentree, we do our pickups on Saturday afternoons, making a short trip to get our weekly share. At Busa Farm in Lexington, a membership buys a certain amount of "Busa Bucks," which you can spend any time, at the farm stand.

What kind of vegetables am I likely to find? CSAs can vary quite a bit in terms of the selection of produce you're likely to encounter. If a farm sells largely to supermarkets, you're likely to find a fairly basic selection. If a farm grows produce for restaurants, you might find some more exotic choices. At Siena Farms, Chris Kurth grows produce for Oleana, the restaurant run by his wife, Ana Sortun, so you might come across specialty crops like fava beans, heirloom tomatoes, purple carrots, watercress, or Chiogga beets. At Lindentree, we fill out a questionnaire at the end of every season, which helps owners Ari Kurtz and Moira Donnell plan what to grow the following year.

What degree of choice will I have each week? Some CSAs prepack their boxes every week, so each member ends up with the same set of vegetables. At Meadow Brook, we could fill up our canvas bag with anything we fancied on a particular day, while at Lindentree we have certain standard selections, plus a choice of what we like from the greens table.

Does the CSA allow us to pick our own crops, or do the farmhands pick them for us? Again, this varies widely from CSA to CSA. If you pick up a box of vegetables from a drop off point, obviously the vegetables will be pre-picked for you. But if you do your pickup at the farm, you may find yourself picking at least some of the produce you're entitled to each week. Often, these are the crops that are more labor-intensive to pick, such as strawberries, peas, or cherry tomatoes.

Does the farm have a work requirement? Smaller farms may save on labor costs by requiring members to put in a few hours of work each year, while farms with a larger staff are less likely to have a work requirement.

Will my vegetables be organic? Many CSAs do use organic growing practices, but not all are certified. Others use Integrated Pest Management (IPA), where chemicals are used only when a problem reaches a certain severity, but not as a matter of daily routine.

Are winter shares available? After the main growing season is over, some CSAs offer a limited number of winter shares, at an additional charge. These shares usually include fall greens and storage crops, such as winter squashes, potatoes, onions, turnips, and various other root vegetables.

Finally, here's a list of some of the CSAs operating within 15 miles of Acton. As of this writing, most of them are now accepting applications for 2010. Those that are sold out may be starting waiting lists for 2011.

Busa Farm, 52 Lowell Street, Lexington, (781) 861-1107, http://busafarm.com

Dragonfly Farms, 40 Prescott Street, Pepperell, (978) 433-3906, http://www.dragonfly-farms.com

Drumlin Farm, 208 South Great Road, Lincoln, (781) 259-2200, http://www.massaudubon.org/drumlin (Sold out for 2010)

First Root Farm, Lexington Road, Concord, http://firstrootfarm.wordpress.com (Sold out for 2010)

Food Project, 10 Lewis Street, Lincoln, (781) 259-8621, http:// http://thefoodproject.org

Hanson's Farm, 20 Nixon Rd, Framingham, (508) 877-3058, http://hansonsfarmframingham.com

Kenney Farm, 88 Virginia Road, Concord, (978) 254-1324, http://www.kenneyfarm.com

Kirk Farm, 21 Wyman Road, Groton, (978) 448.5871, http://www.kirkfarm.com

Land's Sake Farm, 90 Wellesley Street, Weston, (781) 893.1162, http://www.landssake.org

Lindentree Farm, 10 Old Concord Road, Lincoln, (781) 259-1259, lindentreefarm@att.net

Shared Harvest, P.O. Box 533, Belmont, (781) 507-6602, http://sharedharvestcsa.blogspot.com (Winter share only, pick up at Busa Farm in Lexington)

Siena Farms, 113 Haynes Road, Sudbury, (978) 261.5365, http://www.sienafarms.com

Springdell Farm, 571 Great Road, Littleton, (978) 486-3865 http://www.springdellfarms.com

Stearns Farm, 862 Edmands Road, Framingham, (508) 371-4310, http://stearnsfarmcsa.org

Waltham Fields, 240 Beaver Street, Waltham, (781) 899-2403, http://www.communityfarms.org

If you have any additions or corrections to this list, please let me know!

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