Becoming a part of a CSA will grant you a host of benefits.
Are you looking for a great way to help your community, support the planet, and be healthier in 2019? Community Supported Agriculture, or CSAs, are a great way to knock out three resolutions in one. “What is a CSA,” you ask? CSAs are a weekly or bi-weekly box of produce that you are purchasing directly from a local farmer. Depending on the area you live in you’ll often have several options for CSAs. Some may require you to pick up at their farm or a third party location, like a farmers market, while others may deliver right to your door. There are so many benefits to becoming part of a CSA, today we’ll walk you through just a few.
Support Your Local Farm
Small farms are the bastion of sustainable agriculture and are always at risk of being pushed out of the way by large-scale commercial farming. When you participate in a CSA, you’re directly supporting a local farm and ensuring they can succeed.
Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
We all want to eat more fruits and vegetables, especially as many of us are not getting as many as we should. Participating in a CSA makes getting enough easy. Not only will you have produce accessible, but thanks to the small farm, it will be at peak ripeness and quality.
Try New Produce
There are endless types of edible produce in the world. If you’re shopping in a grocery store what you’re finding is only a small section of what’s popular. When you get a CSA, you’ll have access to fruits and vegetables you might never have heard of. Items like watermelon radishes, fiddlehead ferns, ramps, and green garlic are all delicious but not popular enough for large-scale farming, and a spot in a Safeway produce section.
Eat With The Seasons
Eating the same produce year-round isn’t good for you or the planet. Plus, when produce is purchased out of season, it either needs to be grown in hothouses or transported over extreme distances. In both cases, you’re losing much of the flavor and quality. When you eat local through a CSA, everything you’re getting is grown by the farmer, which means its at its peak and in season. Not only is this great for your body, but it will be far more delicious too.
Save Money
Depending on the CSA you may pay for your seasons supply up front, or you may pay weekly or monthly. In most cases, a CSA can help you save money because you’re buying directly from the farmer and cutting out the supply chain that exists to the grocery store.
SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE FARMING BY CHOOSING BAYWATER FARMS
Baywater Farms is a sixth-generation family-owned and operated farm servicing Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Hyattsville, Salisbury, Maryland, Delaware beaches, and the Eastern Shore. Baywater Farms is capable of meeting the demands of your produce distributor, restaurant produce supplier, CSA produce supplier, or wholesale produce supplier while maintaining the integrity and character of a small farm. Baywater Farms is about more than just hydroponic lettuce—we also grow heirloom beefsteak tomatoes, shishito peppers, hydroponic custom-blended spring mix, custom grows, radish mix, Maryland’s own fish peppers, and more. When you work with Baywater Farms, you work with an experienced, ethical, and local farm dedicated to providing the highest-quality heirloom produce possible.