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Community supported agriculture
Jun. 11th, 2009 09:29 pmA couple of weeks ago, there was a table at one of the local farmers' markets at which the people were distributing information about Chi-Town Community Supported Agriculture. A CSA is a program whereby people pay an annual fee, usually in the spring, for a share of a season's harvest. This allows the farmer to know he has a market for his crops, and allows us city folk to have fresh produce that's a heckuva lot better than you find in a supermarket. The farmer brings it to a central location for pick-up by the CSA members.
The Chi-Town CSA had a tasting and informational meeting tonight, so I went to find out more about it. We heard brief presentations from the guy who's organizing it, from one of the farmers (who brought the produce for the tasting), and from a woman who works at the U of C who talked about "food deserts", areas with a dearth of grocery stores and little or no access to healthy food choices.
Then we ate. Skewers of watermelon and strawberries with a yogurt-mint sauce. Baby asparagus wrapped in proscuitto with slivers of parmesan. A mixed green salad with beets and snowpea pods, no dressing except orange juice and beet juice. Fresh tomatoes. More veggies with a sweet basil vinaigrette. Peaches with heavy cream.
I would not have gone had I not been seriously thinking about joining, but I had some questions about the logistics (where and when) that were answered to my satisfaction. I was also concerned about the amount of produce one would be expected to get, but it's possible to get a 1/2 share (1/2 bushel) every two weeks, which should be doable. If I have too much at any time, I can always pass some on to a neighbor. I was also pretty impressed with the organizer. He has really thought the project through. So I signed up.
I was about to leave, and was saying goodbye, but one of the organizers said, "Don't go yet! They're going to bring out the hot food any minute." Well, here I was, thinking what we'd already had was it. Nope. Blackened tilapia with dirty rice and spring onions. Roast potatoes with parmesan, and grilled zucchini and yellow squash with a balsamic vinaigrette. Green beans with cherry tomatoes, and corn on the cob (grilled or boiled). And, for dessert, lemon pound cake with strawberries, strawberry sauce and heavy cream.
I'm full.
And everyone was sent home with a pint of strawberries and an ear of popping corn!
EDITED to send a shout-out to the cooks, an instructor and students from Washburne Culinary Institute.
The Chi-Town CSA had a tasting and informational meeting tonight, so I went to find out more about it. We heard brief presentations from the guy who's organizing it, from one of the farmers (who brought the produce for the tasting), and from a woman who works at the U of C who talked about "food deserts", areas with a dearth of grocery stores and little or no access to healthy food choices.
Then we ate. Skewers of watermelon and strawberries with a yogurt-mint sauce. Baby asparagus wrapped in proscuitto with slivers of parmesan. A mixed green salad with beets and snowpea pods, no dressing except orange juice and beet juice. Fresh tomatoes. More veggies with a sweet basil vinaigrette. Peaches with heavy cream.
I would not have gone had I not been seriously thinking about joining, but I had some questions about the logistics (where and when) that were answered to my satisfaction. I was also concerned about the amount of produce one would be expected to get, but it's possible to get a 1/2 share (1/2 bushel) every two weeks, which should be doable. If I have too much at any time, I can always pass some on to a neighbor. I was also pretty impressed with the organizer. He has really thought the project through. So I signed up.
I was about to leave, and was saying goodbye, but one of the organizers said, "Don't go yet! They're going to bring out the hot food any minute." Well, here I was, thinking what we'd already had was it. Nope. Blackened tilapia with dirty rice and spring onions. Roast potatoes with parmesan, and grilled zucchini and yellow squash with a balsamic vinaigrette. Green beans with cherry tomatoes, and corn on the cob (grilled or boiled). And, for dessert, lemon pound cake with strawberries, strawberry sauce and heavy cream.
I'm full.
And everyone was sent home with a pint of strawberries and an ear of popping corn!
EDITED to send a shout-out to the cooks, an instructor and students from Washburne Culinary Institute.
