The opposite day I used to be within the grocery retailer—simply your common chain grocery store—as a result of we had been out of some fundamentals at house. I wandered the produce part, making an attempt to fill my basket with natural choices since we’re nonetheless within the “low season” for farming right here within the Northeast. And earlier than I knew it, I used to be staring down at a tragic little haul and a receipt for $38.
It hit me proper then: That’s the identical quantity as one in all our CSA packing containers. Solely I didn’t have a lot to point out for it apart from previous produce and TONS of plastic packaging!
A bag of potatoes from California, greenhouse-grown peppers and tomatoes from Canada, lettuce from California and final season’s (sure 2024!) aplples from Washington state. Nothing was native, eeryting had been imported and had been sitting in storage for weeks or months.
I left the shop with a bizarre pit in my abdomen. Not simply because every little thing was so costly—however as a result of I knew what that very same $38 will get you when it comes straight from the sector.
With our CSA, that $38 fills a field. I imply actually fills it. It’s packed the day after harvest with greens we’ve seeded, weeded, watered, and harvested by hand. Grown in wholesome soil, beneath the Vermont solar, by a small crew that places care into each row. It contains the abundance of the season—what’s peaking in taste and freshness—and we’re all the time making an attempt to over-deliver on worth. There’s typically greater than you anticipate. One thing further, one thing particular. A bunch of herbs to brighten dinner, or a vegetable you’ve by no means cooked earlier than (with a recipe to go together with it).
Our packing containers don’t simply price lower than what you’d pay for a similar quantity of natural produce on the retailer—they really feel completely different. They’re a part of a narrative. They mirror the climate, the care, the group. They usually reconnect you to the place your meals comes from.
I don’t assume I’ll be grocery purchasing for produce once more anytime quickly. As a result of I do know what $38 can actually do when it stays near house.
