Jason posted a comment asking for more info about the Hill Street Farm CSA. As I prepared to write a response, it occurred to me that I probably should turn it into a blog post, including an explanation of what a CSA is, for anyone who started reading this blog after I migrated from LiveJournal. (That would be pretty much everyone!) Some of this post is adapted from an earlier post I made in January.
"CSA" stands for "community-supported agriculture". In a CSA, you pay a farmer or group of farmers in advance for food that they will provide later. By agreeing in advance to buy the food, the farmer is able to grow a wider variety of foods, because he has a guaranteed sale.
So far I only know of one CSA in the Springfield area: Hill Street Farm CSA. Hill Street Farm is located in Modesto, Illinois (about 50 miles southwest of Springfield), and is operated by Andy Heck. For the 2007 season, they had 21 shares available. For the 2008 season, they cut that back to 12 shares, because they felt that was a more reasonable number for them to supply. The deadline for signing up (and paying) was sometime in January. A share cost $500 for fresh produce made available every Saturday for 24 weeks (throughout the run of the Old Capitol Farmers Market, from mid-May through October). If the price tag is a bit much to pay up front, you could consider finding someone to split a share with you.
Each week, members show up at the Hill Street Farm booth in the Old Capitol Farmers' Market. You bring your empty canvas bag (which is given to you when you get your first share) and Andy fills it with fresh produce, returning it to you along with a letter that explains what it is you've received this week, along with some recipes to help you use it up. (If you don't pick up your share for the week, it gets donated to the Central Illinois Food Bank.) Many weeks you have a choice to make. For example, do you want kale or chard? Which variety of radish do you want? Which variety of carrots do you want? Do you want kohlrabi or beets?
For us, one advantage of participating in the CSA is that it's a way to kickstart our transition to becoming locavores. Because we've already paid for the food in advance, that's a strong incentive to actually pick up the food and eat it. Springfield has 2 farmers markets, but to be honest in previous years there were some Saturdays where we'd felt more like staying home rather than making the trip. When we did go, we'd tended to buy the same very small variety of fruits and vegetables each time (sweet corn, tomatoes, strawberries, peaches, maybe some broccoli). The CSA share encourages us to eat more fresh produce, as well as a wider variety.
Of course, it also requires us to do significantly more cooking than we had in the past! I did a Google search on "beginning vegetarian cooking" and the top hit was Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. The reviews on Amazon were all good, except for a few that complained that it was too basic. Well, that sounded perfect for me! But before I had a chance to order the book, Dawn handed me one of her cookbooks -- Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison! Well, that saved me a bit of money!
In addition to the environmental aspects of buying food that was grown nearby and the health aspects of eating food that is fresh, there is also a community-building benefit. There is something to be said for knowing the people who grow your food and having that additional connection to your local community. Michael Pollan (author of The Ominvore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food) urges people to "shake the hand that feeds you." Getting your food as a CSA share is one way of doing that on a weekly basis.
If you'd like to contact the Hill Street Farm CSA to ask about the 2009 season, call Andy Heck at 217-891-3570 or August Jones at 217-299-4578, or write to:
Andy Heck
67 Baker Road
Modesto, Illinois 62667
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