For those unfamiliar, a CSA, or a Community Supported Agriculture is a (now) popular way to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Essentially, the farm will offer a certain number of “shares” to the public – normally including a box of veggies, but other produce can be included. Consumers buy a “share” or membership and pick up their share on a weekly basis.
My good friend Sara’s been participating in a local, Chester-County CSA this summer and was on vacation… So she was nice enough to give me her CSA share for the week! Sara loves local and organic produce like me, and has loved the CSA so far, as you can tell by her huge smile:
She prepared me with my expectations for the big day. When I arrived at Vollmecke Orchards & CSA, I was quite excited:
The staff was super-friendly and helpful. I certainly felt welcome:
AND the sign made it super-easy to figure out what my share included for the week:
All the produce was nicely labeled and pre-proportioned:
And the Potatoes looked absolutely amazing:
And of course there were chickens to make you feel at home on the farm:
When I thought the excitement was over, they gave the option to Pick-Your-Own Peas! Clearly a city girl like me LOVES the chance to pick veggies in a farm.
I even bait-and-switched my friend Bill on the way to the Reading Phillies to do some manual labor as I refilled my reusable bag with picked peas:
I’d say the evening was an overall success:
What does a girl like me do with all these veggies?!? Luckily, the CSA had a couple of suggestions for me already prepared:
And the results? Definitely delectable:
Want to get into the CSA action? Contact a local CSA (Vollmecke’s member info is here)or search online like Local Harvest’s list.
Posted by Julie
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