COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE

We love green garlic – the early shoots of garlic that arrive in Spring. You can use it as you would normal garlic, but it imparts a more mild, delicate flavor to your dish. You can get it every Spring – but you’ll probably only be able to get it from your local farmer.

It is still a bit early to visit most farmers’ markets, so if you want green garlic and other Spring produce that is difficult to find at the supermarket, you may want to enroll in a CSA program with one of the local farms.

For the record, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. The roots of CSA trace back to Europe, Japan, and Chile. In the US, CSA programs got their start in 1986 in New England. The first Washington State CSA started in 1987 at the Root Connection in Woodinville.

The big idea of Community Supported Agriculture is to connect consumers to small farms. How it works is the consumer buys a “share” – meaning share of the harvest – directly from the farmer prior to the growing season. By paying the farms directly and early in the year, you know the farm is getting all the money and getting it at the time when they incur many expenses (planting) while earning little or no income.

As the crops start to mature, the farmers start to pick the produce fresh weekly, pack it in boxes or bags, and then deliver it to a drop location of your choosing. When we say pick it fresh, we mean fresh… Whistling Train Farm in Kent picks corn the morning it will be delivered to ensure it is as fresh as possible. You pick up your box and have fresh produce for the week.

We spoke with Andrew Stout, owner of Full Circle Farm in Carnation. He said the CSA program allows them to directly provide their customers with “weekly peak produce.” As they have grown, they have developed relationships with PCC and several restaurants. However, their main goal has always been to sell to the end consumer, and 80% of their business remains with the CSA program.

Putting together the boxes is fun. Andrew said they try to put together complimentary produce to provide “healthy, whole, real food.” Customers will almost always receive the basics: greens, starches, and onion/garlic. The seasonal produce and herbs will vary. If they see tomatoes and jalapeños are fresh, they will probably add some cilantro to the boxes for salsa making. And, in case you get stumped on how to prepare those sun chokes in your box, they also include recipes each week.

For us, the CSA program feels good and “right.” Beyond the feeling good, we like that we are eating more local produce. The CSA farms listed here are all within an hour of Seattle. It is estimated that grocery store produce travels an average of 1500 miles before reaching our tables. We also like that we are eating organic produce. All of the CSA farms listed here follow organic practices (for more on certifcation check out the Jubilee or Whistling Train Farm web sites).

We’ve put together a CSA chart to better help you see what is available in the Seattle and East Side areas. Click on the farm names to link to their sites for complete information. All of these farms share a common belief – farm naturally in a way that betters the environment and produces good food… good for the land, the consumer and the farmers.

FARM	SEASON	COST	BOX SIZE	NOTES & EXTRAS
Boistfort Valley Farm	20 Weeks	$550	3-4	Fresh flowers weekly
Dog Mountain Farm	20 Weeks	$675	3-4	Draft Horses! Spring and Fall CSA available; eggs; flowers; farm-to-table dinners
Full Circle Farm	Year Round	$29/$38/$47 Weekly	2/4/6	Full Circle and other producers; Substitutions allowed; vacation holds; green grocery
Growing Washington's Local Choice Food Box	20 weeks	$580/$780	1-2/3-4	Association of 5 farms; you pick the contents of the box each week (11 items/15 items); many locations; most produce for Seattle comes from Woodinville farm
Helsing Junction Farm	18 weeks	$450/$650	1-2/3-4	Fresh flowers weekly; storage shares (onions, garlic, shallots, squash) and bulk shares (large deliveries of strawberries, basil, and potatoes) available
Jubilee Farm	20 weeks	$600/$800	2/4	Work share program (4 hours/ week for a share); Spring/ Fall/Winter CSA available
Lake Cavanaugh Farm	20 weeks	$525	2-4	Produce picked the night before delivery; limited to 25 shares; women owned and operated; volunteer help appreciated; on-line recipe database
Local Roots	20 weeks	$300/$400	2/4	Pre-planned absences can adjust pricing
Oxbow Farm	20 weeks	$600	4	Oxbow Farm Harvest Fest (pumpkin patch and CSA member party); newsletter
Root Connection CSA	21 weeks	$537/$875	2-4/4-8	Winter shares available, Visit the farm for u-pick herbs, flowers, greens; U-pick pumpkins; Children's garden; Oldest Waqshington CSA (1987); on-line recipe database
Seattle Market Gardens	22 weeks	$300/$500	2-3/4-6	Collaboration between p-patch trust and City of Seattle; residents do the farming; supports about 100 shares;
Tiny's Organics	22 weeks	$924	2-4	50/50 fruit/Veg; many specialty fruits; heirloom veggies
Tolt River Farm	20 weeks	$475	2-4	Egg shares available; weekly recipe suggestions
Whistling Train Farm	20 weeks	$350/$500	1-3/3-5	Corn picked day of delivery; limited enrollment; u-pick beans and peas; Feed-a-family program; some box customization; Spring/Winter program available