First the background : Calder and I are members of a CSA or farm share this year. You can read more about what that is and see how I’ve been using our share in posts one and two. 
If you’ve been following along and reading the farm share posts, then you already know that I love cooking with the variety of food that comes our way each week. Another aspect of the share that I love, but haven’t discussed as much, is the sense of community that being a member of a farm share creates, and I’m starting to realize that each share is unique in how it develops the bonds between its members.
In our first farm share in PA, all members picked up their share between a couple of hours at one location. The shares were not pre-packaged; at the pickup, we would each show up with our shopping bags and read down the chalkboard to see what to grab (one bunch of carrots, two zucchini, etc., etc.). The format meant that we were at the pickup location with other members for at least 15 minutes, but often longer. Conversations were started, ideas for recipes were shared, and so on. Then, towards the end of the season, all members were invited to the farm for a potluck. The CSA was small enough that everyone was able to introduce themselves and get to know each other throughout the night.
{Pups waiting patiently by the appetizer table!}
Our current CSA serves a much larger community – over 1,000 families! Way too many for one pickup location or even one intimate potluck, yet I still get the same warm feeling that comes from being part of something special. Each week Grant Farms sends out an email newsletter with information about what will be in the share, announcements, reminders about signing up for future shares, recipes, and so on. It’s almost like we’re all standing around talking and picking up our shares together, and every Sunday I look forward to those emails (what meat items will we get this week? what new veggies?). Instead of the potluck, the farms hosts a number of small, themed dinners, and we were lucky enough to be invited to one last week!
There’s nothing to make you feel like part of something special than to go and have dinner with other members and the people working hard to bring you fresh, local food each week. It was a fantastic night full of beautiful music and delicious food (we’re still thinking about the duck tacos!).
While there, we were free to walk around the farm. I saw the turkeys {soon to be on holiday tables} and the rows of delicious greens just waiting to be picked. There were roosters crowing and goats waiting for you to scratch their noses. And quite possibly my favorite memory from the farm was the pen full of happy pigs and piglets. If I wanted to feel good about the meat we’re eating each week, all it took was one look at the content pigs prancing around their pen and running over to guests hoping we would throw an apple or two in for a treat.
We took little Luc with us to dinner and that kiddo was in heaven running around in the grass and watching the animals and eating apples from the tree. There were a number of families there with older kids, and I loved thinking about what a rich experience being a member of a CSA provides to kids, especially if they aren’t growing up in households that grow their own food. The CSA and dinner at the farm provides everyone with a more intimate connection to their food.
The icing on the cake of our fun evening out is that we won one of their holiday baskets! Who wants to come over for Thanksgiving dinner?! I can’t wait to open that box and cook up a feast. Because I love our share so much and want others along the Front Range to enjoy the bounty, I’m going list a few links that can help you get involved (it’s never too late to sign up!):
- Yes, you can still become a member for the fall season. Click here to see the options. The farm has a variety of share options, and once you’re a member, you have access to additional goods, like ordering half and whole pork and beef packages.
- There are no more dinners scheduled for this fall, but you can buy tickets and attend the harvest festival that’s coming up this weekend (it’s a great way to see and learn about the farm if you have questions!). Get those tickets here.
- Finally, if you want to see their turkeys and holiday packages, go here.
We came home from our dinner with full bellies from the food, and full hearts from the feeling of being part of something so special. If you’re on the fence about becoming part of a CSA, I can’t recommend it enough. In many parts of the country, it’s too late to sign up for a share for this season, but you have plenty of time to research local farms and find one that you would like to join for next summer… and then you’ll just have a long winter of anticipation as you wait for your first vegetable box!
