Is a CSA right for me?

The CSA model isn’t for everyone and that’s OK! Take a look at what stands out about this model and see if it’s right for you.

1. Is the relationship to your farmer important to you?
   In other words, do you want to shake the hand that feeds you? When you’re a member of a CSA you are directly supporting our farm and our family. We are at each drop location and each farmers market, ready to chat with you about the season, your favorite vegetable or even goats if that’s your thing.  Joining a CSA means that you are committed to staying with a specific farmer through an entire season, come thick and thin. Inherent in this arrangement is the understanding that there is risk in farming. Mother Nature is the real boss, and she may send scorching sun or pouring rain or bug plagues, and a certain crop may not appear in your share that season. On the flip side, there may be a bumper crop of tomatoes or cucumbers, and you’ll be swimming in the summer bounty. CSA members live with and embrace this reality every day. Their motivation for supporting the farm is just as much about having the back of the farmer as it is about getting the full financial value of the share.
2. Is taste and quality high on your list?
   We spend a lot of time (probably too much time) testing different varieties of vegetables to find the best tasting ones, not the ones that ship across the country well. A tomato shipped from Mexico or California isn’t going to taste the same as the heirloom Solar Flare we harvested yesterday for today’s CSA box.
3. Are you adventurous in the kitchen?
   Since our boxes are not customizable you get what we pack in the box, whether it’s a vegetable you’re familiar with or not. It can be fun to try new vegetables and new recipes! You are going to encounter vegetables that you love and maybe new ones that you hate. Are you up for it?
4. Are you willing to eat the CSA way?
   Eating the CSA way means eating a veggie dense diet and eating seasonally, two things you may not currently be doing. Transitioning to this kind of diet is not the easiest. With the convenience of supermarkets offering almost any vegetable whenever you want, seasonal cooking is a way of life many of us are not used to. CSA requires flexibility in your menus and your kitchen. For example if you want to have spinach in a meal every single week, that may not happen with CSA. Spinach is grown in the spring and the early fall in Montana. Although seasonal cooking can be a challenge it can be so rewarding. Be kind to yourself and don’t beat yourself up if you don’t use up the entire box — it’s hard to do, especially if you’re a CSA newbie!
5. Are you looking for a deal?
   Our CSA program is not a discount deal or a “buying in bulk” kind of bargain. It’s better to look at your CSA as a whole experience rather than a grocery trip. Supporting a CSA financially is not just about doing a cost analysis of each vegetable you receive in your box and comparing it to what you’d pay at the grocery store. People who fully embrace the CSA model don’t look for their membership to be a “deal” or a bargain. You probably can’t “shake the hand that feeds you” or taste that heirloom Solar Flare tomato or embark on new adventures in your kitchen when shopping at the supermarket. Our prices reflect our time, our labor and our cost of living as your farmers.

So what do you think? Are you ready to join us?

SIGN ME UP!        LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CSA

Remember, CSA is just one model out there for getting fresh farm-direct food to your table. For those who value the above points it can be a great opportunity to change the way you eat forever. But there’s no shame in passing on CSA and instead visiting the weekly farmers market. And in fact it may be a better fit for your style or needs. We do both and just want you to find the right fit! LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR MARKET SHARES>>>