This summer I partnered with Teal Tractor CSA to experience their CSA membership, and loved it! I got my last box of the season a few weeks ago and am so sad to go without the fresh, seasonal produce every week.
CSA stands for ‘community supported agriculture’. Essentially, instead of purchasing food from a farm you “invest” by becoming a member of a CSA and in turn receive a “share” in the form of fresh produce every week. There are different types of memberships, but through Teal Tractor I received a box of fresh fruit and vegetables (usually a higher percentage of vegetables) every week. You could pick up your box from the farm or several locations around Lexington. I elected to get the half share that is supposed to feed 1-2 people for a week, and honestly it was an abundance of food! I rarely needed to buy produce from the grocery to supplement. I also received fresh eggs and chicken from Clark Farm with my share box. I’m not going to be able to eat anything but farm fresh eggs now, you just don’t know the difference until you try!
As someone who considers grocery shopping a sport, it was so fun to open up my box each Monday and see what that week’s share contained. I received the freshest in-season fruits and veggies, which inspired me to make new recipes like this frittata and corn salad. There was always a good mix of my favorite produce and a few new or different things to try.
Five Reasons Why You Should Join a CSA
1. You support local farmers.
This is the biggest plus for me. I love finding ways to support local businesses. Teal Tractor CSA is operated out of Walnut Lawn Farm, which was founded in 1842 in Fayette County, and is run by a sixth-generation farm family. Katie James, the FarmHER behind Teal Tractor, says she was inspired to start the CSA because of her husband’s family’s strong presence within the local community due to agriculture. If every Kentucky family spent 10% of its food dollars on Kentucky Proud items, it would generate more than $500 million to Kentucky farms and agriculture-related businesses. If you’re going to spend it already – why not support local?
Katie says, “CSA member commitment ensures the farm will have a guaranteed outlet to sell their produce. Getting involved with the farm creates an interactive experience, learning how your food is grown, harvested and how to use it. Also, by paying up front, you are ensuring the farm sales throughout the season, providing income to purchase seeds, equipment and other things that typically require an operating loan.”
2. You get the freshest produce.
Talk about literal farm to table. The owners of Teal Tractor would post on their Instagram story as they were picking vegetables the day before we received our boxes! Fresh food also means more nutritious food that lasts longer in your refrigerator and tastes better. Don’t judge, but I actually ate a Teal Tractor pepper that I had forgotten in the back of my fridge for a few weeks and I swear it was still good! You also get to eat what’s in season at its peak. Because you have farmers who intimately know their crops, you are receiving produce picked at its prime! I loved following the produce cycle all the way from spring onions to summer tomatoes to fall squash.
3. You get to try new foods you wouldn’t normally purchase.
There were definitely a few items I received that I had to google! I know now what kohlrabi is 😉 Teal Tractor sent out a weekly email about your share box contents that was so informative. It included a full list of the produce you would receive, how to cook foods that may be new to you, photos and lots of recipes. I would say 90% of the contents of each box was produce I would normally purchase. I personally love trying new foods and being inspired to eat something outside the norm. If I ever got something I wouldn’t be able to cook, I just brought it to my office to share with coworkers so it didn’t go to waste.
4. You save money!
Teal Tractor’s half share for 20 weeks costs $350, coming out to $17.50 per week. For the amount of produce you receive, I estimate you would pay almost double at the grocery and even more at the farmer’s market. I always had enough produce to last me the entire week, and some leftover (keeping in mind that I was usually cooking for 1-2 people.) For example one box in the peak of the summer may have included 8 ears of corn, 5 tomatoes, a bunch of cherry tomatoes, 5 peppers, 4 zucchini, 4 squash, 2 cucumbers and a watermelon. If the cost is unrealistic for you, I would suggest splitting a share with a friend and switching off who gets the box each week – you still get a ton of produce.
5. You get involved with your local community.
In a sense you are joining a community when you join a CSA. One of my favorite things about Teal Tractor besides all the delicious produce is that they offer events and opportunities to get to know other share holders. There was an end of season potluck dinner and you can even visit the farm to pick corn. Katie says unique advantages to joining a CSA include sharing recipes, meeting neighbors and networking with others in your community, and providing feedback to improve the CSA for the following year.
FAQS
Y’all sent me a couple questions about CSAs I’ll cover here.
Do you always use everything in the box or feel like it goes to waste?
I personally hate food waste and try my hardest to avoid it. If I have produce going bad, I try and cook it and freeze it to eat later (I’ll be sharing more about this in a post soon.) That being said, even the half share was more food than I needed for one person since I eat out a fair bit. For two people who cook at home, I think it’s the perfect amount of food.
I’m a picky eater, would I like a CSA?
Like I said above, there were a few uncommon items in the boxes, but the majority of the produce was food I’d normally buy. If you like tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, potatoes, melon, berries, kale, broccoli, cucumber, apples, squash.. you’re in the clear!
Thanks to Teal Tractor CSA for providing me with a membership in partnership for this post. As always, all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands who support Lex Eats! If you’re interested in signing up for Teal Tractor CSA for the 2019 season, fill out this form and make sure to follow them on Instagram to stay in the loop.
Biscuits & blessings,
Leels
