It's that time again! Time to spend time online, dig out your checkbooks, and choose which CSA is right for you and your family. Lest you protest that it is too early, let me remind you that the CSA farm needs to know how many clients they will have so they can order their seeds and get planting. In fact, some CSA's offer financial incentives to sign up early - even by March 1st (ONE week away!)
For a list of all CSA's available in Utah, visit Utah's Own website. For those, like me, in Salt Lake Valley and Davis counties, I'll list and weigh in on the options available for pickup here.
Bell Organic is a vegetables-only CSA: the only CSA in the area which is USDA Certified Organic. They are based out of Draper, UT: so for those in the SLC valley, they are the very closest farm you can find. Their season runs from 18-20 weeks based on weather, and cost for a 2-person share is $400. (They also offer some egg, cheese, fruit, and meat shares from other local farms, but slots for these shares are limited.) Pickup times and locations are very limited: you can pick up produce at their Draper location on Mondays from 5-7 pm, or a Downtown SLC location is available for Tuesday pickups from 5-7 pm.
If you watch the Bell Organic Blog, you'll also find some extra bonuses: regular recipes for the weekly produce, dates available to tour the fields, extra produce for sale on the side at the end of the season, and more!
Borski Farms operates out of Kaysville, UT, and provides a variety of organically grown vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Their season runs 15 weeks and cost for a 2-person share is $200. Pickup locations include Downtown SLC on Mondays, Sugarhouse on Wednesdays, and Kaysville, and Ogden on Fridays. For each of these locations pickup times run from 12:00-6:00 pm. I used and reviewed this CSA in 2008 and was very pleased with the variety and amount of produce I received for the price; you can see my final assessment on their last week of delivery here.
They also provided several mid-season newsletters with information and recipes, and they are part of a co-op which operates a locally produced vegetable and fruit stand in Kaysville.
East Farms operates out of West Pointe, UT, and provides an alarming amount of vegetables for the price. They operate over 150 acres of farmland, 30 of which are specifically set aside for CSA cultivation. Everything included in the shares is grown to meet organic standards. Their season runs for 18 weeks and cost for a 2-3 person share is $250 (sign up before March 1 for a 10% discount)! East Farms is by far the most widely available, with 16 pickup locations overall: 6 in Davis county and 9-10 in the Salt Lake Valley. Pickup is usually available any time after 4:00 pm. I used and reviewed this CSA in 2008 and was extremely pleased with the amount of produce I received for the price; you can see my final assessment on their last week of delivery here.
This season East Farms is adding an online membership tool to help offer additional member services, such as purchasing surplus or signing up for special share offers.
Zoe's Garden is based out of Layton, UT, and provides an astonishing variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and even meats all naturally grown and cultivated on-site. They boast the most thorough inventory offered by any CSA in Utah, and offer a Produce ID guide for those of their customers who can't figure out what their mystery vegetable is. Their season runs for 20 weeks and their smallest share is $736 ($700 for an early-bird special). They claim the small share is for one person who likes to eat vegetables daily, but seeing as how it contains on average 15 varieties of produce it might feed more. They have pickup locations in Downtown SLC, Sugarhouse, Sandy, Layton, and Ogden. Pickup times vary depending on location, but are usually 3-8 pm.
Zoe's garden also offers part-season shares, and some deliveries include eggs (chicken AND quail eggs) and honey.
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A note on 'organically grown' and 'naturally grown' food vs. Certified Organic standards: Certified Organic standards were implemented to protect the consumer and help provide truth in advertising, but they are very expensive to obtain, and that includes a several year waiting period. Those farms which claim to grow their produce according to organic standards but do not have this certification offer the consumer no guarantees or assurances.
However, the cost of actual certification is reflected in food prices. If you know and trust your local farmer, then produce grown organically by them is produce grown organically period, whether certified as such or not. That's the benefit of supporting your local economy!
This year will be a bit different for me and my husband. I had hoped to try out at least one new CSA, but we are moving from our apartment in Holladay to a new home in Bountiful. This is very exciting, but unfortunately there is only one convenient pickup within a few miles of our home: the East Farms pickup in Woods Cross.
I am more than happy to sign up for an East Farms share again, and I will keep you all updated on relative amounts and costs, same as last year. I'm also excited to try out the new online CSA membership option. I almost can't wait for fresh produce again - I've tentatively purchased some fresh produce from different grocers several times in the past few months, and regretted it every time. I'm going to need to freeze and store as much as possible, so I don't suffer next winter!
And finally, because I still have pumpkin puree in my freezer, I'll include the simplest ever pumpkin recipe:
-----Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies-----
2 c. pumpkin puree
1 box spice cake mix
2 T. butter, melted
12 oz. chocolate chips
Mix all ingredients together, drop onto cookie sheet, and bake 10-12 minutes at 350 F.
(Photo to be added when I get my new camera. I'm sure I'll still have puree at that time =P)
Saturday, February 21, 2009
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