Let the Season Begin!

It's time for us to begin our CSA! Community Supported Agriculture is a simple, yet elegant, concept. For any of you who know me, you have seen the question "Do you know your farmer?" at the end of every email and on my business card.

Well, do you?

If you belong to a CSA, chances are you do. CSAs allow us city folks to invest in a local farm. In Eat Outside the Box, we invest season by season and reap dividends in the form of weekly deliveries of fresh locally grown organic fruits and vegetables. The amount and variety are never the same. Sometimes what we get is not really what we were expecting or necessarily what we want. But what we get is seasonal, grown locally, with great care. Our arugula is picked leaf by leaf -- by hand -- washed, and packed just for us. Our vicious varietal artichokes and stinging nettles, so full of potential pain, yield great pleasure with each bite.

We eat what the farm grows and in this way, we learn a little about the farmers who nurture that growth. We learn about why the farmer has chosen a particular green. We can eat our farm's products in local restaurants and feel a sense of ownership. We belong to the farm and it belongs to us. We ingest it physically, intellectually and emotionally.

So, with the start of the season, I am ready to get to know my farmers better. To feel the sense of connection to the earth and my community through eating.