An Easy Eat-Local Strategy

Pay the local farmer for your veggies upfront, and share in the harvest as it comes. Simple. Community Supported Agriculture has been increasingly popular across the country, as people look for ways to eat fresh healthy foods, reduce the food miles their dinners travel, and support local farms. CSAs, as they are known, supply members with a portion of the harvest, in exchange for an upfront payment and an understanding that not every crop will come in as expected. Many CSAs grow with organic methods, though the U.S. Department of Agriculture requirements for certification mean that many cannot label their produce "organic." For those concerned about the environmental impact of their food choices, eating local is as or more important as eating organic. The ongoing investigation into tainted pet food has demonstrated how little even food regulators know about the origins of food on grocery store shelves. This is one way to know the origins of your food so well that you can shake the hand of the man or woman who pulled your carrots from the ground. To find a CSA near you, use this database: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/