Both my wife and I were pretty darn sick a few weeks back after eating out mexican and italian and having some raw tomatoes and other vegetables included in our meals. Symptoms were pretty much on target for mild salmonella poisoning.
CFB---can you explain how your CSA works? Do you get to pick what veggies you want?
Fairly simply. Whatever is ripe and in season gets picked and divided among the subscribers. You can buy a full or half share or split either with another person/family. So you may end up with a whole heck of a lot of something one week and not much of it the next. If theres something you dont like, you leave it and someone picking up late will get it as a bonus.
I kind of like it. Forces us to eat more vegetables and some we might not buy on our own. Sometimes its a bit onerous...ours produces way too frickin much basil and cilantro.
Some include fruit shares and egg shares. A couple I've seen have separate additional tomato shares or honey shares.
Ours operates year round, obviously having rather different things in the 'winter' than the summer.
The only thing that can potentially stink is if your farm gets hit with some sort of huge pestilence or drought and cant produce. You're on the hook for a little risk.
Some let you work at the farm or pick in exchange for reduced rates or larger shares. We trade fruit we grow on our property with ours in exchange for some more of whatever they have extra of. Rates are reasonable, about $25 a week for a half share and $40 for a full share. Full shares feed a family of four.
Last few weeks we've gotten basil, cilantro, tomatoes, green beans, long beans, beets, yukon gold and purple potatoes, carrots, baby greens, onions and garlic among other items.
Part of it is just the experience, especially for my son. Last couple of times the farmers let him poke around in the gardens, pull up some carrots and then eat them after a quick rinse, then he feeds their horses some apples. He's seeing his food, what it looks like when and where its grown, and enjoying it farm fresh.
Fairly straightforward for a family that lives on a farm. Worth a bit more to suburban parents
As a side bonus, since he got to pull up his own, he likes eating carrots and even asks for them on a regular basis.
Community Supported Agriculture - LocalHarvest
