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Monday, May 30, 2005

Dining for Redemption

Back in a previous life, when I was taking a (wonderful) childbirth and newborn care course here in Manhattan, the subject of cloth vs. disposable diapers came up. My teacher echoed something my most ecologically extreme friend once said: diapers are a disaster no matter what you do- if you aren't contributing to landfill, you're using enormous amounts of water, electricity and soap. She advocated instead that we all think about participating in sustainable agricultural efforts.

I have a powerful "each to his own" feeling about the diaper debate, but I did just learn about a local "Community Supported Agriculture" (CSA) movement in the New York City area that might edge me closer towards cleaner, dare I say, more virtuous living. The Just Food web site gives people access to CSA farms, where they can buy "shares" in a farm's harvest during the winter. Throughout the growing season (June through November) participants get to pick up fresh produce every week. In New York City, you collect your box of certified organic produce a local distribution sites. Farm shares cost about fifteen dollars per week, and for that you get 7-10 types of vegetables, which should satisfy 2-3 people.

Has anyone tried this service, or anything like it? I'm terribly tempted to try it, but I must confess my culinary imagination, skills and patience are rather limited, and there are a number of foods I simply don't go for. I have a sense that the autumn weeks might be heavy on the butternut squash I dislike, and that the season would start too late for the ramps I have recently learned to covet. Sadly, my good intentions get hung up when I realize my freedom of choice is limited.

Still, I would love to know if it works, and perhaps spreading the word about Community Supported Agriculture will help mitigate, if not eradicate some of my own ecological shortcomings, giving me a little virtue by proxy.

posted by Elise at 10:43 AM

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7 Comments:

parodie said...

My partner & I had shares in a CSA farm this winter (and got winter storage veggies, etc., as well as some awesome frozen soups). It was a tad on the expensive side, but I appreciated the challenge of new foods that I never would've personally bought (e.g. I'd never cooked butternut squash, or rutabaga, or...etc).
It was fun, and I approached it as a learning experience. I liked it, and would do it again. Organically- and locally-grown _tastes_ different (I especially noticed this in the carrots - they tasted like carrots from my mom's garden, surprise surprise, not like the ones from the store).

So I would say that if you can afford it and are up for a challenge, go for it. It's definitely worth it. But if you're like me, you'll probably want a good cookbook on hand to figure out what to do with some veggies (kale? chard? etc.).

5/30/2005 2:36 PM

treasa said...

my husband and i run a very small CSA in north carolina. this is our first year, but we were already familiar with the idea. i say go for it...you may be suprised with what you get throughout the season. not only that, but you'll probably get much better TASTING produce than from the store. a lot of CSAs also include recipes for the lesser known items. i'm not sure about NYC, but CSAs in our area often hold get-togethers so that you can actually meet the farmers. another website with a national CSA directory is www.localharvest.org.

5/31/2005 12:00 PM

Anonymous said...

you don't have to use diapers. use the method mothers all over the world use - diaper free.

check out
http://www.natural-wisdom.com/

for more info

6/02/2005 2:05 PM

The Unwelcome said...

And if you can still eat lunch after reading the website posted above by anonymous you are a stronger person than I am. Who is that woman in the FAQ on that page? Isn't that a salad bowl? How do I make sure she never invites me over for a salad? I have changed my share of diapers, and let me say here that I'm glad to have 'em.

[/derail]

6/07/2005 1:13 PM

mary p said...

There is a great plan in London, where I live, and I'm sure must be some back in the States (where I'm from). It is about the same price & they deliver a box of organic veggies every week. You can tell them a "don't like" so they never deliver it, and tell them "favorites" so they always do (if in season). It's really fabulous!!!!

https://www.abel-cole.co.uk/

6/14/2005 5:01 PM

Anonymous said...

A friend in Clinton Hill was part of a CSA farm coop, and she always had the best veggies. The only catch was that she had to pick them up on Thursdays at a specific time, so sometimes when she had to work, I picked them up for her. The produce really were great - we'd often make dinner together - and they inspired her to cook interesting and new dishes.
-lexi

6/20/2005 3:09 PM

Anonymous said...

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2/23/2007 5:10 AM

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