Last October I reviewed a book called “In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan. This book had a lot of great information and I highly recommend it to everyone reading. One of the pieces of information that I pulled out of the book and included in my review was the community supported agriculture concept. This is what I wrote back in October:
Another thing that I picked up from reading this book was the existence of community supported agriculture (CSA). With CSA, a consumer pays a set dollar amount to buy a “share” in the farm’s produce; their share comes in the form of a weekly or monthly box of produce that are grown at the farm. This is a good idea for a variety of reasons including the freshness of the items, supporting the local economy, and creating a sustainable method of getting food on your plate.
Pretty interesting, huh? Well, I’ve kept this idea in my head for the last few months and this past weekend I joined the Merrick Farm CSA program in Farmingdale, NJ by purchasing a half share for the coming season. The half share costs $375 (which I’ll split 50/50 with one of my roommates) and entitles me to a weekly box of vegetables, herbs, some fruits, and other 100% certified organic offerings grown at the farm, which is about fifteen minutes from my house. The length of time that the share is active runs from the first week of June through the last week of October – 22 weeks in total. The weekly cost of the share is about $17 ($8.50 per week once I split it with my roommate). There’s no way I’d be able to get a box of organic vegetables each week and spend only $8.50! Plus, the farmer suggested that we might be able to begin getting some produce earlier than the first week of June, but it’s a long shot.
I’m hoping that this turns out to be a good deal. I did some preliminary research on the farm everyone has good things to say about it. During my visit this past Saturday I liked what I saw and I was very happy with the information that I received. More on my involvement in the CSA program as it comes…
Hi,
I saw you mentioned Merrick Farm… I just went to visit today and am joining the CSA as well. Thanks for all the information!
Rob
Great! I’m glad that you found the Merrick Farm through this web page. I liked the few minutes that I spent there last week and I really think that it is a blockbuster deal when you think about it (where else can you get 22 weeks worth of organic food at that price?!).
This will be my second season with Merrick Farm. It is a great experience, lots of food, and the comraderie (sp?) alone is worth it. I have met alot of great people there and have tried some new veggies I may have not tried in the past. Sharing of recipes is encouraged! It is very relaxing for me picking my own food that I will be cooking for my family later that day. You can definitely taste the difference of that fresh picked picked lettuce. I cant wait till harvest time!!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.