Eating and Living Green: Joining a Long Island CSA

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By Rachel Derry
Staff Writer LIFamilies

In today’s society, the most popular trend is to be able to say you’re going green and getting healthy! Let’s face it: that’s not the easiest accomplishment in our fast paced world of coming and going. That’s where Long Island’s local farmers have come in, with their own helpful solution. Farmers have started to turn their farms into CSA’s.

CSA’s, or community supported agricultures, are a growing resource for hectic families who are looking for a way to eat and live green. Joining a CSA’s is very literally buying a share in a farm and their productivity. As a shareholder, you are entitled to a weekly share of produce from whichever farm you choose. Not only does shareholding allow for fresh, healthy eating habits all season long, but also provides more free time as shares are already packed and ready for pickup. Who wouldn’t want to spend a little less time in the grocery store, and a little more time…well, anywhere else!

Some CSA’s do require shareholder’s to work on their farm to truly say that they have a hand in the community supported agriculture. Before this starts to sound like a down side, think about it. What better way to stay green and healthy than to help out on the farm? Plus, the requirement is usually around 15 hours a season. Being that the season is usually June to November, the 15 hours shouldn’t take up too much of the extra time gained!

CSA’s are popping up all over the island as they grow in popularity. As more farms sell shares, the more variety is available to investors. When CSA’s initially started to ‘crop’ up, shareholders were mainly provided with their portion of whatever vegetables were grown. Now, as CSA’s are becoming more widely known and desired, there is a much broader horizon to invest in. Dairy farms are joining in, and creating cheese shares to provide organic cheeses to its investors for the season. There are also herb and flower shares, eggs shares, and even fruit shares. By finding the CSA that works best for your family, you can guarantee organic produce for your house hold throughout the year!

Long Island Green Living Articles > Eating and Living Green: Joining a Long Island CSA