Tucson community supported agriculture

CSA stands for community supported agriculture. Here in Tucson, we’re fortunate to have a well tuned source. The Tucson CSA offers three-month subscriptions, or “shares,” of local organic produce. A share consist of a weekly bag of fresh, local, naturally-grown produce, straight from the field to your table.

My share is every other week as opposed to weekly so instead of 13 weeks, I can choose 6 or 7 weeks. Pickups are on Tuesdays or Wednesdays from 4 to 7  p.m. in the courtyard of The Historic Y.
10 reasons to sign up for the summer Tucson CSA

1. Eat freshly picked pesticide free vegetables
2. Boost your healthy quotient
3. Support local sustainable farming (from Glendale, AZ)
4. Be part of a community of like minded people
5. Experiment with new recipes and cook creatively
6. Learn to like vegetables you never ate before
7. Learn to love new vegetables you never heard of before (tatsoi, anyone?)
8. Have the  opportunity to buy a limited supply of locally sourced grass fed pork, goat cheese, eggs
9. Be kinder to your environment
10. Have fun and break your eating routine

To be realistic, there are some “cons”.  They are:

• Every week or every other week, you have to drive to the Historic Y to pick up your share. (I personally don’t find it as a negative because it gets me out of the house and sometimes I meet friends on 4th Avenue for drinks or dinner.)
• A big con is if you’re a picky eater or you live with a picky eater who says, “Yech, what’s this?” then the CSA concept is not for you.

Tucson CSA is now accepting new members for the summer session. They also need volunteers to help on pick up days.

Any questions?

(Photo: This was my pickup for May 19 – 2 grapefruit, choice of a bag of Yukon gold potatoes or red LaSoda potatoes; Grand Canyon sweet onions, summer squash, wheat berries (I look forward to experimenting), winter bore kale, choice of baby artichokes or green onions, and salad mix).