One of the things we look forward to every summer is the local farmers’ market. This summer we took it one step further and signed up for a local CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, we purchased a ’share’ of the produce from Simmon’s Farm, which is right here on the island. At the beginning of the season, we forked over some cash in exchange for a weekly supply of local veggies, meat, eggs, and even goat cheese. It works out to about $30 per week. For that we get a dozen free-range chicken eggs, a pound of grass-fed beef (or a whole chicken, or a surprise like the spare ribs this week), some goat cheese, and enough salad and vegetables to keep us eating healthily all week. I’d wager that buying the same stuff at the grocery store would cost more than $30.

We participated in the winter season’s CSA, but that was mostly meat and eggs. Now that it’s summer, we’ve got more veggies than we know what to do with: radishes, Swiss chard, broccoli rabe, spinach, mesclun, kale, and potted herbs that we can grow at home (we chose rosemary). Half the fun is hunting for new recipes to showcase a vegetable we haven’t tried before. We’ve found The Joy of Cooking to be indispensable as a reference on what to do with vegetables like radishes. I mean, who eats radishes anymore? Well, it turns out, if you can find them fresh and local, everyone should be eating them. The root is very tasty when eaten raw, and the greens are good when cooked with a little garlic and olive oil.

In addition to the good food, pickup days have proven to be a great time to meet people. We showed up yesterday afternoon to find a cluster of about 15 people collecting their goods or waiting to have their names checked off the list. Just about everyone had a couple of canvas bags. People traded recipes and shared news, and I felt like I’d rediscovered a community event that’s been lost in this age of supermarkets and fast food.

If you’re interested in finding a CSA in your area (and if you like good, fresh food, I highly recommend it), visit localharvest.org to find one. If you’re interested in reading more about how we get our food in general, take a look at Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma. That book is where Danielle and I first heard about the CSA concept.