I’m already a pretty big fan of supporting your local farmer, and YOU all are my wonderful community- so “Community Supported Agriculture” is an obvious sweet spot.
**Updated 2/21/2023 with current links**
Turnip Rock Farm’s very own Farmer Josh
CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) have been around for in some form or another since the mid 1980’s- which first struck me as a much shorter history than I’d imagined. But, then I realized that the CSA idea came about jointly from both Farmers and consumers looking for new ways to grow good food- and eat good food.
This was one way to make a concrete change in how those consumers ate, and who grew their food. The basic idea of a CSA is that farmers get the purchase price up front to help cover costs of the upcoming farming season. With farmers knowing that they have that money, they are able to move forward with confidence, and maybe without a bank breathing down their necks…
Half Share from 2017, Photo Credit: Big River Farms
The rewards for a member of a CSA are manyfold; fresh in-season produce boxed up and ready to go weekly at a pick up location of your choice, often with a newsletter or recipe ideas included. As I see it, the biggest reward is building a relationship with a farmer.
My husband and I purchased our first CSA back about nine years ago to get fresh, locally grown produce while I was still working full time. It is kind of funny that I can’t remember the name of the farm, but I do remember I picked up my weekly boxes from one of the quaint little shops (The Nest) in downtown White Bear Lake. I never met the farmer, and there was never an invite from the farmer to do so.
CSAs give you a few of everything each week, instead of everything all at once! Photo Credit, Costa Farm
Things have changed, on both the farmer and the consumer sides. Farmers are being more proactive in forging relationships, and consumers are looking for more than good food grown cheap- more and more, the people buying CSAs are doing it for a chance to connect to a farm, a farmer, a piece of land…and to benefit from the GOOD food these farmers provide.
Now that the CSA idea has had time to take root- it has also branched out in a few different directions. For this article, I’ve chosen a few local farms that represent the wide variety of options available to those of us lucky enough to live around the Twin Cities. Each of the following farms has a unique twist to them, showing again there’s so many ways to grow good food!
I would absolutely recommend any of the farms covered- but I’d also urge you to do your own research too, there are more and more (yay!) CSAs popping up every year. Currently, according the powerful MNGrown CSA search engine there are 86 CSAs in Minnesota. Use these ‘case studies’ as a launch pad to get yourself thinking what you want out of a CSA…
All Good Organics
*Small Family Farm- Close to home- ALL Organic*
Hello Broccoli! Photo Credit: All Good Organics
This is the family farm that decided to build their own little Farm Store instead of packing up and taking their food to Farmers Markets. Their Farm Store is open year-round 8am-8pm and is run mostly on the honesty policy. Butch and Kristine do things their own way, and wow- is it working! This is truly your local, organic family run farm. You could go and pick out your veggies each week from what’s out in the farm stand, but you’re guaranteed the first flush of veggies if you sign up for the CSA. They grow over 70 varieties of veggies. They also have eggs, meat chickens and whole and half hogs available for purchase. They’re open to possible farm tours and have a hay wagon at the ready.
For those of you that made it out to the last White Bear Lake Winter Farmer’s Market, this was the farmer table with all the fresh produce- and awesome sour kraut, salsa and frozen veggies. Butch mentioned how excited they are for this up-coming growing season, “We already have spinach, Romaine, Radish, Kale growing in green house now and available.”
While they currently have on farm pick up for their CSA, if there was a group of 10 or more CSA members they’d be happy to deliver. Get your office together and give All Good a try this Summer! This farming duo will quickly become friends, give them a call with any questions, they’re always ready to listen!
Full Share, All Good Organics Photo Credit
All Good Organics
CSA WAY
6657 Centerville Rd, Lino Lakes, MN16 Weeks
On Farm Pick Up
BIG RIVER FARMS
*Farming for social justice*
Big River Farms covers over 60 acres of pastoral land, with 10-15 of those in production each year. They educate marginalized, often immigrant farmers on growing organic in Minnesota. Here’s my full Story on them.
When you purchase one of these CSAs you are directly supporting previous farming students from their programs.
May Lee of Mohnpaj’s Garden; one of Big River Farms students turned Mentor.
This farm’s mission has recently joined efforts with The Food Group of Minneapolis, a non-profit food bank. Together they are making real strides in ending the cycle of hunger and empowering the next generation of farmers along the way.
This usually have around 20 farmers in their Education Program, some are full time on the farm, others have land elsewhere and attend classes. We will be sourcing from 6-10 farmers for the CSA who come from many cultures- Hmong, Karen, Somali, Oromo, and right here in Minnesota.
Full Share, Big River Farms Photo Credit
Big River Farms CSA WAY
14420-B Ostlund Trail North, Marine on St. Croix, MN18 weeks
12+ drop sites
Costa’s Farm and Greenhouse
*Trusted Quality and Food Safety*
Costa Farm opens their on-farm roadside stand mid July!
Costa’s Farm and Greenhouse is not only the closest to me, they are one of the largest acreage farms to offer a CSA option in the area. They provide produce to wholesalers in the area as well, so you know their quality is top notch. They also take food safety very seriously, and have been USDA Food Safety Certified for the last 6 years. I swung by their farm last summer to check them out and was impressed! Here’s a link so you can read the Full Article. They’ve also added a “mini-share” to accommodate singles, small families or those that are busy and out of town a lot.
They’re opening up their doors so we can meet the growers and see where your produce is grown. Costa’s is hosting Farm Tours on June 15th and 16th from 10AM-2PM! Just another way they’re working with the community. As Karin said, “When a family signs up for a CSA share from Costa Farm it confirms our commitment of working hard to bring fresh, safe, food to our community and it also brings us pride knowing they trust in our farm organization. We truly appreciate our members!” And it shows in their picture perfect produce.
Fresh Veggies, Photo Credit Costa Farm
Costa’s CSA WAY
9411 Dellwood Road, White Bear Lake, MN14 weeks
Over 35 drop sites
THE GOOD ACRE
*Community of farmers + Amazing add-ons*
Group effort packing up CSA Boxes, Photo Credit The Good Acre
I hung out at The Good Acre a while back to understand more about what all this Food Hub does on the East side of the Twin Cities. Full article HERE. One of the most impressive pieces to their food cycle help, is the way they bring together so many farmers to offer the public a unique “Farm Share”. The new term represents their CSA well because of the large number (20+ this season) of different farmers working together to grow for you. While not all organic, “Growers verify that they are using growing practices we deem safe for the land, air, and water around their farms. They are able to do that with the help of their full-time Grower Support Specialist, David VanEeckhout. David has over 20 years of organic farming experience, and he works very close with TGA’s growers during the season to help them with crop planning, pest and disease management, as well as soil fertility and growing in hoop houses,” Nikki Warner, TGA’s Marketing Manager explained. The farmers own their own land, but use the power of group sourcing with TGA as a way to market their produce more effectively. The results are delicious.
The other reason this CSA made the list is their truly phenomenal list of possible add-ons. Because part of TGA’s Food Hub is their community kitchen where many local food producers got their start, they have access to an amazing array of hand crafted products made from locally sourced foods. Such as: breads, honey eggs, jams, kimchi, kombucha, salsa. I know, I’m drooling too.
Mid Season CSA, Photo Credit The Good Acre
The Good Acre CSA WAY
1790 Larpenteur Avenue West, Falcon Heights, MN18 weeks
26 + Drop sitesThe Good Acre CSA ONLINE SIGN UP
Many of these farms have early bird pricing that is almost up, so check them out while the getting is good- and if you’ve been on the fence about jumping in and buying a CSA, hop down off that fence and into that greener pasture- you AND your farmer will be happy you did!
Can’t wait to Dig In,
Michelle
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