Local food through Community-Shared Agriculture (CSA)

Written by Denise Deby.

Spring in Ottawa brings many wonderful things—including more fresh, local food choices. Farmers’ markets start opening in May, community gardening is underway, and if you have your own garden you’ll know that it’s planting time. If you need help finding food that’s produced in and around Ottawa, check out Just Food’s “How To Eat Local” guide and its Buy Local map.

One way to eat local is through Community-Shared or Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA). With CSA, you sign up with a local farm to purchase a share of their produce over the season. In many cases, you’ll receive seasonal produce every week. Farmers benefit by having confirmed clients for a period of time, and purchasers benefit by having an ongoing source of fresh food. CSAs are also a way for farmers and consumers to connect with each other. A variation of CSAs, food boxes, can be an affordable or flexible option, too.

I’m getting my first CSA order in a couple of weeks, and can hardly wait. (We’re sharing a Roots and Shoots Farm CSA with another family to make it more manageable over the summer.) I’ll be telling you more about CSA options as Green Living Ottawa has received a few guest posts on CSA and local farms which we’ll be posting over the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, for more information about how CSA works, check out Just Food’s website or watch this video courtesy of Dawghaus Studios and Apt613: