Putting the “Community” in Community Supported Agriculture

I chose my current living space with my then-roommate with hopes that it would be a place to experience “community.”  Living in a college town as a young working professional has its challenges, and we both have a value for building relationships with neighbors.  (She even moved away to do an internship related to community development - not because I wasn't a fabulous roommate.  At least, that's what she said.)  


However, this apartment is in a cluster of generally low-income dwellings largely inhabited by young families.  There is a great deal of turnover, and most people keep to themselves.  Not yet having kids or a dog, and spending most of the day at work, my opportunities to interact with the people living around me are limited.  So I spent the first year-and-a-half after college very frustrated with my community living experience.

I finally realized that, since I spend most of my time at work, maybe that was a place to start investing more.  So we started a sustainability committee to look at our use of resources in the office environment, and as a side project, I began to recruit people to try out my CSA group.  Another worker already happened to be a member of that farm, and there are now five of us receiving boxes delivered directly to our office every-other-week.  It’s inspired lots of conversations about food, recipes, granola living, and other things that are not work-related.  It’s awesome.  

If you’d like to start your own group, whether at the office, in your apartment complex, with your playgroup, at your church, check out Local Harvest to find a CSA near you.  If you live in California, Farm Fresh to You will deliver weekly organic nuts and fresh fruit snacks for your whole office!  Now, if they would only add in graham crackers and nap time...


Shared over at Your Green Resource