A CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture is a great way to to support local farmers and their families while getting some amazing farm fresh produce. I have found it to be a wonderful mix of foods that I’m familiar with such as zucchini and foods that require a Google search such as kohlrabi.

Typically with a CSA you pay for your share before you get it. Often farms will offer payment plans to customers that sign up ahead of time. The cost can vary depending on where you are, how long the share is, organic, etc. Also sometimes you can get a discount if you buy multiple seasons. For example a local farm near me offers a discount if you bundle winter, spring and or summer shares. You may also have the option of add ons like picking your own vegetables, flowers, etc. Some also offer meat and egg shares.

What I have discovered this year is that some farms also offer what is called a work share. This is a great option for people (such as myself) who want to stretch their food dollars a little further. Basically you work in exchange for your share.  I am participating in this type of program and in exchange for my time I get my CSA for free. I pay for any additional items I may want that the farm offers . If you are not able to do the physical work of farming don’t let this discourage you. After looking at several farms I have found that physical work is not the only option. One farm near me offers a CSA to people living in Boston and one of the work share options is to pick up the produce at the farm and drive it into the city to the pick up location. Another offered the work share to work the farm stand during CSA pick up hours.  It is a great way to meet people, and if you are working the farm to learn how to do it. Personally I plan to someday turn my yard… or at least some of it into my own mini farm (sorry Andy) . I am great at getting things to grow, but could use a little help keeping them alive. My time on the farm so far has been a great learning experience to help me have more success when the time comes to plant my own garden, and if we are being honest, working on the farm and getting my vegetables that way is way more cost effective then the initial start up cost of a garden, so I might as well learn first before spending the time and money to get it started.

For those that like to budget a CSA can be a great option. You know what you are paying ahead of time (or are working for), and since you’ve paid for it ahead of time (or are getting for free ) that’s one less thing you need to buy at the grocery store. The only catch (at least for me since I’m relatively new to this CSA) is there is a bit of a learning curve. You don’t always know what you are getting ahead of time . From my own personal experience this created a little confusion, and sadly waste, when I was first starting out. I love to meal plan, like really really love to meal plan. All the sudden I realized my detailed menu planning wouldn’t work the way I have been always doing it.

I tried a few different things. Here is my different methods of meal planning with my CSA, and I use a combination of these methods depending on my week, what I have leftover, and if there are any great sales at the store.

1. Wait until you get your CSA share to plan anything. For me this has been a challenge as I like to plan ahead of time, however it is probably one of the easier ways to do this. Once you have your share evaluate what you have and plan around it. If needed adjust your shopping day around when you get your CSA share. When I use this method I take a picture of the board saying what I am getting . Once I get home I look over this list and start to build my menu. If there is a lot of lettuce for example I know there will be a few salads. If there is squash I will make things with squash as a side or this week I am planning on making zucchini boats.  Try to use the items that will perish first.

2. Plan out what meat you will be eating and then determine how you are cooking it based on what you are getting.  I did this the other day at the grocery store because the 4th of July means great sales on meat. I had no clue exactly what I was getting, but since I’m starting to get the hang of this (kind of) I knew there would be zucchini and cucumbers, probably carrots etc. So I just went into my grocery store bought the staples I needed like canned tomatoes (only until tomato season starts), fruit, dairy products and then the meat on sale. I also made note in my calendar the use by date of the meat so I could freeze it before it went bad incase I didn’t need it right away . You can either plan out what day you are eating the meat then decide how you are cooking it, or combine this with the above method and figure out what you are making after you have everything. I go simple. I know I like to have a couple crockpot meals for busy nights so I get meats that go well in the crockpot. I also keep a package or two of kielbasa or precooked sausage so I can quickly throw that in a skillet with some cut up veggies. Frozen burgers can also be great with a plate of fresh cucumbers.  Root vegetables are great roasted and paired with pretty much any meat.

Note: Having a well stocked pantry makes this much easier, even if you aren’t a part of a CSA. Things like soy sauce, bbq sauce, tomato sauce, canned beans etc make throwing a meal together very easy.

3. When all else fails process and freeze (or can it if you know how). I have done this a few different ways. Greens go well with eggs so I have made egg bakes and frozen them. I have pureed things like kale with some lemon and water and made into ice cubes for smoothies. Most things can be frozen with a little prep. At the beginning of the season there were so many greens. I found you can eat the greens of a lot of plants and I didn’t want to waste anything edible. Most greens are great in smoothies, or can be tossed into soups or even turned into a pesto. Word of caution with some greens. Some are spicy. I found, if you put greens like radish or turnips greens in your smoothie drink it fast. When they are still frozen it is not noticeable, but as soon as it starts to thaw it’ll start to show it’s spice. It actually wasn’t bad, but I would probably pair with a sweeter fruit next time to balance the flavors, it caught me off guard.
You can also make things like zucchini bread and sauces and freeze those. This week I plan to make a stash of zucchini muffins and toss them in my freezer.

If you are freezing things I would highly suggest for keep a list of what you are putting in your freezer. Doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep a list on your freezer or make one on your phone. Just make a list, it’s easy to forget what you are putting in there.

My last suggestion for meal planning with a CSA share is to have fun with it. Don’t over think it. You may love everything, there may be things you might not love as much. I discovered this year I love kohlrabi, something I may honestly never have purchased myself because it was a little intimidating.  Try things raw, try things cooked. I see it as an adventure or challenge because I want to make wonderful meals, save money, and most importantly waste as little as possible. At first I allowed myself to be stressed over it, and it really took the fun out of it. Now I am much more relaxed. I bring home my share, process what I can that day, and make note of what needs to be processed. It has also been a great excuse to spend a little too much time on Pinterest. Just enjoy it and know you are supporting local families, and helping the environment by not getting your zucchini in plastic packaging.

Enjoy!