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This is a follow-up to my post exploring the options for buying humanely raised meat and then locally produced vegetables via CSAs.
CSA stands for Community-Supported Agriculture. Members pay up front to join the club for the growing season. Then from late spring through early fall, you get a box of vegetables each week in an Iron Chef challenge that often includes unfamiliar vegetables. From what I've heard, it can be hard to chow through everything each week. Typically, you get more than enough vegetables for your money. To retrieve your vegetables, you either meet up at a specified drop-off point or pick up at the farm and in one case, they even delivered right to you. For meat, it seems to come in frozen cuts once a month (also at pick-up points).
To my surprise, a lot of the popular ones are already sold out. I'm looking to feed just 2 adults but not all of the farms had a small or half-share option. For vegetables, prices ranged from $250 to $600 for the season. Meat was about $7 per pound.
I'm probably going to go with Busa Farms because they allow me more control over what I'll get and how much at a time. So I can load up on zucchini if I want or skip buying any vegetables on a week when I'll be out of town. Plus they were the cheapest option and I'm not entirely sure how this is going to work for me. They also let you go to the farm and pick your own for some crops so I'm really looking forward to picking corn again. I used to have a backyard garden and I really miss that flavor.
I've started buying meat from Whole Foods but reading Michael Pollan's book, Omnivore's Dilemma makes me unsure whether or not the animals are really truly out and about doing their animal thing. For meat, it'll likely be Chestnut Farms and that's just because they're probably going to be the first one to take me off their waitlist. (I could've bought from Pete and Jen's but I didn't get my order in fast enough.) The limiting factor for the meat farmers seems to be getting access to a slaughterhouse. A local slaughterhouses had burned to the ground and now she said she's been driving the animals out to NH and NY to have them slaughtered and processed.
I collected my notes and am posting them in case anyone else is looking for this kind of information.
( Click to see my notes on various sources for local meat and vegetables around Boston )
CSA stands for Community-Supported Agriculture. Members pay up front to join the club for the growing season. Then from late spring through early fall, you get a box of vegetables each week in an Iron Chef challenge that often includes unfamiliar vegetables. From what I've heard, it can be hard to chow through everything each week. Typically, you get more than enough vegetables for your money. To retrieve your vegetables, you either meet up at a specified drop-off point or pick up at the farm and in one case, they even delivered right to you. For meat, it seems to come in frozen cuts once a month (also at pick-up points).
To my surprise, a lot of the popular ones are already sold out. I'm looking to feed just 2 adults but not all of the farms had a small or half-share option. For vegetables, prices ranged from $250 to $600 for the season. Meat was about $7 per pound.
I'm probably going to go with Busa Farms because they allow me more control over what I'll get and how much at a time. So I can load up on zucchini if I want or skip buying any vegetables on a week when I'll be out of town. Plus they were the cheapest option and I'm not entirely sure how this is going to work for me. They also let you go to the farm and pick your own for some crops so I'm really looking forward to picking corn again. I used to have a backyard garden and I really miss that flavor.
I've started buying meat from Whole Foods but reading Michael Pollan's book, Omnivore's Dilemma makes me unsure whether or not the animals are really truly out and about doing their animal thing. For meat, it'll likely be Chestnut Farms and that's just because they're probably going to be the first one to take me off their waitlist. (I could've bought from Pete and Jen's but I didn't get my order in fast enough.) The limiting factor for the meat farmers seems to be getting access to a slaughterhouse. A local slaughterhouses had burned to the ground and now she said she's been driving the animals out to NH and NY to have them slaughtered and processed.
I collected my notes and am posting them in case anyone else is looking for this kind of information.
( Click to see my notes on various sources for local meat and vegetables around Boston )
