Farms around the country are taking subscriptions. As part of a CSA (community-supported agriculture), subscribers pay a set fee and each week get a bundle of produce, meats and/or eggs. Farmers get cash upfront for operating expenses; customers get fresh local food, plus the satisfaction of knowing the person who grew it. That model is being applied elsewhere:
In the kitchen. Salt, Fire & Time in Portland, Ore. (saltfireandtime.com) is a community-supported kitchen, or CSK. Customers pay roughly $40 a week for a box of prepared food items, which include a broth, a stew or meaty entree, a side of beans or grains, cultured vegetables and a dessert. “I try to market it by saying that you can add $10 worth of fresh ingredients to a box and it will feed you for a week,” says owner and chef Tressa Yellig. “These are very nutritious and concentrated food items, so they don't need to be eaten at full strength.”
At sea. At Port Clyde Fresh Catch CSF, or community-supported fishery, in Port Clyde, Maine (portclydefreshcatch.com) you can sign up for a weekly portion of seafood. Mainers pay $30 for 6 pounds of locally caught raw shrimp.
On the dairy farm. In many states, raw (unpasteurized) milk cannot be sold in stores for fear of pathogens and food-borne illness. But many people believe it contains enzymes and bacteria that aid in digestion. (Note that the Food and Drug Administration warns against drinking such milk.) Places such as Jersey Girls Farm in Florence, Colo. (rawmilkshares.com) offer a “share” of a dairy cow for a one-time fee of $40, plus a monthly boarding fee of $35. In return, you get a gallon of full-fat, raw milk each week.
You can find a CSA near you at localharvest.org/csa. To find a fishery, dairy or kitchen near you, do a Web search with those terms and your town.
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