Even though I grow some food in my back yard (just enough to snack, really), I've decided to sign on with a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program through Helsing Farm. For folks that don't know, a CSA is a crop-sharing program; you can pay for shares of a farm's harvest. Each week, you get a box full of produce that was pulled out of the ground, and depending on the size of the share you purchase (small or large) you end up with a healthy amount and variety of food. The pricing on the farms around here is about $450 for a small share and $650, and in both cases, you get a box of food every week for 4 months. That comes out to about $25 a week, which is more than I typically pay for vegetables... but I think it'll offset some of the crap that I've been eating -- you can't really go wrong with more vegetables.

Because the timing of the harvest makes for different boxes throughout the season, I've decided to keep a weekly log of what I received, to see if I'm really getting my money's worth, and to see what kind of variety I'm getting in my boxes. If nothing else, I'll be able to see that I'm eating all kinds of new things, and I'll know that I'm supporting the local agricultural market.

July 10, 2008:
1 bunch of carrots
1 bunch of rainbow chard
1 bunch of beets
2 bulbs of garlic
1 green bibb lettuce
1 bunch of cilantro
1 bunch of lavender
1 bag of peas (shell? snap?)