It’s been just over a year since we moved from Boston down to Chattanooga and I signed up to be part of the CSA (community supported agriculture) program at Big Sycamore Farm. It’s one of the best choices I’ve ever made! I’ve been able to cook with and eat so much amazing local produce over the past year, and having a curated box has pushed me out of my cooking comfort zone and made me come up with some creative recipes I never would have thought of otherwise. Also, since the spring I’ve been doing a work share, which means that instead of paying for my box I go up to the farm about once a week and spend the morning working for my box. As someone who’s new to town and doesn’t have a ton of friends yet, I’ve loved having the chance to hang with the family that owns the farm and get a bit of fresh air and exercise while learning about farming. I get a lot of questions about my CSA, so I wanted to dedicate a post to explaining it and sharing the photos of the bountiful boxes I’ve received over the past year. (You may have already seen some of them on Instagram, but here they are all in one place. All of these are iPhone photos, so I apologize if they’re not totally sharp!)

What is a CSA?

CSA stands for community supported agriculture and is also often called a farm share. Basically you pay (usually a lump sum up front) for a share of the farm’s produce over the course of a season. Each week you get a bag or box with a selection of vegetables and/or fruits (some farms also offer CSAs that include eggs or meat). Part of the idea of a CSA is that you and the farmers share in the potential risks of growing food: if weather or other events lead to a bad season, you may not get quite as much or quite as wide a selection in your box. CSA members help farmers plan and pay for their crops since they know at the beginning of the season that they have a guaranteed demand for a certain amount of produce each week. Some CSAs require you to pick up your box at the farm, some bring boxes to various pickup locations, such as local farmers markets, and some may even offer delivery. When I do my work share I pick up my box at the farm, and otherwise I pick it up at my neighborhood farmers market.  Find a CSA near you over on the Local Harvest site.

What is a work share?

A work share means that you actually go to the farm and help out in exchange for your box. Don’t worry if you’re too busy–most farms do not require that members do a work share, so you can simply pay for your CSA. When I first started doing a work share I was worried about the time commitment. Since my farm is flexible, they allowed me to pay half price for the CSA and work a shorter amount of time: just 8 mornings in exchange for about 6 months of produce. The fall season is shorter, so I’m doing a full work share: it’s one morning of work in exchange for each weekly box.

What kind of work do you do at the farm?

I help out with whatever’s going on that day, which has included weeding, planting seeds, transplanting seedlings, harvesting and washing produce, watering plants, clearing out beds, and feeding animals. It’s all been really fun and some days it’s physically exhausting, but it’s always rewarding and eye-opening. If you decide to do a work share, I recommend you bring/wear these things: lots of water and snacks, a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug spray, and boots or old sneakers.

As a bonus, doing a work share at my farm means you get a little extra in your box each week and you also get more choice. Big Sycamore farm lets its work share members pick out 6-8 vegetables they want each week to put together their box. If there’s a ton of one particular vegetable or herb they sometimes throw that in on top of the regular amount of produce.

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