5 Reasons to Sign Up for a CSA Right Now

As winter trudges along and we recover from last weekend’s snow storm, what are you most looking forward to about the upcoming summer season? Here at CFAC, we are fondly dreaming of spring with its abundance of color and, of course, the long-awaited beginning of farm season. Fortunately, all is not lost when daydreaming about warmer weather because right now is the perfect time to pore through local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) options for 2018 and cash in on those early-bird savings.

Photo by Beth Gibson

CSAs are a wonderful way to support local farmers and provide you and your family with a bountiful harvest of fresh produce from early summer to late fall. The CSA options in Missoula are diverse, and many farms will even customize a share to your desire. Do you prefer more tomatoes to salad greens? Or maybe you are a salad fanatic and want as may greens as you can get? A lot of farmers have developed options that allow consumers to reasonably customize a share to their liking.

Here are the top 5 reasons to sign up for a CSA share right now:

• Customizable and diverse shares are abundantly available
• Money stays in the Missoula community
• Easy way to support diversified farming operations
• Access to organic produce at a cheaper price point than the grocery store
• Eat the freshest produce in town, delivered from farm to your kitchen each week

Farmers grow 38 different crops on average. (Graphic from Future Economy)

And if you thought produce was the only option for your CSA share, think again! A lot of local farms have diversified their operations to include meat shares, bread shares, egg shares, dairy shares, honey shares, and much more. With that kind of diversity, you will have to find excuses for heading down to the grocery store this summer.

So, as you find yourself this week dreaming of green fields and greens on your plate, take advantage of some of the early-bird discounts and sign up for a local CSA, support local agriculture, and treat yourself to fresh produce each and every week this summer.