‘Spiral Path CSA’
courtesy of ‘afagen’
I love the idea of a CSA, not only because of the intrinsic value of eating locally and seasonally, but because I relish the challenge of trying to figure out how to use three pounds of beets before they go bad. It’s like that show Chopped, but not quite as bad since I don’t have to figure out a delicious way to prepare salmon with whipped cream and edible flowers. If you’ve never experienced the thrill of opening a mystery box of vegetables, a CSA (or community-supported agriculture) is a great way to get fresh, in-season fruits and vegetables and a new one has just popped up in D.C.
Technically a USA (urban-supported agriculture), Farm to Family is beginning service in our nation’s capital starting today. Already established as a CSA and stand-alone store in Richmond, they are still accepting new members for their service, which will drop off weekly in Northwest Washington and Capitol Hill. The drops will be on Wednesday evening from 5pm-7pm, in Northwest at the Maret School (lower lot) and starting next Wednesday, Capitol Hill in the public parking lot at Eastern Market.
They are currently in their winter cycle, but members are welcome to join any time and they will pro-rate the cost of the membership. They have six payment options depending on the amount of food you get, but it goes anywhere from $250 for eight weeks for a complete share (meat, dairy, bread and vegetables/dry goods) to $85 for just vegetables and dry goods. Though the contents of your share will differ depending on which package you order, you can expect things like yogurt, cheese and milk from Mt. View Farm, meats from Polyface Farm, shellfish from Rappahannock River Oyster Co., as well as veggies like squash, greens and lettuce and dry goods such as BBQ sauce, jam, syrup and handmade soap.
For more information and to sign up for membership, visit their website.
Thank you SO much for posting this. The CSA I tried last year was awful. This one looks much, much better. When I called to sign up, the owner said she has got a TON of referrals from WeLoveDC.
Suzi and Mark are great! They took over for the CSA I did last summer (Green Fence Farm) and may have out done every expectation I had. They also have ala carte on the bus when they drop off. Quantities are limited, but stop by! The drop offs are every other week, next week Cap Hill, week after NW, etc…
This is not a real CSA as it does a lot of reselling and not everything is seasonal nor does the membership share in the risk of the farm with the farmers.
What you have here is a delivery service that does indeed have a local food component but it will, like all the other fake CSA’s out there, rarely be more than 50% of the food eaten. the rest of the food will come from non local and even foreign sources.
I do think these services fill a void but i also think it is dishonest to call them CSA as they are not farmer driven and the members rarely, if ever get to know the farmers or the farms where a certain % of the food they get from from this service is grown