Tuesday, February 17, 2009

CSA Cancelation

There is a possibility the CSA vegetable program may be canceled for my drop site. It turns out not enough members have signed up this year and the farmers are worried that they will loose money if they deliver to that drop site for only a few members. A part of me is saddened and the other part not so much. The part of me that is sad really wants to do my part for my community and really enjoys being part of a CSA and feeding my family organically grown veggies. The other parts is still shocked about the cost and how far I have to drive each week just to get my organically grown fresh vegetables. It isn't the farmers fault nor is it ours. It just unfortunate that where I live there are not a lot of near by farms, at least not that grow organically and do the CSA thing. Our options are slim around here, yet surprisingly the city is so big. My father-in-law would be disgusted by this comment, but I wish we were more like California. I don't know much about California, except what I've heard and seen on TV. I'm sure that isn't an accurate picture of it though. Still, if I wasn't so attached to my roots here I think I would fit in just fine over there. That's my perception anyway. I would still probably say "fixen" and "ya'll" just because I like the sound of it.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

CSA Vegetables


The CSA for Vegetables starts next month. There is a meeting tomorrow, late in the evening for members to learn more about the program. I like that, but unfortunately I will probably not be able to show up. The time, place and date are inconvenient. I know so far that my pick up dates are weekly every Tuesday 3:30 to 5:30pm and the place I need to pick up is about 20 minutes a day. The fact that the pick up date is in the middle of a school/work week and that I have 3 kids to take with me on the trip there also makes it very inconvenient. I wish I had known the pick up day earlier and I would have thought about it a little more. For some reason, I thought the pick up date were Saturday mornings. This would have made it so much easier. So far my impression of this farm and their CSA program is that they are not very family friendly or that they assume that all CSA members, have no children or that we can just leave their kids with someone else while we pick up our produce, get out of work early and so forth. Still I've already signed the contract. I'm going to do my best to show up every Tuesday. Which mean I'll have to pick my daughter up from school and as soon as she gets out, then drive 25-30 minutes there, pick up our share (how ever long that will take) then drive 25-30 minutes back home. I really wish my city had more convenient options. No wonder so many people hesitate to join CSAs. It isn't that we don't want to. We either can't afford the cost, the pick up locations and dates are too inconvenient or both. In my case it is both. My only hope is that my opinion of this changes. As for the CSA of Meat... I had to ask to skip this month’s shipment. Its just not in my budget this month and I am so grateful their system is set up so that you can skip a month or two if you need to. It is more of a pay as you go CSA. I'm sure this is hard on the farmers though since they don't have certainty of the income they will get every month. Then again its hard on CSA members too since we don't know how much produce we will get every month and the economy isn't exactly stable. There has to be a common ground. I'm hoping through my experiences I will be able to find one and share it with everyone.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Have You Read Why Organic Milk Is Better?

I came across a link in my Organic Valley e-newsletter today that caught my eye: Organic Milk Does The Body Better. It actually made me feel a little better about sticking to my guns and buying organic milk even when I can barely afford it. Knowing the benefits really help sometimes. The reliability of the source...well, I trust WebMD as a reliable source.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Organic Coupon Resource

I have found varies websites that allow me to print organic coupons. Unfortunately, none of the grocery stores around where I live are willing to accept them. For some reason they are not scanable, sooo my only option still is too call individual manufactures and ask them to send me coupons. Some are generous and send several of good value, with others you're lucky if you get one coupons and can only call them once a month. I tend to buy less of their products as I feel like they don't care if I can afford to buy their products or not. Either way this can be a hassle as it takes forever, but I'll take what I can get. For those of you who can use coupon printed off the internet I have copied and pasted some good links below.

http://deals.families.com/links-to-request-organic-coupons,t19985

http://mindfulmomma.typepad.com/mindful_momma/2008/11/stock-up-time.html


http://affluentpauper.blogspot.com/2009/01/organic-coupons-where-to-find-them.html