A bushel of produce is not a measurement for which many of us have a good visual. A bushel of veggies is about a "peach crate" from your local grocery story size, about six gallon zip top bags full, or about three disposable grocery sacks generously filled. A Delux share, which contains about one bushel of produce per week, is buying fresh, local produce in bulk. Because you are buying in bulk, you are getting a "bulk price." The same amount of produce purchased individually at a farmer's market or whole food store would add up to thousands of dollars. But the great deal does you no good unless you can use these beautiful veggies. Three grocery bags of produce a week is probably more produce than most "non vegetarian" families would buy from the store each week. A vegetarian family of 4 or non-vegetarian family of 6 may be able to use a bushel of vegetables per week. The basic share, which contains about a half bushel per week, feeds a family of 4 people with some leftover to share. If you have a small family, here are some suggestions for how to be a CSA member to get the benefit of affordable locally grown produce but not experience "veggie guilt" because produce is perishing faster than you can use it. 1. Split a share with a friend 2. Learn to preserve (freeze, can, ferment, or dry) 3. Share your share 1. Split a share with a friend. This is a great option because you not only share the bushel each week, you also share the cost. This solution gets you all the fresh veggies you can eat at even a cheaper price. Also, since you are sharing with a friend, you can trade off picking up the produce each week. You also have someone to pick up the produce on the week you gone on summer vacation! This solution naturally creates interaction each week with your friend whether it is communicating about who is picking up the share this week or dividing up the share. The arrangements you make with your friend are between you and your friend. Dove Gardens does not arrange splitting up a share for you. 2. Learn to preserve. If you preserve half of your Delux share for 18 weeks, you will have clean food for your family for 36 weeks of the year (18 fresh and 18 preserved)! You can learn a lot from the internet these days about how to do this. There are some tips in recipes and the produce index on our Dove Gardens website as well. But the best way to learn how to preserve your produce is to learn by experience from people who have done it. So call your grandmother or call me. Dove Gardens is a community, and I love to teach. So ask me questions when you pick up your share, on facebook, comments to this blog, e-mail, or call/text. 3. Share your share. Even if you only use half of the veggies you get in your share, you are still getting a cost efficient way to eat clean, natural food. But who wants to throw away half of those beautiful veggies -- nobody! So, become everybody's best friend by giving away half of your share to whoever will take it; friends, family, neighbors, or even your local food shelf.
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Dove Gardens, CSA
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