Farm Fresh All Winter
Sign Up for a Local Produce Farm Share or Delivery Service
By Robin Hayakawa, Associate Staff Attorney
-
Or year-round!
-
Plus, you’re playing an important role in sustaining Central Oregon producers and our regional food system.
-
And delicious, nutritious eating!
It might be a bit of a cliche, but one of the things I love about living in Oregon is the rhythm of the seasons. As I’ve gotten older, patterns have emerged. Trout fishing in the spring as the rivers seem to wake up, berry picking with my parents in the late summer, mushroom hunting in the fall, and of course, skiing in the winter time.
And while I have taken up gardening in recent years, it did not take long after I moved to Central Oregon for me to realize that the rumors are true: growing food here is not just a matter of dabbling in your front yard. Especially in the winter, for someone who likes to eat seasonally, it might be better left to the pros. That’s why this winter I decided to sign up for a winter farm share, or community-supported agriculture (CSA).
Boundless Farmstead produce.
The CSA share is a direct relationship between the supporter and the local farm. When I purchased my CSA “share,” I committed to buy a certain portion of the farmer’s winter crop every week or every other week for the winter season. For me, the benefits of the Winter CSA are numerous. I’ve been able to receive produce and eggs that are fresh, local, sustainably-produced, and affordable. I also love my CSA because it is convenient (delivered to my door) and it has encouraged me to try new foods and recipes that I wouldn’t have otherwise. In recent weeks, I’ve tried my hand at butternut squash soup, cauliflower pancakes, and found ways to implement microgreens and salad turnips into any meal that I can. My favorite food I have received, though, might actually be the Newton Pippen apples from The Farmer in Odell in Hood River. Crisp and tart, a great apple is hard to beat.
And while my CSA has been a source of joy and nourishment for me, community support is vital for many local farms. The challenges of farming are pretty well-known at this point, but as a staff attorney at Central Oregon LandWatch, it is something I contemplate often.
Fields Farm in Bend.
Farmland conversion is rampant — within the last five years, Oregon has lost 660,000 acres of farmland despite land use laws designed to restrict development unrelated to agriculture on land zoned for farming.
What’s more, access to land is daunting, water for irrigation is becoming increasingly scarce, and another record-setting summer of wildfire hit Oregon’s farm and ranch land particularly hard.
Community-supported agriculture is a part of the solution to these problems. For a lot of farmers and ranchers in Central Oregon, the consistent and often up-front support offered through a CSA program is crucial, as is the ability to sell their products directly to consumers, without third-party distributors or grocery stores.
Choosing a CSA can be difficult, but only because there are so many great Central Oregon farms to choose from. Personally, I have loved my subscription with Agricultural Connections Cooperative — a farmer, chef, and community-owned cooperative and wholesale marketplace with food offerings from a variety of regional producers. Through Agricultural Connections, I can have carrots and cabbage from our friends at Boundless Farmstead, purple daikon from Mahonia Gardens in Sisters, and squash and potatoes from Casad Family Farms – all in the same box each week. I also recommend checking out the High Desert Food & Farm Alliance for other information about how to support a healthy and thriving food and farm network in Central Oregon. Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Bend’s only indoor farmers market, Central Oregon Locavore, where you can find fresh local food year-round.
No matter which CSA you choose, it’s a great way to keep eating seasonally this winter while also providing local farmers with the resources needed to sustain our region’s food system.
Start Your CSA Journey!
Mahonia Gardens offers a Farm Stand CSA for weekly produce from May through October.
Boundless Farmstead and Fibonacci Farms offer a collaborative CSA with a weekly or bi-weekly farm share.
Casad Family Farms offers subscription meat boxes, shipped twice monthly.
Rainshadow Organics offers winter, summer, and year-round CSAs, with vegetable and meat shares.
Sakari Farms offers Tribal dry goods, incredible hot Sauces, tea, spa+body products, and other regional traditional foods.
Canyon Moon Farms, a small, women-owned farm business in Crook County, offers a weekly CSA from June through September.
Other important notes:
Many CSAs sell out quickly. Sign ups for summer CSAs typically open in February and March.
Most CSAs accept Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
For even more CSA options and opportunities to eat local, see the High Desert Food and Farm Alliance Directory.
