Hooray, I made the CSA!

I have wanted to participate in a CSA for a while now. CSA stands for "community-supported agriculture." It's a method of food distribution in which consumers buy food directly from a farm by purchasing a "share" in advance of the harvest season. Localharvest.org, a Web site that lets you search for farmers' markets, family farms, and other sustainable sources of local food by zip code, describes the benefits of the CSA model as follows:

Advantages for farmers:

• Get to spend time marketing the food early in the year, before their 16 hour days in the field begin
• Receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm's cash flow
• Have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow

Advantages for consumers:

• Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
• Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
• Usually get to visit the farm at least once a season
• Find that kids typically favor food from "their" farm – even veggies they've never been known to eat
• Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown

I had done some research a while back and decided that, for a variety of reasons, Even' Star Organic Farm in Maryland was the right choice for me. But, it apparently is the right choice for lots of people, because every year the farm's 320 shares sell out, and therefore I have been patiently sitting on the waitlist.

But I finally got the news that this year I'm finally IN! So I am happily counting the days until the season begins, looking forward to the bounty I can expect to enjoy this summer, including 18 kinds of tomatoes, French heirloom squash, three kinds of basil, okra, four varieties of sweet potatoes, watermelon, three varieties of eggplant, cucumbers, baby turnips, carrots, six kinds of peppers, and MORE! Hurrah! I can hardly wait. So stay tuned--I think this will be a summer of inspired recipes full of delicious, fresh vegetables.