There may be a foot of snow on the ground, but that's not stopping the Land Stewardship Project from thinking ahead to spring, and to farm-fresh produce. The organization's annual Twin Cities Region CSA Farm Directory just went online, and it's a helpful resource for anyone considering going the farm-share route.
Community Supported Agriculture is a tongue-twisting name for a simple arrangement: Consumers pay, upfront, for a share in a farm's output, and the farm provides regular (usually weekly) deliveries of fresh produce (some farm shares can also involve meat, poultry, dairy or value-added products).
Details vary depending upon the farm, which is why the LSP's information-rich directory is so helpful; this year's guide also contains an online map, so users can determine which farms are closest to their homes. This year's directory contains information on 54 farms that deliver within the seven-county metro area.
Find the online directory here. For a paper copy, call 612-722-6377 or visit the LSP's office at 821 E. 35th St. in Minneapolis.
CSA farms have been growing by leaps and bounds. The 2010 version of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's CSA directory tracks 55 farms; in 2008 that figure was 26 farms, and in 2003 it was five farms. Paul Hugunin, the director of the state's Minnesota Grown program, said it best in a 2008 Star Tribune article: "People are starting to say they want to feel a connection to where their food comes from, and a CSA is as close as you can get to farming without actually farming."
