Be Wise and Join a CSA
by Kristin Underwood, San Diego, CA on 03.31.07
This is not just the story of a local farmer making good, this is the story two people, Bill and Marsanne Brammer, sharing a love for healthy food and working hard to spread organic food both locally and nationally. Begun in 1977, the Be Wise Ranch offers local San Diegans an alternative to mass-produced produce. With just a few avocado, citrus, peach, nut, pomegranate and apricot trees, this husband and wife team launched their organic farm, selling mostly to area farmers markets and wholesale distributors. As their produce selection has exploded, so has the wildlife in the area, which the owners attribute to their location next to a wildlife preserve and their abundance of trees free of pesticides, which many birds nest in.
In the 1990’s, when the business began to take off, the Brammers no longer had time to sell at local farmers markets each week, Instead, Be Wise established a Community Supported Agriculture Program through which local San Diegans can still purchase the organic food produced in their own backyard. Prices are very reasonable and allow members to choose from large or small buckets, and even choose weekly or bi-weekly pickups. In addition, there is a four week trial period for new members who are not sure whether a CSA is right for them. This is perfect in particular for San Diego which has a nearly year-round growing season. And for those of you living in San Diego, can we all say a big A-men to that!
Be Wise is a member of the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), which tests annually to ensure that members are upholding organic standards on their farms. Bill was even President of the CCOF at one time.
Why stop at just San Diego? CSAs are all over the country.
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
My wife and I have supported Whistling Train Farm in the Seattle area for several years now, and just love the fact that we're on a first-name basis with the people who grow some of our food.
One thing that CSA "shoppers" should be aware of, though, is that there are a lot of smaller farms that can't pay the large extortion-like fees to be certified as organic. Mike and Shelly from Whistling Train opted to take the $20,000+ certification fee and invest it into their farm instead. Not only does this let them provide more jobs and produce better food, but they are part of a group of farmers who are trying to boycott the certification because of how lax it has become (just look at the new factory-style "organic" dairy farms like Aurora and Horizon). I'm willing to take them on their word that their produce is grown according to FAR more stringent organic standards than the government requires, and am happy to know that they have an extra little chance to stay afloat. So when you're looking at CSA farms, don't just skip over the ones not labeled as organic; talk to the farmers and ask them what standards they follow.
There are some good national directories to find a CSA close to you.
Here's a national CSA database: http://www.wilson.edu/csasearch/search.asp
Here's another place with listings:
http://www.localharvest.org/
In Minnesota, there are multiple state directories, as well.
CSA = Confederated States of America...
Hey, I visited those sites you guys suggested, but they only list CSAs in the States. Anyone know a site where I can find CSAs in Canada?
I know that in Quebec there's Equiterre:
http://www.equiterre.org/en/agriculture/index.php
Not sure abuot the rest of canada.