Farmers Market 2.0

"When food is cheap," writes Deborah Madison in the introduction to Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers Markets, "we tend to treat it carelessly and wastefully. But when it's dear, when it costs what it's actually worth, we tend to pay closer attention to it. In this sense, good food can sharply focus our world."

Sweet carrots and green beans from Wednesday's market

Perhaps, like me, you're working on a New Year's resolution to get your world in sharper focus by eating intentionally. Grocery store food is relatively cheap and relatively convenient, but that's about all it has going on. It has diversity, which is a boon in more wintery states, but here in the land of eternal spring it doesn't even have that edge -- there are avocados growing on the street where I live, and bananas a few miles away, so why eat ones from Mexico or Hawaii that have traveled thousands of miles to reach my table?

Eating sustainably grown food from my region benefits my body and my family, my community and local economy, and, not least of all, the land that I love. But there are so many routes to choose and considerations to balance -- how can I eat locally and keep it simple?

One way, of course, is the farmers market. Pro: you can chat with the farmer, and enjoy sampling and picking through a variety of stands. There are often flowers and finished goods, too, like fresh cheese, beeswax candles, and, at my local market, grass-fed beef and delicious tamales. Con: you never know what's going to be available, you need cash, and you have to arrange your meal plans and your schedule around when the market is open. And weirdly, at my market, only half or fewer of the farms represented are organic or sustainable.

Another fantastic way is the CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture. Essentially you buy a share, or a subscription to a farm, and they provide you with a box of produce each week. It's wonderful for the farmer, as it provides a more stable market, and you share the risk she takes if the weather turns bad or a crop fails. There are also pros for you: a box of seasonal produce each week, a close relationship with a farm, and usually discounted prices. You might get to try some new-to-you varieties, and the farmer can provide recipes. Cons: you usually have little choice in what you get. My experience happened to entail a lot of greens, some other greens, and some more greens. I barely know what to do with any greens, much less a fridge full, so unfortunately a lot of my beautiful and virtuous produce went in the compost bin.

A new route has recently been gaining in popularity that seems to keep a lot of these pros and diminish the cons -- the regional farm delivery service. I'm getting to be a big fan of my local company, Farmer Fresh to You, started by two women formerly in the restaurant industry who understand the desire to combine eating locally with more choice and convenience. They provide a box of seasonal produce each week, chosen from organic and sustainable farms all over my region, and deliver it to my door.

Pro: they create a standard box with seasonal selections each week, but I can go online and customize my order with whatever other fruits and vegetables are available. ("I wouldn't care for chard, let's try summer squash!") I can also add eggs, bread, olive oil, and any number of other goods from local farms and artisans. I buy the box each week rather than monthly, so I can stop if I'm on vacation, or tailor what size box I want each time. Delivered to my door is nice, too!

Con: Compared to the subscription model of a CSA, ordering weekly seems to diminish the value to the farmer -- that is, a guaranteed income and market for his goods. But perhaps it is no more volatile than the farmers market. Having the box delivered to me seems like an unnecessarily luxurious use of fuel. But perhaps it is no worse than me driving to the market, or to a farm to pick up my weekly share.

My box this week: celery, fingerling potatoes, green beans, mushrooms,
raspberries, tangerines, kiwi, green onions, carrots, and dinosaur kale

For now, this is the route I'm choosing. My box arrived this morning. What is in season right now on the central coast? Everything! Hope Little One will enjoy kiwi fruit.

I'm food rich, and happy to be supporting both local farmers and some clever entrepreneurial women, but I have my doubts about this being the best way. What do you think?