by: Sedona Radke
As the 2025 CSA season inches closer, we wanted to take a moment and reflect on this past CSA year. Each season we enlist the help of a secret shopper. Their weekly task is to visit both a conventional and cooperative grocery store location and compare the produce available there, to the content of that week’s CSA box. In particular, they check to see whether all items featured that week are available, they determine if each crop can be purchased organically or not and they record the retail price of each product. The data gathered by the secret shopper helps us gauge if the priorities of retail stores are closely in line with our core values for CSA, which motivates us to provide our members with affordable, unique, high-quality organic produce.
Opening ourselves up to new experiences allows us the freedom to view the world from a different perspective and grants us the opportunity to pause from the mundanity of everyday life. It is for that reason CSA is so uniquely special. CSA aids in creating new culinary adventures by making less accessible crops/produce more obtainable. Take nettle for example which was featured in our CSA box this past season. Since the time of our ancestors, nettle has been utilized as an instrument of healing due to its many medicinal and spiritual offerings. However, due to its trichomes or “stingers” that irritate the skin when touched, nettles are a hard plant to harvest making them less readily available. In fact, the data from the secret shopper revealed that each time we had included nettles in our CSA box, they were not available for purchase in either a conventional or cooperative store setting. For many seasonal eaters this means the absence of an essential component of their spring menu. Along with the unique varieties of produce offered by our CSA, fan favorites such as sweet corn, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, cucumbers, zucchini, and strawberries are constantly making appearances! Ensuring a wide range of produce that is certain to please everyone.
As stewards of the land, organic farming practices honor the sanctity of earth by fostering natural ecosystems, maintaining soil fertility, and minimizing environmental harm. As stewards of our bodies, organic eating nourishes our mind, body, and soul by guaranteeing quality produce free of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms. Our dedication to upholding the values of organic farming is reflected by our CSA program, which offers 100% certified organic produce. To better understand the organic market, we compared each crop featured in our CSA this past year to the same exact crop for sale at a conventional grocery store. We found that 76% of the crops we had featured in our CSA boxes would not be available organic if purchased from a conventional grocery store. Another advantage CSA has over retail stores is that we are able to provide our members with freshly harvested produce. Opposed to store-bought produce that could have been transported from various parts of the world, sitting on the shelf for an extended period of time, or only offered frozen. A prime example of this is edamame. This past season fresh edamame was featured four times in our CSA boxes. Three out of those four times, only a frozen option was available at the conventional grocery store. At the cooperative grocery store, only two out of four times was available fresh. Also, it should be noted that frozen edamame is a lower grade variety of edamame, bred for making tofu. Unlike our edamame variety that is specifically produced to have a rich, nutty, sweet flavor perfect for fresh eating! CSA’s ability to provide organic, high-quality produce directly to members ensures that they are getting the freshest possible product without the lengthy harvest to consumer timeline associated with store-bought produce.
Our relationship with food holds significance far beyond our dependency on it for survival. To us food is connection. Through food, we can observe traditions that bind us to our past. We can use it as a way to bond over our differences, creating a better understanding of each other. So, why then is good, nourishing food so expensive? Our CSA program looks to challenge the idea that quality organic food is unaffordable. To do so, we first had to determine an estimated market price of our CSA membership, so we surveyed both a conventional and cooperative grocery store and recorded the listed price for each crop featured in our CSA this past season. From that data, we calculated the average weekly box price our members would pay if they were to purchase the contents of that week’s CSA box in a retail store. We then totaled the average weekly box prices to find what our 30-week CSA program would be valued at based on retail pricing. That total being $1719.05. Which in comparison to our 30-week CSA membership price of $1,187.00 is about $532.05 more! With the many economic challenges that we face today, we feel as though a price tag should never have to take priority over the ability to eat high quality food. Which is why we take such pride in providing our CSA members with affordably priced produce.
In conclusion, CSA programs offer a wealth of advantages that go beyond simply providing fresh produce. By granting access to unique, organic crops that may not be found in traditional retail stores, CSA fosters a deeper connection to the food we eat and the land it comes from. Additionally, CSA’s financial benefits make high-quality, locally sourced produce more accessible, challenging the notion that organic food is always out of reach. Ultimately, CSA not only supports the health of individuals and communities but also contributes to a more sustainable and equitable food system. Through these advantages, our CSA program proves to be an invaluable resource for those seeking to nourish both body and soul while making a positive impact on the environment.
Shares Available for 2025!
There is still time to sign up for CSA vegetable shares for the 2025 season! Join us for the full season or choose a share that best fits your needs. For more information, visit our website to sign up or use the sign up form and email or mail to the farm to sign up. We have all of our sites set up for this season. You can see the updated locations on our Google map.
If you are interested in having your shares delivered to a Lunds & Byerlys store in the greater Twin Cities area, please see the Lunds & Byerlys sign up form for those specific prices.
