Eating Locally

One of the top benefits of joining a CSA is the access you will gain access to fresh, seasonal food. Buying directly from the farm greatly limits the amount of food processing needed, transport time and resources, and benefits farm and consumer financially by closing the gap between farm and plate. This makes it a more ethical and sustainable use of resources, but it can also have great benefit to your health.

Nutrients are lost over time through storage or transport, so by eating seasonally you’re benefiting greatly from the freshness of the produce you’re eating. With the exception of storage crops, most of the produce you’ll have access through will have been harvested that week or usually that day. This is a huge difference from an item that has been transported and stored or even harvested before full ripeness, both of which greatly impact the nutrient content of the item. As an indicator nutrient, vitamin C degradation has been shown to sharply decline with greater transport time. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture found losses in vegetables stored at 39F for 7 days ranging between 15-77%. One Montclair State study compared vitamin C contents of broccoli and found that produce that had been shipped internationally had 50% less vitamin C than produce sourced locally.

Additionally, a CSA often necessitates a greater variety of diet and gives your body access to a better variety of nutrients over the year. By reducing the need for storage and handling, we’re allowed more freedom in variety and ripeness at harvest time leading to more nutritious and delicious produce.

With UK-CSA, most items in your weekly share are harvested in 1-3 days prior to your pick up, and some are harvested the same day as your pick up, so crops are at peak freshness!