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 Prior to using Door-to-Door Organics to get my organic produce, I was on the hunt for a local buying club or coop in my area that I could join. I was having trouble finding one that was close enough to my home, so when my friend introduced me to Door-to-Door, I thought I had found my solution. I figured I would use the deliver service until the summer when I would get my veggies from my family's garden and farmer's markets in my area. However just last week I discovered that some mothers in my area were trying to put together a group to join a "Community Supported Agriculture" (CSA) farm.
A CSA is a way for consumers in an area to support and create a relationship with a local farm. Members of a CSA pledge in advance to cover the farms anticipated costs. By doing so, members receive weekly boxes of produce for the season. Where I live the season runs from around May through November. Most CSA farms offer high quality produce that is grown organically, avoiding pesticides and fertilizers.
So now I was in a quandary. Stick with my original plan or join the CSA?
Then I received in the mail, via Netflix, the movie The Real Dirt on Farmer John, a documentary about John Peterson, a.k.a Farmer John, a midwest farmer who life parallels the history of American farming in the late 20th century.
Peterson came from a family of farmers who struggled, like most farmers, to make ends meet. Peterson's father died when he was teenager, which forced him to be in charge of the farm. By the 1980's, when most farmers were trouble, so was Peterson who had to sell off most of his farm to make ends meet. Destitute and depressed, Peterson took time away from farming and returned in the '90s. Deciding to change his farm from a mono-culture, chemical dependent farm, to an organic farm and connect himself to the land, Peterson turned his farm, Angelic Organics, into the one of the largest CSAs in the country.
So after seeing the story of Farmer John, I have decided that it is important, not only from my families health perspective, but for community support, to join the CSA. I might be overflowing in veggies this summer but my husband loves to entertain. Just hope our friends like veggies!
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Janet Podleski is one half of the sister act that wrote the bestselling cookbooks, Looneyspoons, Crazy Plates and their latest, Eat, Shrink & Be Merry! Janet and her sister, Greta, are also monthly columnists for Canada's number-one magazine, Reader's Digest, and were voted into Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2000. The sisters and their inspirational, self-publishing success story have been featured on dozens of national TV programs such as The Today Show, CNN, Canada A.M. and QVC, as well as on hundreds of radio shows, and in magazines and newspapers across North America. In addition to a B.A. in Psychology, she has also earned a degree as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. 
Brenda J. Ponichtera is a registered dietitian and author of several award-winning cookbooks, all designed to prove that "healthful eating doesn't have to take a lot of time in the kitchen."
Calorie Bargain: Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt
Calorie Bargain: Green Mountain Gringo Mild Salsa
