That question should be as common as "who's your doctor?", according to Matt Atkinson of the Seed to Spoon Collective. Matt, who made some posts about the CSA last year, spoke at a recent Food Security Network teleconference about Nutrition Month (March) and local food. If you follow the link you can download and listen to the presentation.
The theme of this year`s Nutrition Month is "Celebrate Food From Field to Table". Dieticians of Canada would like you to get the freshest and most nutritions food directly from a farmer.
Make a direct connection with your farmer and support them throughout the season by joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). A CSA is a way to pay a farmer up front for the produce that you`ll receive throughout the season, usually on a weekly basis. This provides the farmer with more security. The consumer takes more of the risk posed by a bad year and receives more of the benifet of a good year. There are currently 3 CSA's in Newfoundland and Labrador:
- Seed to Spoon Collective in Portugal Cove has a great blog where the food basket for each week is displayed. Check it out to see last year's harvest. Contact seedtospoon@gmail.com.
- Consumers in the St. John's area can also go with The Organic Farm in Portugal Cove. The `Veggie Co-op`runs for 15 weeks in the Summer.
- Consumers off the Avalon might consider Eastport Organics in Eastport.
CSA's are just one way to support a farmer. With roadside stands, farm markets, and farmers' markets there's lots of ways to get your veggies.
Who's your farmer?
