CSA's might be a potential solution to the dilemma of consumers looking for local, healthy produce AND the struggle of farmers to earn a living. CSA's are basically a way of buying a 'share' of the farm upfront for a season, which provides the farmer's some insurance and you with mystery seasonal produce boxes! CSA farmers earn an average of 377.5% more on the farm than the national average, but STILL do not earn a living wage (Paul, 2018)!
If you can afford the investment, joining a CSA is a great way to support the rejection of cheap food policies and the neoliberal corporate food regime! It also makes shopping for seasonal produce as simple as a weekly or bi-weekly pick-up.
The most heavily subsidized and abundant crops are grains like corn, which is overproduced conglomerate farms. Many of these corporate farms grow 'monoculture' crops, meaning just one type, which has caused us to lose most of the biodiversity that's available across our country. A great example is the case of apples: in the 1800s, over 17,000 varieties of apples were catalogued, but today only about 90 or so are grown commercially, and only a few are consistently sold across our country (BBC, 2005).
Photo Credit: Shuttershock
This map by JustFood.org allows you to enter your address and shows you the closest CSA pick-up spots. You can hit "More Details" for the exact address, location info, website link, contact information, distribution day(s) and times, as well as information about the farm (name, owner, website, etc).
Their site also has opportunities to volunteer to help their mission for food justice, if you can afford the time.
If you enter your address into the map on this site and select 'CSA Pickup Sites' under the 'Food Systems' drop-down menu bar, you can see the sites nearest you. This interactive map also has other great resources, such as food co-ops, healthy bodegas, community gardens, parks, green spaces, sports fields, and more.
More CSAs in the New York area. (Website a bit overwhelming).
Here is TimeOut New York's list of The 10 Best CSAs in New York, as of 2015.
Misfits Market and Imperfect Foods are similar online grocery delivery services that claim to fight food waste by "rescuing" organic produce from farmers that is somehow 'funny looking,' or just otherwise cannot be sold in a conventional grocery store and offer it to consumers for a supposedly discounted price. It is always better to support local farmers directly, and there is controversy about supporting these companies, but this is another option I felt needed at least a mention here.
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