Simply Fresh Living

About 5 weeks ago my husband & I signed up for our first ever CSA! I had done extensive research on local CSA’s when we lived in Gilbert and had never quite decided on one. I knew I wanted it to be grown entirely organic but I also wanted the farm to be fairly close to my house. I was concerned about price too of course and surprisingly there were a lot of different options once I started looking. When I moved to Northeast Mesa I decided it was finally time to buckle down and make a decision. The closet Whole Foods is 15+ miles away, the nearest grocery store, Safeway, has a sad amount of organic produce, and when we moved it was one of my largest overall goals to support even more locally than we already have and reduce our carbon footprint (especially when it came to commuting back and forth as we now did not live as conveniently located to everything as we used to).

I revisited some of my old searches and then began searching for farms in Mesa. I came across Love Grows Farm and their CSA, ran by Michael Thompson. I emailed them with various questions and received a response the very same day. Michael was very friendly, informative, and all around extremely helpful. The farm is located near Mesa Drive (McQueen Rd) and McKellips Rd and is fairly close to our house, which I really liked. They offer 13(!) pick up locations, from the farm directly is an option but it is on Thursdays & Fridays which are hard for my husband & I to make. They did have an option to pick up from a nearby farm on Saturday mornings though which also happens to be close to our house-perfect! I had never been a part of a CSA before or even knew anybody personally that had either so I did not exactly know what to expect. Looking back, I should have done more research, more corresponding via email with different coordinators, and really evaluated what I would be getting for the price. I made a quick decision based on time, the fact that Michael promptly replied to my emails and answered all of my questions, and location. Overall I have been pleased with Love Grows Farms but when my 10 week share is up I am excited to try out different CSA programs until I find the one that is indeed the perfect fit for my family.

Here is an example of all of the produce I have received during the past 5 weeks or so of participating:

Spaghetti Squash, Kale, Rainbow Chard, Basil, Spinach, Spring Mix, Okra, Melon, Oranges, Lemons, Tomatoes, Leeks, Fennel, Butternut Squash, Golden Beets, 1/2 dozen – 1 dozen eggs, and more

Highs of my Love Grows Farm CSA experience:

• Michael is extremely friendly and always quick to respond to emails
• Location of the farm & variety of pick up locations
• Only 10 weeks long, although this is pretty standard, many other CSA’s do have much longer commitment times that span more than one season
• very small farm ran by a small farm family
• The team creates “Farm Casts” (videos posted on their website) where you can see what is going on around the farm weekly
• Use OMRI certified soil or all organic ingredient soil
• Large quantities of produce, extremely varied

Lows:

• Seeing as my husband and I do not eat eggs we requested if instead of eggs are two shares could be substituted with additional produce, which was not an option. We do not know anybody else within the CSA to inquire whether anybody would like to trade and although I did not pursue the request further Michael did not initially help facilitate a conversation with other members or provide me with other member’s contact information
• Uniformity of shares- Upfront we purchased two regular shares a week as we go through A LOT of produce. When we initially arrived to pick up the bags they were not labeled per member or by size (they offer regular, family, etc.) We were given two random bags and they had different contents as well as different amounts. Not completely different, but not the same. I don’t have as big of a problem with this, but my husband really does. He wants to know he is getting exactly what he was promised for his money and also that it is fair between members. He likes to know there is some method to the madness and does not do well without understanding all of the details.
• Pick-up Personnel. Since we are not able to pick up at the farm directly on Thursdays & Fridays we pick up from Superstition Farm on Saturdays. Unfortunately the people that work there are no affiliated with and have no information regarding the CSA. Last week the bags did have member names, and there was only one with my name. My husband informed them we always pick up two bags but since there is never the same people working they did not know that and did not seem to know a way to confirm that what we were saying was accurate.
• Organic. Although they use mostly certified organic soil and the rest is made with organic ingredients this farm does not have their official Organic certification. It does take time and money and on their website they disclose their farm was built for and operates under the organic guidelines and they will be obtaining the certification when they indeed have the time and money. I understand completely and it does not bother me, but some people are more sticklers when it comes to being actual organic produce!

Once the 10 week commitment time has expired with Love Grows Farm I am going to try Lewis’ Organic Farm. They operate their CSA a little differently and allow the members to choose (via email) exactly how much of which type of produce they would like to receive the next week. It seems like a process that would provide my husband with much more ease as well as eliminate any type of waste from receiving a large quantity of something we may not be able to use all of before it goes bad.

Share your stories regarding CSA experiences, wants, desires, or questions!!