Community supported agriculture (CSA) is growing in Huntsville. This spring, Eat Local Muskoka launched a local food box program that provides supporters with a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n
The CSA model is a simple one and the rewards can be plentiful. It works like this: first you buy a share of the coming season\u2019s crops, then you pick up a weekly box of seasonal, just-picked (often the same day) goodness. You\u2019re investing in the farmers when they need it most \u2013 at the beginning of the growing season \u2013 and in return get a portion of the harvest.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the most farm-supportive way of buying vegetables,\u201d says Eat Local Muskoka farmer Colin Sober-Williams. \u201cFarmers get money up front so they can purchase capital equipment and they ensure lots of bounty in return throughout season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eat Local Muskoka follows a 100-mile sourcing rule \u2013 six of the eight farms are in Muskoka, but they also source from two farms in Kawartha Lakes to provide produce earlier in the spring and later in the fall while ensuring none of it travels farther than 100 miles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe prioritize the things we can grow in Muskoka and then go out to our friends in Kawartha Lakes from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of Lots of diversity in each box, including some varieties that you may not be familiar with like kohlrabi or haskap berries. \u201cWe try to make it fun and include some funky vegetables that people haven\u2019t seen before,\u201d says Sober-Williams. \u201cAnd we include recipes in our newsletter so that people know what to do with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t