One of the best parts of fall is the start of the soup and cozy food season. However, it can be difficult to find the time to go grocery shopping, plan recipes, and cook during an already busy week. The Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMass Amherst has a longstanding reputation in Western Mass, and its student farm already supplies produce to local businesses and UMass dining halls. Students and faculty also have the opportunity to get produce straight from the farm through the UMass Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.
CSA shares are available for purchase every spring, and you can get 25 pounds of vegetables a week for 10 weeks for only $385. I ended up splitting a share with one of my roommates, and we ended up with more than enough vegetables every week. All you have to do is sign up for a weekly pick-up slot at the farm which is just off campus, and in the fall, you receive a variety of seasonal produce. Utilizing the full share can easily feed two to four people, but we ended up not taking our full share every week as we didn’t want to take food that we wouldn’t use to limit waste.
Some examples of the produce included are herbs, lettuce, carrots, potatoes, beans, kale, squash, garlic, and onions. The share ended the week before Thanksgiving, but we still have sweet potatoes and garlic that we’re using up. The selection changes with the season, and you get to choose from a fun variety of pumpkins and squashes every week as it gets closer to the colder months. Getting the share also helps push you out of your comfort zone, as you can try new vegetables without fear since the cost has already been prepaid. $385 for 10 weeks was a huge steal because the cost would be much higher had we purchased everything from a store.
I had a lot of fun trying new recipes and methods of cooking throughout the share. Some projects included homemade marinara sauce, sweet potato gnocchi, roasted vegetable soup, and every combination of roasted veggies you can imagine. The large volume of food one day a week also makes it convenient to meal prep and portion out the food from the share to ensure that everything is used. Fall is the perfect time to experiment with recipes, and it felt rewarding to cook food for my friends and family that had been completely grown by UMass students just down the street from my apartment. Especially for Thanksgiving, the beets, sweet potatoes, carrots, and garlic were a huge hit and demonstrated how far a single share can go.
Overall, purchasing a CSA farm share is a great investment to share with friends if you’re at all interested in exploring new recipes or putting more intention into your meals. It’s so easy and convenient, and you get to support sustainable and local farming while enjoying fresh vegetables that taste so much better than grocery store produce. I’m already planning recipe ideas for next fall, and I can’t wait to purchase a share again!
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