How to Get the Freshest, Healthiest Fruits and Vegetables

How do you find a CSA near you?

Many farmers have CSAs and sell the service at farmers markets. The directory LocalHarvest, a community to connect people to food lists, farmers markets and CSAs by zip code or city, makes it easy to find one in your area. 

How often can you get produce delivered? 

Many farms offer weekly, biweekly or monthly produce boxes, Nagy says. Members can have the boxes delivered to their house or workplace, or they can pick them up from a general location, Hashley says. 

How much produce do you get? 

The box size you choose should depend on how often you cook and how many veggies you eat in a week. “A couple that cooks all the time and are heavy vegetable eaters could go through a family[-size] box,” Keene says.

Do you have control over what you get? 

There are typically two models from which to choose: 

The traditional model. A member receives a prepaid produce box — weekly, monthly or bimonthly — of items that the farmer chooses based on what’s at its peak and ready to be harvested. Many CSAs offer recipes and ideas on how recipients can use the food in their box, how to store the fruits and vegetables and the health benefits of each item, as well as the farmer’s story so customers know who’s growing their food. 

A market-style model. Customers go to a participating farm and pick and choose what produce they want, using credits they purchased in advance. This model provides people with more options to select what they like or need for meal planning — especially helpful if your cooking habits vary weekly. 

How much does a CSA cost?

The price you pay depends on the farm you purchase from, the box size and how often you receive a box.

The good news: Because customers pay in advance, farmers tend to be more generous with their offerings as a way to say thank you. 

“They feel indebted to the customer, that they want to give them a good value for having made that upfront investment, so a lot of times, CSAs are definitely more plentiful,” Hashley says. 

She estimates the general cost to be $25 to $35 a week, whether traditional or market-style. Most CSA farms operate about 20 weeks a year, though some may go longer or year-round. 

What if your farmer can’t provide the produce? 

A farm share is a collaboration between farmer and customer. Farmers who have a CSA rely on customers who pay for a share in advance. This provides them much-needed cash up front to purchase supplies, materials and seeds to plant for the coming season. They both share the risks and uncertainties as well as the bounty of the farm, according to the experts we interviewed. 

That means, if there is unexpected weather or pests that affect the crops, some produce may not be as abundant or may take longer to grow than anticipated. When this happens, farms will make substitutions or provide more of an item when it does come in.

This is why prices tend to be lower when you purchase produce boxes for the farm season than when you buy at a farmers market. 

On the flip side, when there is a bountiful harvest, farmers can be generous as a thank-you to supporters for taking the risk with them. 

So it’s important to know that if you join a CSA, you need to be flexible.