Finding Farmers’ Markets and CSA

We try to plant a garden each year, but they’re hit-or-miss affairs. Sometimes the beans grow, but not the squash, or vice versa. No matter how hard we try, we end up with too many tomatoes. Then there was the unfortunate period I call “The Year of the Ten Thousand Habaneros”. . . .

Still, we like fresh vegetables. We also like to support local farms, if only to supplement our own crops. I therefore thought I’d share some online resources for finding farmers’ markets, community- supported agriculture (CSA), and other farm outlets. (Mostly U. S., I’m afraid. Leave a comment if you know of any good international directories.)

• The Biodynamic Farm and Gardening Association has extensive information about how CSA works and how to find CSA farms.
• Local Harvest lists farmers’ markets, family farms, food co-ops, community-supported agriculture subscriptions, and other sources of sustainably grown food.
• The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service is a meta-directory of other local food directories.
• The New Farm Farm Locator lets you search for farms selling directly to consumers.

If you eat meat and/or dairy, but also want it to be fresh and local, try the Eat Well Guide, a directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants and online outlets in the U. S. and Canada.

Finally, here are some tips for getting your kids to eat their vegetables.