It’s National CSA Sign-Up Day!

It seems doubtful we’d have to explain this to someone who’s reading Modern Farmer, but: community-supported agriculture, or CSAs, are the most-often-used name for a system in which you buy a subscription to a farm’s produce. Typically, that produce is delivered (either to your home or to a central location, like a farmers market), and the buyer doesn’t have control over what’s in it; the farmer simply supplies whatever’s in season. It’s a great way to support local farmers and to receive new ingredients you might not buy otherwise. What do you do with garlic scapes? Amaranth? Dandelion greens? Seckel pears? Not everyone knows, but if they come in your CSA, you’ll give them a try.

Last year, February 28 was the most common sign-up day for CSAs across the country, according to the 2014 CSA Farming Report. And so the date was chosen for this year’s National CSA Sign-Up Day. The goal is to spread awareness that even though it’s still frosty outside, you can begin supporting farmers right now. That initial investment can really help a farmer kickstart the coming growing season.

If you’re interested (and why wouldn’t you be interested?) you can head over to LocalHarvest to find a CSA near you and sign up. To read more about CSAs, head over here.

Image via Flickr user thebittenword