Why Choose a CSA?

So, why should you choose to join a CSA?
First, freshness of the food. In most cases, it is picked from the garden the same day you take it home. There are no long shipments from somewhere far away. Most conventional produce you buy is picked before it is fully ripe so it can sit longer in the grocery store. We don't pick out of the garden until it is at it's peak of ripeness. This ensures a better flavor.
Secondly, the nutritional content of the food. Conventional produce is grown in depleted soils--it has less vitamins and minerals than home grown produce. We enrich our soil with compost, natural fertilizers and cover crops. This ensures a healthy and nutritious crop.
Third, freedom from chemical contamination. Over 70,000 chemical poisons have been used in agriculture in recent years, many are still in use. No one knows for sure how any of them interact with each other in the soil, groundwater, or air. Or most importantly, what impact they have on people. These chemicals are designed to kill living things (weeds, insect pests, etc.) Why would they not do any harm to us? Synthetic chemical fertilizers are no better.
And lastly, support of your local grower and community. You are buying from a local business and keeping your hard earned dollars in your own community and country. Plus, you know something of the ethic in which your food was grown, and you get a sense of what farming is all about (the good and the bad) during the 20 or more weeks of seasonal connectivity to the farm.