How We're Eating More Veggies with Our CSA Subscription

At the end of my local monthly challenge last year, I knew we would continue to add more local vegetables and produce into our diet. Learning more about and eating local foods inspired us. One of my goals was to start a CSA subscription so that we could get vegetables on a regular basis.

This post shares more about our CSA experience so far and the things we’ve cooked.

What is a CSA and Should You Subscribe?

CSA stands for community-supported agriculture and is an opportunity to directly support your local farmer. You pay months ahead for the produce in your farm subscription box so that farms can plan ahead for their harvest.

With our CSA, we have four box sizes to choose from and usually have the opportunity to switch out for different vegetables if we prefer something else. Currently, they’ve taken out switches because of the volume of subscribers. Switches are good if you want to cook something in particular or if you have picky eaters, but it’s also fun trying new things. Our CSA also has a weekly or bi-weekly option with the choice to postpone deliveries.

We chose to subscribe to a CSA because:

We wanted to eat good, local food. These vegetables are going from the farm, 26 miles away, to our table! Until we get our own garden going, this is as local as it gets.
We wanted to support our community. Buying local supports the land and people in our community.
We wanted to eat healthier foods more often. With a subscription, we get a regular supply of vegetables delivered to our door. (We pay extra for delivery instead of going to a pick-up location.) While you can also get local produce at a farmers market or grocery store (our CSA does sell at both), delivery makes it super convenient.
It’s a culinary adventure! I’m all about trying new things and it’s fun to open up the CSA box to see what we get. Figuring out how to cook certain vegetables have been a fun challenge.

Our CSA Subscription and What We’ve Cooked

Our CSA is through Johnson’s Backyard Garden, which services Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, and a few smaller cities. Remember when I volunteered at Johnson’s Backyard Garden? [Note: as of September 2021, Johnson’s Backyard Garden is no longer open.]

Our subscription is a medium box for about $35 and includes around 10 different items. We previously picked up our box at Whole Foods, but then switched to CSA delivery for $3 more per box. I think the cost is close or slightly more than what you would pay for organic vegetables at the grocery store.

When it comes to cooking our vegetables, we don’t get complicated. We’ve steamed beets and spinach; roasted romanesco and potatoes; made salads with carrots, kale, and radishes; and sauteed collard greens, chard, and bok choy. This was very similar to my local monthly meals last year. Especially since we’re avoiding physically grocery shopping, more complex recipes are on the back-burner, but it gives us the opportunity to enjoy the vegetables simply and they’re all still so good!

Two vegetables we’re still trying to love are radishes and turnips. We’ve put radishes in salads and turnips in soup, but we need to find some better recipes! It makes us excited when we get beets, kale, romanesco, and potatoes!

CSA Options in Austin, TX

Joining a CSA is a great way to support local farms right now! In the Austin area, there are a few options.

New Leaf Farm – This CSA provides fair-wage work for refugees resettled in Austin.
Green Gate Farms
Urban Roots – This non-profit supports Austin youth. It doesn’t have a CSA but is currently pre-selling boxes weekly.
Central Texas Farmers Co-op
Gray Gardens

If you can’t commit to a CSA, many farms also sell their products at the farmers market.