I’ve been working on my New Year’s resolutions. One of them will be to limit my skillful use of procrastination, so it’s an encouraging sign that I’m working on resolutions a full six days early.
One of the things I plan not to procrastinate about this year is choosing a CSA.
I may go with King’s Hill Farm again. We didn’t have many complaints. But I’ve heard great things about a few others in the area.
Don’t get me wrong. I would wholeheartedly recommend King’s Hill Farm. The veggies were almost always fresh and fairly clean. And I enjoyed the regular newsletter with tips on preparation and, importantly, identifications of veggies. That proved key considering King’s Hill Farm introduced me and my family to several unfamiliar varieties of squash, onions and greens.
I’m just curious about the others, especially Sandhill Organics and Angelic Organics.
Those were the main two I was considering…but while I was writing this, I learned another reason not to procrastinate. Sandhill has already sold out of shares for Spring 2010, according to Local Harvest.
So…I better get my act together and fast.
Any others I should consider that deliver or have easy Oak Park pick up?
Virtual Farmgirl 
I whole-heartedly endorse and recommend Angelic Organics. I've been a shareholder for going on 5 years. I tried another CSA for the spring season last year and had a chance to try out two different operations side by side. The two main things that made me an even bigger Angelic Organics fan after the experiment? (1) Some CSA farms also sell at Farmers Markets which I find can be a conflict of interest. There were times when our spring boxes were “light” because of weather conditions, etc, but I would go to the Green City Market and see a table full of veggies from said farm. It was a little confusing – you have enough veggies to sell at the market, but not enough to fulfill the boxes of your shareholders? Angelic Organics only has shareholders and does not sell at Farmers Markets, to restaurants, etc. (2) I have never, ever questioned the authentic “organic-ness” of AO whereas I was sometimes skeptical of the other CSA that I tried. That's my two cents!
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Hmm. Very interesting J. Noelle. I wouldn't normally have any concerns about a farm selling CSA shares and selling at markets…but I see that farmer ethics (or unethical conduct) may cause some concern.
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I whole-heartedly endorse and recommend Angelic Organics. I've been a shareholder for going on 5 years. I tried another CSA for the spring season last year and had a chance to try out two different operations side by side. The two main things that made me an even bigger Angelic Organics fan after the experiment? (1) Some CSA farms also sell at Farmers Markets which I find can be a conflict of interest. There were times when our spring boxes were “light” because of weather conditions, etc, but I would go to the Green City Market and see a table full of veggies from said farm. It was a little confusing – you have enough veggies to sell at the market, but not enough to fulfill the boxes of your shareholders? Angelic Organics only has shareholders and does not sell at Farmers Markets, to restaurants, etc. (2) I have never, ever questioned the authentic “organic-ness” of AO whereas I was sometimes skeptical of the other CSA that I tried. That's my two cents!
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Hmm. Very interesting J. Noelle. I wouldn't normally have any concerns about a farm selling CSA shares and selling at markets…but I see that farmer ethics (or unethical conduct) may cause some concern.
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