Jordan Young Loves Farmer Tom’s CSA

By Venus Zine Staff
Published: October 8th, 2010 | 12:00am

Being raised on junk food, I’ve recently taken a turn toward improving my health by eating a more diverse and nutritious diet. I’ve discovered a love for foods that are colorful and full of flavors I never knew. Plus, eating more fruits and veggies really does make you feel better. But buying healthy foods on a budget in a supermarket is tough, so I was stoked to hear about Farmer Tom’s from a coworker.

Farmer Tom’s started in 2001 and currently serves Chicago and its suburbs and operate a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. The goal of CSAs is to increase the consumption and production of organic food, making local, organic foods more readily available to consumers.

Signing up was easy—all I had to do was fill out the form online and a week later take my payment to the pick-up location—and my first box of goodies was ready for me to bring home and enjoy. Since then I’ve been experimenting with new recipes and relish the surprises every week, as each box is different. I mean, who doesn’t love a win/win situation? I get affordable and delicious produce and at the same time I’m helping local organic farmers and the environment. It’s easy and genius!

Farmer Tom’s is specific to the Chicago area, but there are community supported agriculture programs all over. Search localharvest.org for the location nearest you.

Jordan Young is a Venus Zine editorial intern.

Comments

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Jared (about 1 year)
I love my CSA! I when they send some random vegetable that I've never cooked with before, and then I discover a new favorite! In the San Francisco area, 'Farm Fresh to You' is a good option since they will deliver to the door or your home or apartment. That said some of the other bay area CSAs might give you more vege for your buck.

George (about 1 year)
Farmer Tom only supplies local produce 5 months out of the year. The other 7 months the food comes from distributors like any other grocery store. Does anyone know where exactly he's getting his food?