Garden/ Fresh Produce Options

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

According to the Wikipedia, "A CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farming operation where the growers and consumers share the risks and benefits of food production. CSAs usually consist of a system of weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables and fruit and sometimes includes dairy products and meat."  In Subscription CSAs, the consumers simply pay for their share of the bounty as farm work is not required.  In Shareholder CSAs, the consumers often work the land themselves.

CSAs benefit the farmer as they have an existing market for their products, thus reducing cost and risk.  This type of agricultural agreement also greatly benefits the consumer with inexpensive fresh, local produce especially if they do not have the space, time or inclination to start a garden.

CSAs are a relatively new concept to this area, but there are a few farmers who offer a CSA program.  The Allen County-Purdue Extension services offers a list of CSAs that might work for someone living in the Fort Wayne area.  See this list offered by Farmers Pal if you live in a different region.  If you are interested in participating in a CSA, it would probably behoove you to investigate as soon as possible.

Farmer's Markets

Visit local farmer's markets for homegrown, often organic produce.  Scroll to the bottom of this page for a long list of Fort Wayne farmer's markets.  You can pretty much find one any day of the week and most of the markets run from June to October.  We will put a reminder post up about these markets at the end of May.

Start Your Own Garden

Starting your own garden or mini-CSA is another option.  The Frugal Fort Wayne sisters work a garden together (under the guidance of our Farmer Father) on a single plot of land.  After only having one year of gardening under my belt, I can say that planting, caring for, and harvesting the very food that is served at my table is incredible.  Not only does the act of gardening put me in touch with God, nature and Grandpa R, it allows me to know exactly how and where my food came from.  Oh, and there is the small fact that a garden DRASTICALLY cuts down on the produce bill during the summer months and also year round when abundant bounty is frozen.