Dahlonega's CSA- Community Sponsored Agriculture

I recently just finished Michael Pollan's book, "The Ominivore's Dilemma." The book is about the food we eat in America, how it is processed, transported and where it comes from. I checked it out of our Lumpkin County Library.

Today many of us are becoming more aware about the impact of our food production on the environment and global warming. Organically grown food once was part of the vegetarian sector but now becoming more mainstream. You can even find an organic section at the Dahlonega Walmart. Unfortunately most of Walmart's organics originate from across the country which takes a great deal of fossil fuel for transport. My wife and I visited the Whole Foods Market in Sandy Springs yesterday and noticed many of their products travel great distances.

Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSA) farms are popular in many parts of the country. They enable a family or individual to purchase a share of the produce grown by a local farmer. The consumer benefits through fresher food, knowing where and how it is grown and paying a set price for the subscription. Weekly pick ups are arranged with the farmer and the contents varies with what is grown at a particular time. If the share contains more vegetables than needed by a particular family it may be shared with another.

The farmer benefits from the CSA by knowing what is planted will be purchased. The farmer also is able to educate the consumer or purchaser of the share how the vegetable is grown. A relationship with the farmer occurs that benefits both parties.

The environment benefits from a CSA since the food is grown locally. No need to transport the vegetables for great distances that require fossil fuels and adds to global warming. Many CSA's use organic principles. No use of pesticides, herbicides and dangerous chemicals that can damage the ecosystem and watersheds.

Revival Gardens, a local organic farm west of Dahlonega, has a CSA program starting in July. To find out more information on this innovative and progressive program visit http://www.localharvest.org/csadrops.jsp?id=8804.

Support our local CSA farm in Dahlonega.