I'm not waking up on Saturday to go to a farmer's market!

That's right, you heard me. A huge reason for me getting a CSA is because I don't have to wake up on a Saturday morning to go to a farmer's market. My mom loves them and for years tried to get me to love them too. I don't hate them, I just love sleep more. 

I resisted farmer's markets my whole life. Whenever people ask me to go to one, I politely decline. They never leave it at that- they always want to know why I don't want to go. As if the norm is wanting to go and they cannot fathom why I would not be psyched about getting up early on a Saturday morning to get the best produce. "Sorry, it's just not my thing" is never enough. As the conversation develops, they inevitably want to solve the dilemma of my being undersupplied of locally grown produce and recommend I get a farm share (or a CSA as they are also called). 

I have lived around the US and heard about CSAs/farm shares everywhere I went. I am a very saavy grocery shopper and also someone who doesn't know how to cook. Those two together mean would mean lots of spoiled overpriced produce if I got a CSA. At least, that is what I told myself. More about cost later. 

When I first heard about CSAs, I was working on a college campus in Colorado and had a meal plan. I had so much produce available to me for such a reasonable price, I couldn't justify spending a dime on additional produce. When my mom got one (in Iowa City, IA), I was a little jealous but still couldn't justify the expense (when she went in on a cow-share, I was very entertained). Then I moved to Georgia, where peaches were abundant but CSAs we not available in my town. As always, I was left with the farmer's market option.

3 reasons for getting a CSA

1. I moved to Michigan. I guess I should say I moved back to Michigan. I had done my graduate work at Michigan State University and was thrilled when the perfect position opened up at my alma mater. Coming back as a grown up (graduate school delays adulthood so I would not consider myself an adult even though I was in my early 20s when I was here), I essentially discovered the city for the first time. It is beautiful! MSU (aka "moo-u") also has a strong agricultural program so they have a student run organic farm. As an educator, supporting a student run endeavor was a huge selling point for me (and influenced me more than supporting my random local farmer). 

2. I am learning to cook. After years of living on campus with a meal plan, I moved off campus and realized I had no real cooking skills. So, I started to intentionally challenge myself to learn new cooking techniques for the last 7 years. I tend to go through phases. I mastered ramen in college and pasta in grad school. Since then, I've worked on baking, dried beans, soups, roasts, slow cookers, and mexican food. Turns out, vegetables are part of almost all styles of cooking. I knew I needed to dive in and a CSA would force me out of my broccoli, corn, and kale comfort zone.

3. I want to be healthy. I know, I know- most people say they want to lose weight. I want to do that too but, more importantly, I want to feel good. I find that every time I sign up for weight watchers or get a new wellness app on my smart phone, the first thing I realize is I don't get enough exercise or vegetables. I'm working on fixing both of those things. Getting a CSA is a committment to myself that I will eat my fruits and veggies like a good girl. 

So, when I found that my university had a student run organic farm CSA, I decided to take the plunge.