SEATTLE, Wash. — For consumers eagerly awaiting fresh spring and summer produce now is the time to find your Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmer. With the 2022 growing season underway, Eat Local First is promoting its CSA Finder designed to help consumers find local food subscriptions near them. Additional resources, tips and stories of local CSA farms and fisheries are also available on the Eat Local First website. Consumers are also invited to enter to win $100 toward their choice of a CSA share from any CSA farm in Washington.
Joining a farm’s CSA is one of the most significant ways consumers can support local farmers says Sheryl Wiser, Director of Outreach for Tilth Alliance a member of the Eat Local First Collaborative. “CSA subscriptions provide farmers with essential revenue at the beginning of the growing season. Just by purchasing a share of the farm you are putting literal seed money into farmers’ hands so they can get a jump on the growing season.”
Wiser also noted that CSA’s or “farm shares” come in a variety of options – produce, fruit, fish, meat, eggs, dairy even flowers across the seasons, with some farms offering even year-round options. She urges consumers not to delay in signing up as farm shares have been filling up faster than usual. “March Madness is more than basketball in food and farming world,” she notes. “It’s really the month when many CSA subscriptions reach capacity.”
Launched in November 2020 the Eat Local First platform features the Washington Food & Farm Finder, an online tool that helps farmers, food businesses, and food resources of all sizes — including producers of agricultural products such as wool and flowers, farmers markets, food hubs, and others by connecting them with consumers. Consumers can in turn use the tool to find locally grown and produced products in 37 counties throughout the state.
Formed in June 2020, the Eat Local First Collaborative is a collective of food system organizations working together to facilitate connections between consumers and farm and food businesses statewide. Members include The Local Food Trust, Pierce County Fresh, Sustainable Connections, Tilth Alliance, Washington State University Food Systems, and Washington State University Regional Small Farms Program with anticipated future participation from additional partners.
— Eat Local First