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Fresh, seasonal produce straight from the growing fields near you. Sounds like an old-fashioned idea, doesn’t it?  It is. Yet it’s a deliciously modern way to eat and support your local economy all the while changing our current food distribution model.

When you purchase a farm share, you’re directly supporting local farmers and at the same time providing your family with the freshest, most nutritious food available. The carbon footprint, too, is minimal as the produce needn’t travel around the world to get to your table.

Farm shares are very simply structured.

• You purchase a share directly from a local farmer.  A share can be seasonal or annual, large enough to feed a family of six or small enough for one or two people.
• During the growing season, you pick up your share of freshly harvested food every week.

Typically, the farmer will put together boxes with a predetermined mix of foods from that week’s harvest for each share. New share participants are often surprised to find foods they’ve never heard of, leading to a wonderful diversification of their diets.

Some farms will have a market of sorts where share owners can have more control over what will go into their boxes.  There are usually limits placed so that each share gets a fair share. One person can’t come in early and load up all the cherries, for instance.

Additionally, some farms will combine with other farms to offer a greater variety of foods ranging from produce, milk and cheese, eggs, smoked meats, chicken, honey and freshly baked bread. A number of cooperatives even offer homemade soaps, hand spun yarn and fresh cut flowers.

Most farms offer educational classes and tours if you’re interested in teaching yourself or your children where food comes from. Some farms will even allow you to get your hands dirty helping with seeding or the harvest in exchange for a reduced share price.

The benefits to you, as a consumer, have already been stated, but be aware that there are certain risks as well. If the farm has bad weather, for instance, a crop or two could be lost. If drought sets in, ALL the crops can be lost. You share that risk with the farmer. On the other hand, the yield can be bountiful enough to freeze or put up for the winter.

The benefits to the farmer, the local economy and the environment are enormous.

• Sharing the bad weather risk, of course, greatly helps the independent, family farmer by evening out the good and bad years.
• Upfront payments, too, changes the farmer’s cash flow. The farmer doesn’t need to dip into savings or take out loans to seed the fields or purchase feed for animals.
• Knowing that the yield is already sold, a farmer’s hours are focused on working the fields, not marketing or haggling with buyers from grocery stores.
• The farmer also gets to know the very people who will consume his or her bounty and vice-versa, consumers establish relationships with the people who grow their food.
• The economic impact of a dollar spent locally will usually generate anywhere from $5 to $14 of revenue in your local economy whereas 80% of a dollar spent in a national chain store leaves your community immediately.
• Mother Earth herself will thank you for reducing the number of ships, trucks and trains transporting food thousands of miles.

Where and how do you sign up for a share or two? Visit Local Harvest for a rather extensive list of farms in the United States. Then, make your decision quickly as shares sell out fast … and when they’re gone, they’re gone.

Bon Appetit