Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs have been making an important, direct link between farmers and consumers in the United States for the past two decades. Traditionally, a CSA program offers consumers fresh fruits and vegetables by way of a seasonal subscription fee.
However, at the Stevens County CSA, we decided to offer more than just fruits and vegetables in our box, because we have all kinds of wonderful farmers in our county that produce excellent products. We also knew that in order to really shop locally, many interested consumers would have to drive many of the 2,487 miles that encompass our county! So we decided to make it simple for those who know that fresh food always tastes best. In exchange for a fee, our patrons can get fresh fruit, berries, veggies, herbs, bread, and half a dozen eggs every week.
By working to get our farm fresh products directly to the consumer, the CSA cuts out the middleman and the industrial, petroleum based system that ships food an average of 1,500 miles before it gets to the consumer. By limiting the distance food travels, farmers make a better profit and consumers have the benefits of fruits and vegetables that have been sun-ripened (not by gasses or artificial lights like in the grocery store) along with eggs from hens that have been raised in a humane, outdoor environment.
We here at the Stevens County CSA pledge to do things the old-fashioned way. Our food will give you a sense of what food was when pride in production was more important than shortcuts to profits. Our growers are dedicated to being good stewards of our land while raising nutritious food. We want to shake your hand, answer your questions, and let you see our farms. In this way, you not only have the assurance that we are raising food that is safe and sustainable, but you also have a relationship with the person who grows your food.
The Stevens County CSA partners with nearly a dozen local farms and orchards to bring you “real local food, real easy.”
