0 ITEMS IN CART 
TOP 5 REASONS TO JOIN THE CSA IN 2020
01/17/20 — Ada Broussard
1.SUPPORT LOCAL
By joining our CSA, you are supporting a locally owned and operated business. Buying local helps our economy as well as supply jobs and support the livelihood of fellow Austinites. Unique local businesses are part of what makes Austin and Texas so special! Have you heard of the term food miles? Food miles is the distance food is transported from the time of its production to the time it reaches a consumer’s plate. Food miles are one factor to consider when considering the environmental impact of a particular food. As you can imagine, so many items in your standard grocery store measure food miles in the thousands. When you buy our vegetables, not only are you supporting a local business, but you’re also purchasing food that measures food miles in the tens…. Produce travels from our fields directly to your table, with no grocery store storage warehouses in between.
Our CSA can augment your regular weekly shopping list, ensuring that you have some of that scrumptious local produce in your diet, too! A little goes a long way.
Becoming a member of our local community means getting to know your farmer. Whether you pickup at a market or attend our annual events, it's certainly special to know the people growing your food. Photo by Scott David Gordon.
2. GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH
Farm-fresh vegetables are jam packed with vitamins and minerals that are essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Two and a half cups a day says the FDA? Ain’t no thang with a CSA headed your way. Here at JBG, we use sustainable cropping methods that ensure the health of our soil, and healthy soil means nutritious vegetables.
In addition to being beautiful (and tasty) this week's kale pesto packs some serious nutritional punch. Photo (and recipe) by Mackenzie Smith. Head to our hope page to find the recipe! Photo by Scott David Gordon.
3. FRESHEST POSSIBLE VEGGIES
Cultivated in East Austin and oftentimes harvested no more than a day or two before reaching your doorstep, these vegetables are at peak nutrition and flavor. Getting a CSA share with JBG means you know exactly where your food is coming from and how it's grown. GMO? Heck no! Our farm is certified organic, and then some.Come out for a volunteer day, see your crops in the field, and ask your farmers about it.
Veggies, like this chard, go from being living plants with roots in the ground to dinner ingredients in a matter of days. Photo by Scott David Gordon.
4. KNOW YOUR SEASONS
Eating locally connects you to the seasons, to the land, and to your own health and wellness. Cucumbers will cool you down in the summer, while braised collards will warm you up when the temperatures start to drop. Enjoy the best pico de gallo of your life during the short window when cilantro, onions, peppers, and tomatoes all overlap, and we promise you'll never go back to the store-bought stuff again. You'll get acclimated with the seasons on a whole new level, and learn about what naturally grows when and why.
We can grow carrots throughout a large portion of the year, but if you're paying close attention to the seasons you'll notice that carrots harvested after the first big cold snap are as sweet as candy - carbs have converted to sugar as the plant prepares for a cold winter. Or a simmering stew. Photo by Scott David Gordon.
5. TRY NEW FOODS
With farmers who are constantly chompin’ at the bit to try a new crop, who knows what will show up in your CSA box. From the array of Asian greens to the broad pepper spectrum, keep your mind wide open to a whole new world of vegetables you never even knew existed. Each week one of our trusted CSA members creates a recipe that features the CSA box contents, and we’ve got a wonderfully delicious archive of recipes that will help you eat your way through any season.
Still not convinced? If you join by the end of January, we'll send you a free box. Just enter the code below.
