CSA-The Best Way to Control Your Own Supply Chain

 By : Patrice Hall

I have been a member of Norwood CSA for 15 years, and I have never felt as fortunate to be a part of this group as I do now.  The broken food supply chain is becoming a large problem as some supermarket chains are facing shortages of all kinds of goods.  There are hundreds of cargo ships waiting off the coast of California to unload their goods, and the trucking industry is facing staffing shortages.  I am reading more and more articles highlighting the importance of buying local produce and goods as overseas shipping is not as reliable as it once was.  These factors point to one simple fact, families across the US must learn to control their own sources of food and necessities of life.

CSA’s are one way to do this, we purchase shares in a local farm and receive food shipped direct to us each week, which means we bypass the middle-man (supermarkets, store chains, etc.) who markup goods.  These stores also rely on overseas shipments and other factors, due to the pandemic staffing shortages shelves become bare when shipments are late.  Also, when the food finally arrives it is near its expiration date, or it is heavily treated with preservatives to extend shelf life.  By contrast, our weekly share from the farm is free of preservatives because it is picked fresh early that morning or canned that week, and the meat is fresh from colorants and other chemicals.

It is unfortunate that it takes a pandemic for us to realize just how fragile our supply chain is and how important local farms and producers are, but I am happy that the public is becoming aware of this.  Every week I strive to use every bit of my share and waste little, I also try to preserve as much as possible.  Maybe this will lead to more people joining CSA’s like ours in the future, and this will help local farms like Norwich Meadows thrive.