Carroll Gardens CSA
Brooklyn Record already posted about the Carroll Gardens CSA and asked other Brooklynites what their experience with Garden of Eve farm had been. According to the Just Food website, that same farm services CSAs in Brooklyn Heights, Kensington/Windsor Terrace and Williamsburg. No one on Brooklyn Record really addressed whether or not they thought the veggie and fruit shares were good. I did find one naysayer blog, WilliamsburgCSA, but oddly that blog also promotes this year's CSA from the farm, so I guess they got over the bad delivery. Does anyone have any info to provide?
Last year we did the Cobble Hill CSA, which we found to be moderate in bounty but overachieving in freshness. Added bonus: A guy comes by the church drop-off every week and sells farm-fresh eggs and meat. Previously, we spent two years with the West Village CSA, which was organized by some of the nicest people in New York, and while the food was slightly less fresh feeling, the bounty was overwhelming, even for three big eaters.
If anyone reading is on the fence about signing up for a CSA, I highly recommend reading the Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollen. It's one of the most competent, compelling cognitive arguments for supporting CSAs and local farmers markets out there. I will add this: One of the most compelling gut-level arguments for supporting CSAs and local farmers markets is how amazing the food tastes and how good you feel about supporting a local farmer instead of an industrial cog in our current petroleum-fueled food chain.
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While I love the concept of the CSA, I find the pressure to cook it all takes its toll. That's the only down side for me. I am going to try and buy as much as possible from the greenmarkets though to make up for it, just not every week perhaps. Maybe if my kitchen was as big as yours... ;)
The Carroll Gardens CSA has a nice feature where you can get veggies every other week, but Greenmarket might be better if you're not cooking a lot.
We did the Clinton Hill CSA and were less than thrilled with it, mostly because of the VERY odd vegetables we received (not to mention skimpy shares). But we also understand that last year was a bad year for farms with all the rain and whatnot. We're going to greenmarket it this year I think. Michael Pollen is an amazing author. I bought the Omnivore's Dilemma for my wife for her birthday. His ideas about corn alone (and it's omnipresence in our diet) are eye opening If you haven't read it yet, I HIGHLY recommend The Botany of Desire. :)
For those closer to the DUMBO neighborhood, there's also a new DUMBO / Vinegar Hill CSA starting in 2008. We will be hosting a meet and greet with the farmer and signup event at Phoenix House on Tuesday, April 8th. Check out http://www.dumbocsa.org for details!