Giving Back to Mother Earth Through CSA and CSF

Honoring the Earth With Green Mom's Network

This summer, we're EATING our way to a greener lifestyle :)

 

 

Welcome to the April 2014 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Honor the Earth. This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and Crunchy Farm Baby through the Green Moms Network. This month, our members are talking about how they honor the Earth year round. Stop by all of the posts to get ideas on how to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle.
 

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Because of Earth Day, the month of April is a natural time to reflect on our lifestyles and make an effort to be more green; however, if we're really going to make meaningful progress in supporting the health of our planet, we need to be devoted to earth-friendly habits and routines every single day. This month, I'm using Spring Greening to get the ball rolling on my blog, but the green efforts of our family won't stop on April 30, because we will continue to explore new ways to support Mother Earth all year long.

This summer, in particular, we will be participating in two new (for us!) community-based programs that support local farms, sustainable practices, and allow my family access to the FRESHEST, YUMMIEST, HEALTHIEST foods! While we've always enjoyed shopping at Farmer's Markets (and still do!), these two new programs help us make a more regular, concerted commitment to local farmers and sustainable initiatives.

Photo Source: Barberry Hill Farm

Community Supported Agriculture

In Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), individuals can "chip in" to support a share of farm products for a designated period of time. This summer we've committed to a summer share of fruits, vegetables and flowers with a local organic farm here in CT. Participants pre-pay a share so the farm can purchase necessary seeds and supplies. Then, when summer comes along, we all head to the farm to pick up our weekly boxes of the freshest seasonal produce in town!

For more information on CSA's or to find a CSA near you, check out the Local Harvest website, which includes the most comprehensive directory of CSA's in the USA.

Photo Source: Thimble Island Oyster Company

Community Supported Fisheries

After researching and choosing a land farm for our CSA this year, we discovered that there's also a local Community Supported Fishery (CSF) near us! Modeled after land-based CSA's the Thimble Island Community Supported Fishery is open to residents of certain towns in CT (and luckily, ours is one of them!). In exchange for our 6-month commitment, we'll receive one dozen oysters and two dozen clams once a month! We are HUGE seafood fans, so we couldn't be more excited about this engagement. But more importantly, it's a great way to support our local shellfish farmers and help maintain the shoreline ocean ecosystem. If you're looking for a CSF near you, check out Local Catch to see what's around.


Visit Happy Mothering and Crunchy Farm Baby to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival! Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed:



This post is also part of the Spring Greening Month Series. Find out why I'm hosting this event here.

Are we connected yet? If not, find me on Pinterest, Facebook, and Google+, and Bloglovin so we can start sharing ideas together!