Picking Up Your Summer CSA: Cropthorne Farm

Posted on Monday, 5 July 2021 under Stories

Summer is the perfect time to embrace the influx of locally grown fruits and vegetables. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs offer subscribers a convenient way to receive a variety of local produce every week throughout the season. For example, Cropthorne Farm’s medium size, summer CSA includes seven to nine different vegetables each week starting mid-June until October. They have multiple pick-up locations, including the new Farmers Market at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Every Wednesday, the box is picked up following their incredibly easy and COVID-safe pick-up process. The farmers market takes all safety precautions before visitors enter including mandatory masks, hand sanitizing, and limited capacity of shoppers. Upon arrival at the Cropthorne Farm tent, you are greeted by their two lovely staff members and a colourful variety of fruits and vegetables for purchase. After notifying their staff you are there to pick up your CSA box, they bring you around to the back of their truck and pull your designated box, packed just for you. Each member is responsible for unpacking their bin and transferring their vegetables into their own bag, making this vegetable haul free from single-use packaging items. Once you are done packing your bag, you are free to continue shopping at the market and your bin is taken back to the farm to be reused for next week’s CSA.

 

Reflecting on how much time it takes choosing and shopping for produce, the CSA box is such a fun and reliable way to have your produce chosen and packed for you. Not only does it help support local agriculture, subscribing to a CSA is a time and energy saver for you! In our first week, we received such a wonderful variety of fresh vegetables including lettuce, spinach, beets, garlic scapes, shallots, radishes, carrots, and cucumber.

Stay tuned to our social media channels and website for some exciting ‘eat local’ recipes as we work through our CSA boxes each week. We will share some ways you can use those unique vegetables found in your CSA share or at the farmers market. 

Check out our map of BC CSA farms to find one nearest you!