Oh, my faithful readers, I feel like I have failed you. Just a little. Most of the farms that participate in the KC CSA Coalition are all full. So if you had high hopes of working directly with one farm and knowing that your money went to the actual sweet potatoes in you box, you are out of luck this season.

Laura Christensen of Blue Door CSA

But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a couple more options…I’ll let you know two other ways you can support local farms through different forms of CSAs.

Stay tuned for that info, but until then, let me explain to those of you who think CSA stands for Carrots Spinach and Asparagus, what a CSA actually is:

Karbaumer Farms CSA

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It is a system in which we can support local farmers by purchasing “shares” of their crops. Depending on the size of the farm and the size of the share (how much you will actually get), it can cost anywhere from $150 to $550 a season. Since farmers are prepping for the season in January, they need their “seed money” then, hence why most of the CSAs are filled by now.

If you were on the ball in January, you would have looked on the Coalition’s website and found a CSA that has a pick up day and location that works for you. If you live in midtown, for example, you obviously wouldn’t want to select a farm who’s pick up is in Olathe.

Parker Farms Natural Meats CSA

Depending on the farm you chose, you may be required to work a certain amount of hours. Some farms just encourage participation and others (actually most) require you do nothing but pick up your food!

Once you are all signed up, you will get a weekly box of goodies. The Missouri growing season is approximately from Mid May to the end of September – about 20-22 weeks. On vacation or at a kid’s baseball game during pick up? Don’t forget to have someone get it for you!