Want local organic veggies later this year? Sign up now.

If you haven’t heard of the 100-Mile Diet yet or the new book that goes along with it, Plenty…then definitely go snooping around. Here’s the basic, important, piece: almost every ingredient on your plate has travelled at least 1500 miles to get there. So, it doesn’t taste as fresh, and has a huge carbon footprint. And I’m not even going to talk about the pesticides.

There are other options, however. Down in the Redlands there are several groups of people that work very hard every day in order to be able to provide us with delicious, fresh, organic food. Not only do they sell at the farmers markets in late winter, but they have a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).

Through the Redland Organics CSA, you can order a subscription for an entire season of local veggies. You’ll pick them up at a location near you each Saturday morning from mid-November until the beginning of April.

You can pay $600 for a full share for those 20 weeks of food ($30 a week and read: a TON of food) or $360 for a half share (also, lots of food). (Pictured: a typical March full share) Deposits for next year need to be in place by September 1, but move quickly as the shares can sell out before that. 

If you read my post from last year’s experience (Read all of Tere’s, too: Week 1, Week 2, & Week 4), you’ll see that both Tere & I had some trouble getting accustomed to this way of eating. Six months later, however, I’m missing this fresh, delicious, and healthy local food.

I crave the Asian mix that I didn’t know how to eat. A reader told me: simply eat it as a salad with some bleu cheese dressing. How I think about that delicious flavor – edible flowers & all. You may not know what every veggie is each week, but they’ll tell you.

It’s an experience, it’s good for the environment, your body, and the local farmers. Give it a shot!