That was a question I had for several years. I’d written about a lot of CSA programs for my newspaper column, but never took the plunge until recently. Here’s a bit of information about CSAs to help you determine whether they’re right for you.

What is a CSA?

The acronym stands for Community Supported Agriculture. At its essence, a CSA program is a subscription service – very much like a magazine subscription. You agree to pay a recurring amount to the CSA program, and in return you receive a regular supply of agriculture product. Typically, CSAs are run by farms, so that means fresh produce, but in some areas the concept has been extended to seafood and meats as well.

What are the benefits of joining a CSA?

You’re directly helping in the financial risk and reward of that operation. By signing up for, say, six months, you’ve guaranteed the farm a stable income for that stretch of time – a nice little cushion for a business model usually running on thin margins. The membership also gains you a bit of emotional ownership in the success of the farm.

Because you’re involved with a seasonal operation, your CSA share will reflect that. You’re going to get samples of whatever the farm has just harvested. It will be some of the freshest product you can find, and you will certainly be eating seasonally.

Sometimes when you open your share box, you may feel like you’re on an episode of Chopped. Alongside the familiar produce may be something you’ve never even seen before, let alone cooked with, but don’t panic. Odds are your CSA program has included recipes and even storage tips for every ingredient.

What are the downsides?

You will be eating very seasonally: no tomatoes in January, no peaches in August, and no watermelon in March! Also, the variety in your box will depend on how varied the farm operation is. What’s in the box is what they have available, and there may be times when you’ll get more lettuce than Peter Rabbit’s family could eat in a week.

The frequency of CSA shares and how you receive them will also vary from program to program. Most offer a weekly or every other week option, and typically you’ll have to pick up your share from a mutual drop point in your area. (Sometimes this is the farm itself, so you’ll get to see where your produce comes from — a perk that can be filed under benefits.)

How have CSAs evolved to be more attractive to members?

When the concept started over 25 years ago, members were pretty locked in to fairly rigid schedules. Farmers need to spend their time farming, so the process was basic by necessity. However, thanks to some user-friendly software programs developed within the past few years, a lot of CSAs are now able to offer more flexible arrangements, such as vacation holds. Some operations even allow you to make your own changes online at your convenience.

Many CSAs do a bit of partnering with other operations. Maybe a local herb grower or beekeeper will join up with a CSA to offer one-time goodies, or some farms will team up and divvy up their crops so members get more variety in their shares.

And, most CSAs now encourage you to recycle your empty share box by turning it back in when you pick up your new full one.

Should you join a CSA?

At least give it a try! It’s a great way to eat more seasonally, to get your household (and kids!) cooking, and to be more engaged in your local farming community. It might also be a good option for an office group or a couple of neighbors; you can share the share so the amount of produce isn’t so daunting.

Check out your local CSAs and see what options they offer. Chances are you can find one that meets your budget and scheduling needs. If it doesn’t work, you can always opt out and/or try another.

So, how did my CSA experience go, you ask?

Wonderfully! Though I found out I was not a fan of kale.

Since I live on the Central Coast of California, I figured the best time to test out a CSA membership was during what passes for “winter” here. Yes, I know. That time of year when we don heavy jackets as the mercury dips down into the 20s, but it does give us a “limited” growing season. (I used to live in Minnesota, mind you, so I realize the absurdity.)

At any rate, for experiment’s sake, I decided to join an unusual CSA model – SLO Veg in San Luis Obispo. Instead of an actual farming operation, SLO Veg acts as an umbrella operation to funnel the product of local farms into a CSA program. This made for a wide variety of produce in any one shipment, including little extras from time-to-time such as a small clamshell of microgreens, a rosemary starter plant, and a sheaf of bay laurel to put in my winter soup stock.

SLO Veg also offered a very flexible scheduling system, including the options of every other week, vacation holds, and two different share sizes. Their ingredient information was very thorough as well. I never got anything I wasn’t familiar with cooking, but I did learn a lot about storing my veggies better – cutting the tops of carrots and keeping apples in the crisper instead of on the counter.

Since I joined the CSA in “winter,” there was a lot of kale. Lots of kale. Then some more kale. SLO Veg offered to swap it out for me, but I decided to pull up my big girl pants and stick it out. Did I mention I’m not a fan of kale?

When all was said and done, I was very happy with my CSA experience. I ultimately decided not to continue, mainly because of some travel plans (which, again, SLO Veg was willing to work with me on, as I suspect most CSAs would be). But, I would happily join this – or another – CSA in the future.

One big upside to this particular membership is that SLO Veg delivered my share boxes for pickup at my gym, which got me going to the gym every other week. Hmmmmm. Maybe I join rejoin sooner rather than later!