Eating local

I believe in local investment, I do. It is however, an option that I've always found either way too expensive, or extremely inconvenient---especially where food is concerned. I'm a single girl, with no one to look after, so I have the luxury of not having to think ahead as far as meals are concerned. Of course, that same luxury means that my diet tends to be extremely tasty, but not very good for me or my wallet. I love to cook, as well, but when I buy produce in any kind of bulk, it usually goes to waste.

I have come upon an option that looks extremely intriguing. I was cruising around the Slow Food Charlotte site recently and found a listing for Carlea Farms. The farm participates in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. For 20 weeks and $500.00 (the 2009 rate), you can get a bag of ultra-fresh, locally grown produce every week, dropped off at the Tailgate Farmer's Market in Charlotte or the Matthews Community Farmer's Market. They also have recipes on their site to guide you through cooking all of your new found veggies.

Now, it's a little more complicated than all of that; there's an application you have to fill out and there's only a limited amount of spots available, but like I said, it's an extremely intriguing option. I'm going to have to check with my roommate to see if she's at all interested in participating with me because I'm not sure I could go through a full grocery bag of produce every week. I sure would like to try though! It would definitely help me eat a lot healthier, that's for sure.

Check out Local Harvest for more info about CSA programs in general. There's a handy map that will direct you to all of the local farms in your area that participate!