Harvest Routes

A few months ago, our friends decided to start up their own CSA (or Community-Supported Agriculture), called Harvest Routes. Essentially, they work with local farmers to provide fresh, local produce, eggs, meat, and honey to the community. There are a multitude of farmers in our area, but the lack of farmer’s markets is apparent. It’s difficult and time-consuming to buy local. Their solution is to provide a box of produce and eggs (and whatever else you would like to add on) to subscribers each week from various farmers. If you’re familiar with a co-op, this is similar, only more farms are involved and when you pick up your box every week, it’s already packed for you.

I’ve been super excited about participating. I’ve always thought it a shame that “The Garden State” doesn’t have more opportunities to buy local and seasonal food. Farmer’s markets are growing in our area, but they’re only once a week and still somewhat limited. We picked up our first box yesterday – an enormous box filled with kale, mustard greens, arugula, radishes, oregano, lettuce, leeks, eggs and more (see pic below). Since we get whatever is in season, each week is a fun surprise. I love it. I’m already looking up recipes for some of the produce I’m less familiar with. Because of Harvest Routes, we'll be trying and experiencing new foods and learning new recipes. There's nothing a foodie loves more. And I love that we’re supporting the local farms. As summer gets into full swing, we’ll be getting tomatoes, watermelon, green beans, beets. And everything is fresh, seasonal, and local. 

One of the best features this CSA offers is flexibility. You can sign up for weekly or biweekly pickups and can add on raw honey, fresh coffee, and more to your box. If you go on vacation, you can “freeze” your subscription until you come back. It’s a really great feature. Since it’s just Kurt and I, we’re signed up for biweekly deliveries at the moment and I think it will be plenty of food. For more information and a much better explanation, you can visit their website: www.Harvest-Routes.com