March is here! And the first day of March means that it’s practically spring, which means it’s practically summer—am I right?! 😉

One of my favorite things about summer in STMA is the opportunity for my family to enjoy the seasonal produce that’s being grown right here in the area. We love shopping at the farmer’s market and roadside stands, and this year will be our third summer buying produce directly from a local farm through CSA—community-supported agriculture.

Brown Family Farm, which grows food in both Big Lake and Elk River, provides CSA members with fresh produce each week throughout the summer and early fall. Families like mine pay up front for a “share” of what’s being grown, and each week we receive a box full of produce delivered directly to St. Michael–Albertville. What comes in the box varies week to week based on what’s ripe and ready to eat. We find mostly fresh vegetables when we open our boxes, but some herbs and fruit as well. (Click here to see photos from the 2017 season)

Three things I love about being part of a CSA:

1. FRESH, fresh produce! Most of the food that we receive in our share boxes was harvested within a day of our receiving it. It doesn’t get more “farm to table” than that!
2. The opportunity to learn about new foods and to share that learning experience with my kids. Not everything that shows up in my CSA box is something I’d typically pick up at the market. It’s been a fun challenge to learn how to cook with things like beets, eggplant, and kohlrabi when they appear. (As it turns out, pretty much everything tastes great when roasted!)  And it’s not just me who’s learning. My 4-year-old can identify vegetables I’d never even heard of when I was her age… and as a plus, she eats them!
3. A relationship with a local family and business we trust. Through the Brown Family Farm blog, we get a window into what’s happening at the farm all spring through fall and get to experience the ups (and sometimes downs) of the farming life. Also, in addition to taking great care with the food they grow for our families, the Brown family uses sustainable farming practices, supports other local businesses such as local farm stores, and donates surplus produce to a local food shelf.

If you’d like to learn more about Brown Family Farm and find out about becoming a CSA share member this summer, visit brownfamilyproduce.com and click on CSA.

Check out Brown Family Farm on Facebook!

Disclosure: My family will be receiving a discount on our share this summer in exchange for my writing this article, but all opinions and photos included here are my own. I really, truly do love our CSA!