It may be right around freezing today, but now is the time to make plans for your summer food. If you've thought about joining a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture), or if you're already definitely going to do so, you need to make your move in the next week or two. CSAs are essentially buying clubs in which a group of food buyers contract with a given local farmer to purchase that farmer's output throughout the season. And that season is about to start: Once the ground loosens up farmers will begin planting in earnest and will need to have their orders set by that point. People are already signing up, so be sure to reserve your place!
There are plenty of options. Faithful Daily News readers will be familiar with Farm to City, established by Bob Pierson, which I wrote up around this time several seasons ago, but there are new CSAs cropping up all the time. One new and noteworthy entry, which I came across at the Straight from the Farm blog, is Henry Got Crops, a partnership between Weavers Way and W.B. Saul High School. This sounds like an interesting approach from two well-respected local organiations, and Jennie at Straight from the Farm has gone to the mat to personally vouch for the organic integrity of the produce.
This is a good time to mention that food co-ops and buying clubs are also a good way to pool resources and keep your price down while concentrating on local, organic or other particular types of food. While Weavers Way is the best known locally, there are others in different areas of town, and Green Jobs Philly (as always!) has a few to get you started. And of course there will continue to be farmers' markets if you're not ready to make a season-long commitment but still want to be able to talk to the people who produce your food.
Be sure to look through the resources and find the plan that fits your needs - but don't take too long, or you could get left out in the cold for summer crops!
The experts at Philadelphia's Energy Coordinating Agency answer your energy questions in our regular feature Stay Warm, Stay Green. Send in your question or questions to energy@phillynews.com.
Look for Jenice Armstrong to supply tips on green living as well as occasional columns on the subject of Green. She also blogs at Hey Jen.
Becky Batcha stays tuned for the here-and-now practical side of conservation, alternative energy, organic foods, etc. - stuff you can do at home now. Plus odds and ends.
Flavia Colgan has been telling Citizen Hunters how to "go green" since back before everyone got tired of that phrase. She brings her knowledge of the worlds of politics and of entertainment to the table and point you to the most useful ideas she finds on the Web.
Laurie Conrad recycles from her ever-growing e-mailbag to pass along the latest travel deals, fashion statements, household strategies, gadgets, cool local events and other nuggets of interest to those who appreciate a clean, green world.
Vance Lehmkuhl looks at topics like eco-conscious eating, public transportation and fuel-efficient driving from his perspective as a vegetarian, a daily SEPTA bus rider and a hybrid driver, as well as noting the occasional wacky trend or product.
Ronnie Polaneczky sees the green movement through the eyes of her 12-year-old daughter, who calls her on every scrap of paper or glass bottle that Ronnie neglects to toss into the house recycling bins. Ronnie will blog about new or unexpected ways to go green. She also blogs at So, What Happened Was...
Sandra Shea and the DN editorial board opine on any green-related legislation or policy. And we'll pass along some of the opeds on the subject that people send us.
Jonathan Takiff will be blogging mainly about consumer electronics - those things that we love to use and that suck too much energy. He'll spotlight green-conscious gizmos made in a responsible fashion, both in terms of materials used and the energy it takes to run them.
Signe Wilkinson draws the comic strip Family Tree, which follows the Tree family as they try to live green in the face of nattering neighbors, plastic-wrapped consumer products, and the primal teenage urge to spend vast quantities of money on hair care products of dubious organic quality.
In addition to these updates from our newsroom bloggers, watch for an occasional feature, Dumpster Diver Dispatches, from Philadelphia's original "green" community of artists, the Dumpster Divers. You'll learn about creative ways to reuse and recycle while you reduce, and about the artists who are making little masterpieces from what others throw out.
Sept. 17: A head start on cold season
Oct. 8: Help with fuel bills
Oct. 29: Last-minute ways to winterize
Nov. 19: Budgeting for the big bite
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