Membership in Fair Shares-- It works for Me!

Last week when went to pick up my share from Fair Shares I found we had pickling cucumbers in our share. I wanted to trade them for something else but was told trading on produce is on hold while the summer bounty is arriving. Kevin, one of the great staff members at Fair Share, suggested I try making refrigerator pickles. I thought, oh, yeah, are you crazy. But I took the picklers home and sat them on a shelf in my refrigerator.

For days I had those things staring at me each time I opened the refrigerator and I started to wonder if this whole Fair Shares thing is worth it, but every time I questioned it, I new the answer was YES!!!

In the early spring I joined Fair Shares, a combined CSA (community supported agriculture) to try to eat with more awareness of where our food comes from, and to try to make less of an impact on the world. On their website Fair Shares explains they, "work with local farmers and producers to collect, organize and distribute a well-rounded example of the freshest, seasonal, sustainably produced foods available in St. Louis all year long. Members of Fair Shares know who produces all the food we feature, plus we give menu ideas, recipes, and storage and preparation tips in our newsletters and on the forum." I can tell you that is all true.

Once a week I go to the Fair Shares warehouse to pick up my share in that week's bounty. The nice thing is I don't have to search out the growers and producers, they have already done it. Throughout the week they are talking with growers and producers finding what is available and making orders to get us members a variety of foods from local sources. They place orders with Hearltand Creamery to get cheeses, Companion to get breads, Mangia Intaliano to get a variety of pastas, to name a few. In the summer they are also dealing with area farms to manage the produce coming in each week, ensuring the members get a well-rounded variety of food.

There are currently 315 members in Fair Shares and the small staff ensures we each get quality food each week, without taxing the small producers providing the food. The staff has organized and plan where we each get all the food, but on different weeks. Just think how difficult it would be for a family farm to prepare 315 chickens in one week! Instead the plan has some of us receiving beef, while others receive lamb, and others receive trout, etc.

Produce is at the mercy of the weather and what the farmers can get planted and harvested. In the Spring lettuce was plentiful and we received it each week. In mid-summer tomatoes and peaches are plentiful. The staff carefully figures out how many tomatoes and peaches we receive for our share, based on what the farmers bring to the warehouse. On one week we may get three tomatoes, an another it may be six. Like the farmers we are supporting we are at the mercy of heat and rain.

How does this benefit me? I like that I am supporting local growers and producers and making less of an impact on the environment. My food is not being trucked in from thousands of miles away. I don't have to make the trek on Saturday morning to the Tower Grove Farmers Market to see what the local producers have available for the week. And, more importantly, I am not given the choice of what food I will buy each week. That may not seem like a benefit, but if I had not pre-payed for my share, I would have never bought leeks or kale or turnips from the market. Since I have pre-payed for the food I take it and find ways to eat it. And I've found I like it!

Each time I research and cook a new food, I picture my grandmother finding new ways to eat her whatever was coming up in her garden that week. I have fond memories of eating rubarb pie and fresh pears at my grandmother's home. If that is what is in season, that is what she ate. I am also finding ways to save the abundant foods, like tomatoes and peaches for use later in the year, when fruits and vegetable will be in short supply. I've been freezing peaches, blueberries and tomato sauce and last night canned, yes, canned!, three pints of pickles. (using those challenging pickling cucumbers)

I highly recommend everyone find a way to eat locally and seasonally. Support local producers! And if you need ideas for what to do with those pickling cucumbers, or leeks let me know. We can figure this out together.