CSAs in Portland

By: Julie Blakley | May 31 2010
Posted in Portland - Grow it - Portland

With summer quickly approaching, the farmers markets are open again for business (Spring in Swing at Portland Farmer's Markets), and plenty of produce is starting to pop up. If you've been entertaining the idea of going local and joining a CSA, this would be the time to take action; soon, your window of opportunity to enjoy yummy fresh produce all summer will be closing, and you'll be left in the produce aisle of the grocery store, glaring at a pile of rock-hard orange tomatoes that will rot before they gain any semblance of flavor. What's a CSA, you wonder? It's your ticket out of a summer filled with said tomatoes and other tasteless produce.

Photo: Gaining Ground Farms

A CSA farming operation is a combined effort between a farm (you know, agriculture) and a community of supporters—basically members pay a share, which in Portland ranges from about $300 for a small share up to $750 for a large share, and in return get weekly boxes of produce and other farm products throughout the spring, summer and fall.

Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. I had always been a fan of CSAs (the quality and freshness of the vegetables is pretty consistently outstanding), but I became a true believer after visiting Horton Road Organics in 2007 (a farm located 35 miles from Eugene) for a story I wrote for news magazine Mosaic.

Last summer's heirloom beauties. Photo: Gaining Ground Farms

I had originally visited the farm because of a student apprentice program they ran—which provided food, lodging and farming education in exchange for labor—but I ended up being amazed at how a small, local, organic farm nurtured the land and produced high quality food.

There is a wide range of options for those looking for a good CSA in the Portland area. Some farms have drop-off points scattered around the Portland area in neighborhoods—Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Beaverton, Wilsonville and more—so finding a CSA that is convenient to you shouldn’t prove challenging.

Different CSAs offer slightly different products. For example, Dolan Creek Farm in Boring offers produce, as well as grass-fed and grass-finished beef, pasture-raised eggs and heritage-breed turkeys. If you sign up for a CSA from Gaining Ground Farm in Yamhill, you can select local wine, goat cheese and pastured chicken that can be included with the seasonal vegetables and herbs.

Some CSAs offer more fruit than others, like the Food Forest Foods in Canby and Beaverton, which in addition to organic fruit and vegetables also offers grapes, apples, pears, plums, quince, berries, garlic, and autumn salad greens. And, if you want fresh fish, the Iliamna Fish Co. sells premium hand-selected wild sockeye salmon (22 pounds, about 12 fillets) filleted, frozen and vacuum-sealed on several dates throughout August.

All of the farms have different price points and membership options (some are pre-pay, others are weekly payments). You can find a list of CSAs and subscription farms on the Portland Oregonian website.

What’s your local CSA? If you're a member, what made you join? If not, how come?