My Adventure with the CSA Box

By: Julie K Kwan, MS, AHIP
Associate Director, UCLA Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library and UCLA Science and Engineering Library
Distinguished Librarian, UCLA Library

Last winter, a colleague posted on her Facebook page that she could get CSA boxes in her building. I assumed, enviously, that the boxes were delivered to her apartment building, but I soon learned it was the building where both of us worked! I had been looking for a CSA source for some time, and here it was right in MY building. I signed up immediately!

I was awestruck as I opened my first box. It was beautiful — the color, the texture, the smell. The carrots were short and fat. The avocado was gigantic. The leafy greens were shiny. I looked forward to the weekly surprise, wondering “what would be in the box this week?”

The first six months I read and tested recipes, explored new techniques, and practiced my cooking skills until they were perfect. I sautéed greens, braised carrots, and roasted beets. I started noticing changes in the way I ate. I started spending more time in the produce section at the grocery store. By spring, I started a garden in my back yard. And, it all started with a Facebook post!

South Central Farmers Cooperative delivers to several locations on the UCLA campus. You can sign up and go to the National Agricultural Library’s Community Supported Agriculture page to learn more and to find other farms and locations.