Co-ops growing as demand for organic veggies rises

Courtesy of the Daily Herald

Side dishes took on a whole new sense of urgency last year in the Riemer household. There was steamed squash, raw squash, squash in salads, squash mixed with other vegetables and even -- for dessert -- squash pie. If they ate it, it likely contained a vegetable. Like thousands of families across the area, the Riemers discovered the abundance of fresh produce that hails from Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA. "I can't buy tomatoes and peppers (at the store) anymore," said Jen Riemer of Crystal Lake. "They just don't taste the same."

For a one-time fee or weekly installments, customers with CSAs sign up for weekly bushel baskets of fresh, predominantly organic vegetables and fruits from farms throughout the region. Most of the delivery seasons start in early June, but some begin as early as mid-May, depending on whether farms are able to grow food in protected hoop houses. Generally speaking, the household cost for a season share ranges between $500 and $700. And with a continuing rise in demand for chemical-free and locally grown food, the popularity of CSAs is escalating. Wellhausen Farms, which distributes throughout DuPage County, began as an effort to provide healthy food for members of the Wheaton family themselves. "Dad started reading and hearing stuff on the news about grocery stores and sprayed and unhealthy (food)," said Jamie Wellhausen. "We started growing vegetables for our family, then decided to share with our neighbors. Then we put together the idea of the CSA program. We wanted to share with other people. We started with 16 clients, then 25, then 40, 50, then 100." That sort of growth isn't uncommon. In fact, many of the same small growers who dedicated themselves to farmers markets are turning to selling shares. Gray Wiechern's Mother Earth Organic Farm in Plainfield is in its second year as a cooperative. And frankly, it's a much better deal for Wiechern. There's no weekly setup, no tiring travel, and she's got a prepaid audience.

Then there's the help. "I offer an incentive for those that want to put some work in," she said. Essentially, share owners can work off the equivalent of about $7.50 an hour by helping out in the field or greenhouse. Most folks, however, choose simply to pay full price for their vegetables and wait eagerly for their weekly delivery.

Many cooperative farmers limit themselves to the number of households, or shares, they'll sell. They could grow much more if they wanted, but practicality requires they scale back. Sixteen years ago, John Peterson started Angelic Organics in Caledonia, Ill., with an experimental 30 shares. Now the farm -- which delivers across the suburbs as well as in Chicago -- capped its limit at 1,200 shares. "Most people come to us because we're local and we're organic," General Manager Bob Bower said. They're expanding their farm operations now to focus on biodiversity, or the concept of being self-sustaining. It's not that their market has slowed. Elliot Hamilton can attest to that: His Arlington Heights house serves as a regional drop-off site for Angelic where about 80 customers pick up their weekly deliveries. That usually means between 20 and 30 pounds of produce per box. Hamilton said he's been a CSA convert for more than a decade, and his wife, Tenja, helped put together recipes and a cookbook for other shareholders to help get their money's worth out of their purchases. That tends to be one of the bigger problems newbies face: Simply eating all the fresh food. "I suppose that's why we give away a third of the box," Hamilton said.

Most of the cooperatives send out newsletters with suggested recipes and even explanations about the identities of the food. "Some people are used to buying the food in the grocery and they're not used to seeing vegetables that aren't already chopped up and prepared," Jamie Wellhousen said. "Some people will put (squash) on the counter for decoration, and when they see (our weekly) e-mail they'll be like, 'Oh, I can eat it?' " There's a whole new range of food education involved with cooperatives, said Peg Shaeffer, of Sandhill Organics in Grayslake. Not only do buyers learn new ways of cooking old standbys and discover new vegetables, but they appreciate the times of year when the food truly grows. Shopping in grocery stores gives people a distorted perception of the growing process because food is shipped in from all over the world year-round, Shaeffer said. "One of the things people talk about is it's a joy to learn to eat with the seasons," she said. "You learn so much about the world and what grows when." Riemer's family helps out each week at their cooperative of choice, Walkup Farms in Crystal Lake. It gives them a better feel for what they're eating and makes the entire effort even more fun. Their season's already started for 2008 and she's looking forward to finding out what will arrive in their box. "I was surprised at the number and variety of vegetables we got," she said. "I got things I'd never cooked. We really tried to eat it all."

Steve - as being a proud participant of the Sandhill Organics CSA, there are many more positive aspects to it than just the produce (which is great by the way). The emotional attachment about your food being grown close to home as well as the education, for parents and children, is invaluable.