We did a little experiment using Peapod.com to calculate how much it would cost to buy an equal share of organic veggies from Stop & Shop vs a CSA Share.
For this test we used the sample summer box of:
- Sweet corn
- Eggplant
- Zucchini
- Tomatoes
- Beets
- Cucumbers
- Bell peppers
- Broccoli
We filled our cart with roughly the same amount of produce (12-14lbs of the 8 varieties) and calculated the total cost as:
$38.76
Compare that to the $27.50 per week that the CSA Shares break down to and you can already see the savings. Now factor in the fact that the produce from your CSA Share is
+ Fresher (the produce is harvested one day before delivery, never packaged, and delivered directly from the farm to Vassar to you)
+ Local (you know exactly where your produce comes from and how it is grown, you can even visit the farm and meet the farmers themselves)
+ Supports local farmers (participating in a CSA Share helps the farm guarantee their income)
+ Supports the community (for every share purchased, Glebocki Farms donates an equal share to a local pantry. Last year they donated over 100,000 lbs of produce!)
So if you purchased roughly the same type and amount of produce from Stop & Shop, for the length of the 10 week share, you would end up spending about:
$387.60
Whereas participating in the CSA Share will cost:
$275.00
That's more than $100 of savings! Now we know that it is hard to pay such a large sum at once, but looking at this sample breakdown you can see that you'll actually be saving money in the long run. If you are unable to afford this, we have multiple programs in place to help you participate. Email us at vassarcoop@gmail.com for more info.
No comments:
Post a Comment