Two years ago I had a half-share in the CSA program at the Five Points Community Farm Market.

Though a fan of the fresh produce I received (what to do with all these beets?), I didn’t quite feel a part of a community. I’d walk in, grab my box, and walk out. No one else I knew had a CSA share, and just as many knew what the heck it even was. Feeling a bit bewildered and isolated after the experience I let the subscription run out.

Eat food. Make friends. (pic|rootology)

This past spring a friend mentioned in a group email that he would be interested in splitting a CSA and I thought to give it another go. At the time I really only knew Jesse virtually, so it gave us a chance interact more. This past fall we spent three months collecting, splitting, pondering, cooking and eating our CSA. And helping to grow a new community. Here’s how.

Even as I became part of this community-supporting-agriculture experience, I discovered it was also agriculture-supporting-community! (I won’t take credit for the term — Jesse proposed the idea.)

My circle of friends, events and experiences during my time with the CSA has grown, becoming deeper and richer. I learned about Jesse over that same three months. For example, I found that if you’re splitting food with a single guy, he’s really not up for trying to figure out what to do with a giant turnip or half an eggplant. Simply handing over his share doesn’t necessarily keep food from going to waste.

(And I learned I don’t like to haggle with people I know. One time we tried to barter over who got the pumpkin and some other veggies and the idea that I might appear selfish didn’t sit well with me. So that was the last time we attempted the exchange.)

Solution — Discover innovative and tasty creations from the bounty of our haul that I could prepare and THEN share with my friend. Not everything was stellar, but it was fun. I never got the hang of cooking greens, but we all loved the beet and apple soup!

CSA -- ASC success!

A few weeks ago, Jesse and I celebrated the last of the season and together baked a pie with the ever-present apple supply. We got chatty and messy, and learned that not all from-scratch dough recipes are created equal. We even found a double yoke in one of the farm market eggs, a fun surprise! In the end, we split the pie and Jesse announced that CSA or no, he wanted to make it a practice to come over each month to cook something new together.

The friendship has grown so that we see each other every week or so (outside of CSA pick-up) and the fruit is bearing out. Our friends are mingling under its branches, social networks are being cultivated in the rich soil, fresh support is sprouting for projects. This grew as naturally as the produce that has helped nourish it all. I can’t wait to see what blooms this spring.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): A program consisting of a community of individuals who pledge their support to the farmers through a subscription to purchase seasonal produce, delivered each week.