Watch CBS News

Boston Area's Best Farm Shares

Vegetables
(image: iStockphoto)

Farm shares, also known as Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), are a great way to eat healthy food with a low carbon footprint. The local food movement is a win-win for customers and farmers and is a more sustainable option to purchasing produce at a traditional grocery store. Below are five great ways to get local produce - and eat it too!

Something GUD
14 Tyler Street
Somerville, MA 02143
(617) 510-5919
www.somethinggud.com

Something GUD is a great choice for individuals or couples that don't have need for a full farm share. Unlike a traditional CSA, Something GUD puts together boxes of goods - vegetables, meats, dairy and more - from many local farms and delivers them directly to your door. Customers also order each box individually, so rather than receiving produce on a regular time schedule, Something GUD allows people to order new boxes whenever they need it - no more rotting veggies! Something GUD also puts together specialty boxes for vegetarians, pescatarians and omnivores, so people get everything they want, and nothing they don't.
Boston Organics
Charlestown Commerce Center
50 Terminal Street #100
Charlestown, MA 02129
(617) 242-1700
www.bostonorganics.com

Boston Organics is a grocery delivery service that provides organic and local produce, eggs, meat and even fair trade coffee and chocolate. It makes eating healthy simple because the items are delivered right to your door. Boston Organics is different from most farm shares because in addition to locally grown produce, it also includes organically grown but non-local produce in its boxes - like citrus, avocados and pineapple. Boston Organics' website is a great resource because it features weekly recipes with items from each week's box.
Stillman's at the Turkey Farm
561 Thresher Road
Hardwick, MA 01037
(413) 477-0345
www.stillmansattheturkeyfarm.com

Meat and dairy has a surprisingly high carbon footprint. So to responsibly enjoy these items as part of your diet, it is a great idea to buy meat and dairy from small, local farms. Participating in Stillman's at the Turkey Farm CSA is a great way to do this. Stillman's is a family-run farm in Western Mass that provides sustainably raised beef, pork, lamb, poultry and eggs. Members of the meat CSA have many convenient opportunities for picking up their shares in Jamaica Plain, Brookline, Cambridge, Quincy, Somerville and more.

Related: Community Gardens In Boston

Siena Farms
113 Haynes Road
Sudbury, MA 01776
(978) 261-5365
www.sienafarms.com

Just west of Boston, the town of Sudbury is home to Siena Farms, a 75-acre farm that provides farm shares to a community of 750 families each summer and fall as part of its annual CSA. Siena Farms is a very convenient CSA to belong to because it delivers to your home or office if you live or work in Boston or in the Metro West. This also helps cut your carbon footprint since you won't need to drive to the farm each week or month to pick up your farm share. Siena also grows most of its produce organically, making it one of the healthiest options in the state.
ReVision Urban Farm
38 Fabyan Street
Boston, MA 02124
(617) 822-3276
www.vpi.org

ReVision Urban Farm is a great CSA to join since its mission is both environmental and social. From June to October, CSA members receive boxes of hyper-local produce, grown right here in Boston by the city's at-risk youth and homeless. The CSA helps provide jobs to those in need while also giving access to healthy, fresh foods. Since it opened in 1990, the farm and corresponding shelter have helped countless families while giving locavores an awesome food option.

Related: Restaurants In Boston That Are Going Green

Cameron Bruns is the founder of BostonGreenBlog.com and co-author of Just Us Gals Boston. She lives in Boston's North End, where her goal is to promote ethical, stylish, and sustainable lifestyle choices to all Boston residents. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.