Eyes Bigger Than Stomach

Sometimes your eyes are bigger than your stomach.  Like when you're slouched in a food coma after your second trip to the buffet, a mountain of warm yum still wafting steam from your plate.  The same holds true in the world of local food: before you find yourself over-spending on a mountain of mail-order seeds and up to your neck in an ambitious plan to grow all your own food this year, consider the many opportunities out there that can provide a framework for a productive but not overburdening garden this recession season. 

Lansing has been a hotbed of farmers market activity, with everything from the newly housed Lansing City Market, to the Allen Street Neighborhood Center Market, to the new Benjamin Davis Park Market ...not to mention the East Lansing Market, Meridian's fine market, etc.  Of course we have the tri-county area's ace farmers to thank most for that!  (Thanks!) But wait, there's more!  Many local CSAs...

What's a CSA?  It's community supported agriculture.

Can you dumb it down a shade?   You pay and/or work for food grown locally.

How is this different from growing my own food or going to the grocery store?

Well, unlike the iPad, this actually is the best of both worlds.  Supporting food from local sources,
whether your literal backyard or the backyard that you can get to in 30 minutes or less by car, is not just a gradient from your kitchen out in all directions.  Some plants with edible parts will grow better than others in a given location--once you consider crop rotation, micro-climates, diversification of risk and other factor, it becomes even clearer:  Organizing your personal food web optimally involves a diverse and dynamic set of food sources.  Yes, grow your food!  Yes, support local farmers!  And... explore a CSA.  Use their technical knowledge and resources to allow you to focus on the remaining niches in your pantry.  


Now is the time to (try to) get in on it.  The Student Organic Farm at MSU is a perennial favorite, and Thornapple CSA is in its second year.  Giving Tree Farm is phenomenal as well.  Of course there are many more.  And of course those local farmers: at least check out Wildflower Eco Farm.

Happy surfing.