Local Food Co-Op

I've recently discovered something that's been 15 minutes from my house for years: Homegrown Co-Op. I'm really excited about this for quite a number of reasons.

• I've been jealous for years of my pal that moved to North Carolina and has been able to take advantage of a local CSA (community supported agriculture). I was intrigued by the idea of getting a random box of fruits and veggies to cook with.

• The produce is all local. I could drive to the farms and back on less than a tank of gas. This is in stark contrast of the grocery store veggies that come from who-knows-where.

• The produce is mostly organic. I like not eating pesticide.

• It forces us to eat seasonally. In Florida, this is a little different than elsewhere since it's summer about 350 days per year. Still, we get a variety of things and don't eat things from out of the country when they're not available. (PS, there's a great app, Seasonal Harvest, that tells you what's in season in your area and for how long.)

• We're saving money on groceries. We get a box of "season's pick" (random) produce each week on Saturday. I plan the week's meals around what shows up in the box, so we're mostly shopping for non-perishables.

• The food is AMAZING. Seriously. The colors are so vibrant. Oh, and it has taste. I didn't even realize we were missing this with grocery store produce, but even Brian has noticed it.

(Cuban roasted sweet potatoes; salad with lettuce, zucchini, and onion; grapefruit; pizza with roasted tomatoes, onion, and zucchini.

Thanks to Pugly Pixel for the photo template)

There are co-ops and community supported agriculture popping up all over the place. I highly recommend searching for one in your area on a site like Local Harvest. And don't just take my word about how good actual food is for you: I highly recommend reading The Kind Diet, In Defense of Food, and/or Food Matters, or just watching Food, Inc