I am in the middle of my first freecycle.org transaction, and I’m loving it. Basically, freecycle is a bulletin board for people in a community to give and get FREE THINGS. While, I love the word FREE, I love more that I can post something of mine and have people immediately jump up and say, “Me!, Me! I want it and I’ll come to your house and take it away!”
Yesterday I posted Bella’s old cow dresser (from my sister-in-law Lisa), via a google page – I created a google page; one, to see if was as easy as they say, and two, to draw a cybernetic line between my blog, photo accounts, and my more “public” transactions. Check out my first google page here. I think I’ll keep it just for the purpose of posting freecycle things.
It was a pretty easy process; I had to have a yahoo account and go through a brief registration process, which included explaining who I am and why I want to be part of the freecycle group. Then I submitted my OFFER to the moderator (100% volunteer-run), who had my offer posted within an hour. The same day, I had four emails from interested parties – I am giving the first lady another day to figure out how to pick it up, otherwise it will go to the next person, who says he can pick the dresser up immediately.
But today, I signed up for something even cooler than freecycle – something GREAT!
That’s COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE through South Coast Farms in San Juan Capistrano.
Basically I signed up to get 25# of 100% organic, mostly locally grown produce every other week until December for $30 ($220 total). I pick up my basket of produce every other Wednesday at somebody else’s house only five minutes from my own. This week’s basket included: 2 heads of lettuce (one red, one green), melons, leeks, onions, apples, kale, grapes, nectarines, oranges, tomatoes, squash, green beans, cucumbers, and basil.
!!!
I have the option of getting a basket every week and/or increasing the size of the basket to 35# for $37, but I’m starting cautiously. I wouldn’t want to be throwing away a bunch of organic produce, especially since I don’t have a worm box set up yet.
I remember reading an essay by Barbara Kingsolver, where she was trying to reduce her environmental impact – and when she started investigating the fuel costs of buying food (and water!) shipped to the grocery store from other countries, she realized that the single most dramatic thing she could do to reduce her family’s carbon footprint was to eat locally grown food as much as possible. Now I keep hearing people raving about her newest book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which is all about her family’s food odyssey. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s on my list. In fact, this book comes so highly recommended that when I asked my friend who works within the CSA community for website tips, she directed me to Kingsolver’s animalvegetablemiracle.com website for more information.
I read about the local CSA in the OC Weekly (Issue #46) – and I understand that Tanaka Farms and Morning Song Farm also have CSA programs.
How great do I feel?!
I have just secured organic produce for my family for the rest of the year and I’m supporting local farmers. Talk about a win-win.