Farm fresh: Get share of organic, locally grown produce

With obesity and fast food intake at a high in America, people are finally starting to look to food that just makes sense: organic, locally grown and healthy.

And interest in such foods is leading community supported agriculture farms — known as CSAs — to pick up business in Utah.

"The environmental impact of big factory farms and the cost in oil and fuel to move things from Baja, Mexico, to Salt Lake City … it's sort of a mad system," said CSA farmer David Bell.

He and his family are offering an alternative to the "mad system," however, by harvesting vegetables by day that can be cooked up and on dinner tables within 15 miles of the growing site by night.

Bell Organic Gardens in Draper is one CSA expanding from Salt Lake City this year to serve new customers in Orem, Park City and Sandy.

As with all CSAs, customers of Bell Organic Gardens purchase a share of farm crops upfront at the beginning of the 18-week growing season. Customers then go to a designated location to pick up their weekly variety of vegetables — ranging in variety from arugula and Asian greens to swiss chard and summer squash.

Though CSA shares may seem pricey (ranging from $450 for a two-person share to $900 for a four-person share at Bell Organic Gardens), the quality and quantity of produce makes it comparable to the amount a health-conscious family would usually spend throughout the season at most grocery stores.

Most notable, then, is the increase in single, young people looking to participate in the CSA model, greatly varying from the stereotypical diet of Top Ramen and macaroni and cheese.

Bell said he thinks young people are especially well-educated on technology and new concepts in general, so it makes sense that now many are willing to invest in a healthier diet.

"There is so much interest in improving the world in this younger generation," Bell said.

He said the downtown Salt Lake pick-up location includes many young urban adults who have caught on to the concept of eating organic, locally grown produce by reading the works of food writers Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver.

Egan Metcalf is one young Salt Lake resident who finds value in the CSA concept.

Last year, she and her two younger sisters, all single college graduates, purchased a two-person share from East Farms for $250.