Boston-Area CSA Programs You Can Join This Summer

CSA photo by Christopher Paquette on Flickr/Creative Commons

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a million times: Eating fresh, in-season food is good for you, and good for the planet. But how can you do so without spending all of your free time at your local farmers’ market? Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares make it easy.

Signing up for a CSA is essentially investing in a local farm. You provide farmers with up-front cash early in the growing season, and in return, you get a portion of their harvest. Shares are typically available every week, and contain a mixture of the crops grown on the farm at that point in the season.

Lucky for you, Greater Boston is served by a variety of such programs. Below, you’ll find 13 Boston-area CSA programs (and CSA-inspired spinoffs) you can enjoy this summer.

Al Fresh Co

The basics: A cross between a meal delivery service and a CSA, Al Fresh Co sources vegetables from local farmers and uses them in weekly meal kits. Get them delivered (by bike) to your home, or pick them up from designated locations.
What’s in the box? Locally sourced veggies, plus whatever you need to make healthy, plant-based meals.
Season: Year-round.
Cost: Starting at $18, for one kit per week.
Register: al-freshco.com.

Boston Organics

The basics: This Charlestown company gives you a bit more flexibility than a traditional CSA. Select what you want in your box—from fresh, organic produce to bread, coffee, and gifts—and how often you want it. Then, it’s delivered straight to your home or office.
What’s in the box? Everything from local produce to meal kits, beauty products, and gifts.
Season: Year-round.
Cost: Boxes start at $27.
Register: bostonorganics.com.

Chestnut Hill Farm

The basics: This Trustees property offers small and large shares, as well as designated pick-your-own days for flowers and crops. Pick up your goodies at the farm in Southborough.
What’s in the box? Fresh fruits and veggies.
Season: June through October.
Cost: $650 for a large share, or $450 for a small share.
Register: thetrustees.org.

Cuisine en Locale

The basics: This Somerville business sources ingredients from local farms and producers, then uses them to create from-scratch healthy meals. They’re delivered to your door (by bike in Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston) each week. All you have to do is reheat.
What’s in the box? Four meals for two people.
Season: Year-round.
Cost: $155 per week.
Register: cuisineenlocal.com.

Drumlin Farm

The basics: Choose between a full share or a half share. Pick them up at Drumlin’s farm stand in Lincoln each week.
What’s in the box? Between eight and 18 different varieties of seasonal produce. Fish, flower, and fruit shares are also available.
Season: Choose among spring, summer, and winter CSAs. Summer lasts June through October.
Cost: $675 for a full share, or $350 for a half share.
Register: massaudubon.org.

The Food Project

The basics: This nonprofit, which uses community agriculture to engage local youth, offers a variety of CSA options. Select an on-farm pickup model (available in Lincoln or Wenham), or collect your box each week at a pickup site in Greater Boston.
What’s in the box? Fresh produce grown on the farm.
Season: June through October.
Cost: $800 in Lincoln, $675 in Wenham, or $500 for pickup sites. The Food Project accepts SNAP.
Register: csa.thefoodproject.org.

Hanson’s Farm

The basics: Get a traditional weekly share, or opt for an every-other-week share. You can also split your share with another customer. Pick it up at the farm in Framingham.
What’s in the box? A selection of the farm’s 185 varieties of produce. If you like, add pick-your-own flowers for an additional fee.
Season: June through October.
Cost: $650 for a full share, or $350 for an alternating share.
Register: hansonsfarm.50web.com.

Heaven’s Harvest Farm

The basics: Roll the dice with a preset small, medium, or large share, or customize your box by choosing from a weekly list of available items. Pickup points are available throughout the state.
What’s in the box? A slew of fruits and veggies.
Season: June to mid-September.
Cost: Starting at $450.
Register: heavensharvestfarm.com.

Powisset Farm

The basics: Another Trustees property, Powisset offers 20- or 10-week shares. (Ten-week shares are picked up every other week.) Get your boxes at the farm in Dover.
What’s in the box? Fresh fruits and veggies, plus the potential for pick-your-own flowers.
Season: Mid-June through mid-October.
Cost: $650 for a 20-week share, or $375 for a 10-week share.
Register: thetrustees.org.

Siena Farms

The basics: Grab your weekly vegetable share from a variety of pickup points (many in the Boston area), or have it delivered to your home or office for an extra charge.
What’s in the box? Vegetables grown on the Sudbury farm.
Season: June through August. Siena also offers spring, autumn, winter, and multi-season shares.
Cost: $750
Register: sienafarms.com.

Silverbrook Farm

The basics: Choose between a full or half share, then pick it up weekly. If you can’t make it to the Dartmouth farm, there are plenty of pickup points in Boston and on the Cape.
What’s in the box? Fruits, vegetables, and sometimes even jams, eggs, cheeses, mustards, and marmalades.
Season: June through September.
Cost: $30 per week for a full share, or $15 per week for a half share.
Register: silverbrookdartmouth.com.

Stillman’s Farm

The basics: Choose between a small or large box, then collect it each week at one of the farm’s numerous pickup sites. (There are plenty in the Boston area.) As a bonus, membership gets you $15 in “Stillman’s Bucks” to use at farmers’ markets or the Boston Public Market, access to the farm, invitations to events, and more.
What’s in the box? A variety of in-season fruits and vegetables.
Season: June to October.
Cost: $608 for a large box, or $432 for a small box.
Register: stillmansfarm.com.

Wilson Farm

The basics: Choose a small or large share, then pick it up each week in Lexington or Litchfield, New Hampshire. Members get 10 percent off at the farm stand on pickup day.
What’s in the box? Typical shares contain fruits and veggies. Fish and flower shares are also available.
Season: June to October.
Cost: $675 for a large share, or $450 for a small share.
Register: wilsonfarm.com.