Finally(!) Joining the Tucson CSA

I've budgeted carefully.  I've double checked my math.  And I'm finally, FINALLY, going to join the Tucson CSA!  I have been wanting to do this ever since I learned what a CSA was in the fall of 2008, but my budget never allowed for it.

I'm buying one produce share and one goat cheese share.  The CSA recommends that if you want the food you get from your share to provide a majority of your food, you should plan on one share per person.  Since I am a big guy who eats a lot, I think buying one whole share for myself, and using the money I save to buy other staples such as eggs, bread, milk, wheat products (like pasta, etc), and maybe even some grass-fed beef or other meat, I'll be able to supply myself with PLENTY of healthy food.  And if the CSA ends up being more produce than I expect, I'll just eat more fruits and veggies and less of the other stuff, or give some to my roommate.

I'm also considering buying some meat shares from the CSA.  They offer beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and turkey. I think I'll definitely buy a turkey share, just for the fun of having it at Thanksgiving.  I'm considering one share each of the others, though I'm not really sure if I'll be able to afford that much.  We'll see when the time comes.

I expect that the produce part of my CSA share will double to triple my fruit and veggie consumption.  This, theoretically, should reduce my consumption of other things, especially the junky food I eat like Mac and Cheese when my pantry gets low.  I hoping that this, combined with my new exercise regimens (which I'll write about in another post soon) should get me down to 200 lbs by the end of the year easily.  During my recent period of consistent exercise, I've been losing about 1 pound a week. This puts me on pace to be at 200 pounds right around Christmas time.  If eating more fruits and veggies and less empty-cupboard-junk can increase my weight loss to just 1.5 pounds a week, I'll be VERY close to 200 by the time I leave for the Grand Canyon.  Believe it or not, losing weight on a backpacking trip is all but impossible for me.  I pack food so that I can eat like a king... jerky, cheese, trail mix with every kind of nut and such delicious treats as gummy bears and M&M's.  It's one of the greatest pleasures of being out backpacking.  SO, in spite of the fact that I'll be hiking with a 50+ pound backpack on for 40-50 miles over the course of 6 days, I'll probably either maintain weight or put on a pound or two while I'm down there, which means I could be down to 200 by Thanksgiving.  And of course, who loses weight around the holidays?  This reasoning is why my goal as ever is to be at 200 by New Years.  I know I can do it!

Finally, I'm ready to write about the most exciting thing that I have to talk about today, and what prompted me to make sure I cranked out a post tonight!  I found out today that a co-worker of mine, Shannan, is also signing up for the Tucson CSA.  The coolest part of it is that she heard about CSA's from me!  As far as I know, Shannan is the first person that has taken action towards sustainable food based on information they got from me!  That makes me very exciting and honored.  I honestly consider having even a small influence on just one person towards being more conscious of their food supply, and taking steps to create more food sustainability, to be a huge victory for myself and what I set out to accomplish by writing The Permie Homestead Blog.  For giving me the gift of feeling like I've made a difference... Thanks Shannan!

And to everyone, thanks for reading!