Good-bye second season CSA box. We'll miss you...

Our CSA season is winding down. Either we had our last box in October, or we may have our last one next Sunday. Whichever it turns out to be, Heather and I are done, as we'll both be out of town next weekend. As with most summers and harvest seasons, it went fast. As a second year CSA-subscriber, the season was much less nerve-wracking this year. While we bond with CSA members everywhere who feel the stress of cooking and eating (or preserving) everything in the current box before the next one gets delivered, the worry was not overwhelming this year. We seemed to manage the flow of produce better. We wasted less. We weren't as baffled by what to do with exotics like garlic scapes and celeriac. We knew how to set up modern-home root cellars. We were practiced hands at putting up fruits and veggies in the freezer in small batches. Heather knew not to try and foist any beets off on me, and I ended up with the lion's share of the cabbages. It's OK. We like coleslaw (and she likes beets). It's funny, since I recall it felt like a huge leap of faith to subscribe to the CSA for the second year. Like with most challenges, they get easier with practice. I think we even inspired a bunch of friends to join in the CSA party. Now I'm going to miss that weekly 10-gallon tub of produce.

So we're considering produce delivery services. Is it crazy? There's several in Portland: Spud, Pioneer Organics and Organics to You. Not to mention, we could also just shop for produce at the store again, probably like most people do. What I like about the CSA is that I'm ensured of eating organic, local, in season produce. I doubt I'll be as strict in reading the origin labels if I'm start shopping for produce in the stores again (around February the siren call of California strawberries sometimes overwhelms me...). What do you do? Delivery? Or just stick to your spuds and onions in the root cellar and preserved produce to get you throught the long winter?