What is a CSA Bag & How Do I Get One?

How cool would it be to have your own personal, local farmer? Well here is your chance. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. And a CSA Bag is filled with local produce that one will receive once a week from a CSA Program that you can sign up for. Typically, you can attend local farmer’s markets weekly or visit farms in more rural neighborhoods like Waimanalo or the North Shore to pick up local produce. But here is your chance to get your Local Organic Vegetables at a reasonable price of $30/week in town for a 16-week program. Bento Homes (441 Cooke Street) is hosting a pick-up location in Kakaako for this CSA Bag Program starting soon! Bento Homes has partnered with local farmer, Miles Dawson, Roots and Remedies who is a farmer in the University of Hawaii’s GoFarm Hawaii Program and he will be dropping off the CSA Bags at Bento Homes on a set day in a week and be available for his CSA Member pick-up during Bento Homes Sales Center Hours: 10am-7pm on that day.

For those who live and/or work near Kakaako, this is a great opportunity to support small, local farmers at a reasonable price while staying healthy! A win-win for everyone and a smart way to live. You can learn more and sign-up for a CSA Bag Program this Saturday, September 15 between 11am and 3pm at our FREE Community Event: Meet Your Farmer at Bento Homes. (Click Here For Details & To Register) You can also checkout our Facebook Event with details.

A list of some of the vegetables to expect in your box:

collard greens
kale
lettuce
broccoli
dragon's tongue bush beans
salad mix
pac choi
beets
radish
rainbow carrots
arugula
long bean
turnip
rainbow chard
eggplant
tomato
cabbage
culinary herbs
fennel
rainbow cauliflower

If you would like to learn more about Farming here in Hawaii, checkout our Podcast Series just launched this week. The first Podcast of the series is called “The Future of Farming” and ties into our event. Our first Podcast Series is being sponsored by Bento Homes and here is the link to the podcast on our website where you can listen to it right away: https://www.smartlivinghi.com/podcast. Stay tuned to 5 more going live every couple of weeks! You can also visit your favorite Podcast Platform (Spotify, Stitcher, Radio Public, Breaker, Anchor, Apple Podcast, etc.) and search for Smart Living Hawaii’s Podcast and listen and follow us there!

Here is more information provided by our Farmer at GoFarm Hawaii:

CSA allows residents to have direct access to fresh organic produce grown locally by your community’s farmers. When you become a member of a CSA, you’re purchasing a “share” of vegetables from a local farmer. Your farmer will provide a convenient weekly pick up location for the shares of produce.

CSA members pay for an entire season of produce upfront. This early bulk payment enables your farmer to initiate the seasoning production, purchase new seed, make equipment repairs, etc. Each week you and/or your family receive a box of fresh local organic vegetables at a much lower cost than organic produce at retail prices.

Other benefits to buying local: