My family has belonged to various CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) for probably a decade. For several years in Toronto, we hosted a pickup point for Plan B Organic Farms (highly recommend them if you are in one of the areas they service!) on our porch. When we moved to Amherst Island in 2016, it took a couple of years to get back into it. We’ve tried a few different local farms, and this year we are splitting a share with Lorna with our nearest CSA: McClure Eats in Bath. Why a CSA? Part of it has to do with buying directly from the farmers, but there’s more to it. We love fresh, local food and want to support sustainable farming as well. Let’s talk CSAs: what it is, benefits, strategies for success, and some fantastic local options.

What is a CSA?

A CSA is a farm share program where members (consumers) commit to buying a season’s worth of produce directly from a local farm, in advance. This allows the farmers to fund the seeds and everything involved in getting it all growing for the season. In return, members receive weekly or bi-weekly boxes filled with fresh, seasonal produce. CSAs offer a great way to eat locally, support small-scale farmers, remove the middle man, and enjoy high-quality ingredients straight from the farm to your table.

How to Successfully Use Your CSA

To make the most of your CSA subscription, here are some helpful tips:

1. Plan Your Meals Around Your Box – Each week, you’ll receive a different variety of produce. Before heading to the grocery store, plan meals around what’s in your CSA box.

2. Be Open to Trying New Foods – CSAs often include less common vegetables like kohlrabi, sunchokes, or golden beets. Embrace the adventure and look up recipes for any unfamiliar items.

3. Store Produce Properly – Keeping veggies fresh is key to minimizing waste. For a handy guide on proper storage, check out these resources:

   • Foodland Ontario

   • Eating Well

   • The Spruce Eats

   • thekitchn.com

   • Real Simple

   • Maryland's Best

4. Batch Cook or Preserve Extras – If your box includes more than you can eat in a week, consider freezing, pickling, or making soups and sauces to enjoy later.

5. Engage with Your Farmer – Many CSAs offer newsletters, recipe ideas, and farm visits. Connecting with your farmer helps you learn more about where your food comes from and how it’s grown.

Local CSA Farms in the Kingston Ontario Area

If you’re ready to join a Kingston CSA, here are some great local farms offering memberships:

- Fat Chance Farmstead (Harrowsmith, ON)

• Season Length: 18 weeks starting mid-June

• Vegetables: 30+ varieties, including staples like carrots and tomatoes, as well as unique offerings like chard and kohlrabi.

• Extras: Fresh strawberries in June and July.

- Main Street Urban Farm (Kingston, ON)

• Season Length: Weekly or bi-weekly subscriptions

• Unique Offerings: In addition to vegetables, they provide ferments, prepared foods, and specialized items like Thai curry ingredients.

- The Kitchen Garden (Wilton, ON)

• CSA signups currently on pause

- Rooted Oak (Brockville, Gananoque, Kingston, Merrickville, N. Augusta, Ottawa)

• Small (bi-weekly), regular (weekly) and large (weekly or bi-weekly) options

• Season Length: 18 weeks

• Numerous pickup spots

- Root Radical Farm (Kingston & Gananoque)

• Sold out for 2025 but more may become available in spring

• Season Length: 24 weeks (June to November)

• Extras: Access to a recipe archive, farm events, and storage guides.

- Salt of the Earth Farm (Kingston & Lyndhurst)

• Season Length: 18 weeks (June 18 – October 15)

• Extras: Flowers, herbs, and seasonal variety in each weekly box.

• Tips for Success: Morgan’s CSA Success Guide

- McClure Eats (Bath, ON)

• Season Length: 17 weeks starting mid-June

• Veggies: Snow and sugar snap peas, kale, Swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower, green and yellow beans, kohlrabi, beets, turnips, green white and red onions, sweet and hot peppers, tomatoes of all different sizes, zucchini, carrots, pickling and slicing cucumbers, rhubarb, potatoes, ground cherries, squash, tomatilloes, lettuce, radish, eggplant, red, green, and nappa cabbage, a giant collection of herbs, and lots of garlic

• Extras: Includes a small bouquet of flowers in every box.

Is a CSA Right for You?

A CSA might be a great fit if:

• You enjoy cooking at home and experimenting with new ingredients.

• You want fresh, high-quality, organic produce.

• You appreciate knowing where your food comes from and connecting with farmers.

• You like supporting local businesses, cutting out the middle man, and sustainable agriculture.

• You’re willing to adjust your meal planning around what’s in season.

If you’re looking for an alternative to grocery store produce and want to make a commitment to fresh, local food, a CSA is a fantastic choice. Whether you’re an experienced home cook or just starting to explore farm-fresh ingredients, joining a CSA can bring exciting new flavours to your kitchen while supporting your local farming community. And if you don't think you can eat all of that food? Find someone to split your share with! We've done that for a few years with great success. 

Ready to sign up? Explore the farms above and find the best CSA fit for your household. And come June, bon appétit!

Photos used with permission from McClure Eats.

Want some ideas on how to use your veggies? Check these out:

• http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/recipes.html

• https://www.prevention.com/food-nutrition/healthy-eating/a20453908/how-to-use-csa-veggies/

• https://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelysanders/confusing-scary-csa-vegetables-recipes

• https://www.thekitchn.com/tips-for-getting-the-most-out-147351

Happy local eating! 
Lynn

If you're in Kingston or the surrounding area and thinking about buying or selling real estate, this market update is for you.

February 2025. It was a month. It brought some big shifts in the local housing market, and with economic uncertainties, tariffs and elections, things are getting even more interesting. Stick around for the full breakdown, and don't forget to like, subscribe, and drop a comment on what you think the future holds for Kingston Real Estate.

In the city of Kingston, it was a slow month. Home sales were down 20% with 105 properties sold, and the average selling price dropped 7% to 606,000. Year to date, that average selling price is down 2.5%. However, lower prices have homes selling faster, with an average of 35 days on the market compared to 43 in 2024, and new listings are up 14%. So there's a lot more for buyers to choose from.

Gananoque is kind of fun. There were only eight homes that sold, but the average selling price was 1.2 million. So, does this mean that housing values have skyrocketed again? Well, no. One of those eight houses sold for 6.1 million, which is extraordinary. The stat that's probably better to look at in Gananoque is the median selling price, what was right in the middle, and that's 472,500. So, Gananoque is still an affordable option.

There's good news in Loyalist Township, even though the number of properties that sold dropped by 30%, the average selling price of 588,000 is up 6.72% in the month of February and up 4.8% year to date, and the average days on market in Loyalist has dropped from 56 to 27. So, homes are selling quickly.

In Greater Napanee. It was pretty much a flat month with 22 homes sold, which is exactly the same as in 2024. And the average selling price of 495,000 is pretty flat with last year. The difference is homes, as we're seeing across the board, are selling a little bit more quickly as buyers are coming to the market. So, in Napanee, on average, homes were on the market for 44 days.

South Frontenac has been slow to move, with a 20% decrease in the number of homes sold at 12, but the average selling prices increased by 11% to 525,000. This is the slowest market in the region right now at 61 days average on the market, and some of that may have to do with winter weather. Most of the homes in South Frontenac are rural homes, and we're expecting that that market's going to pick up now that the snow is starting to melt.

In Stone Mills, the number of properties sold was 12, which was a 20% increase over last year, but a 27% increase in the average selling price at 596,000 and a 50% decrease in the number of days on the market at 36.

So what does this mean for you? So, let's talk about what's affecting the market beyond our numbers. So there's tariff uncertainty and new trade policies and supply chain cost concerns are likely going to make home construction more expensive, which leads to higher home prices. It's a concern for buyers, it's a concern for builders. We've just had an election and there's another one that's coming in. Political uncertainty always plays a role. There are potential policy changes that could impact mortgage rates, affordability programs, and tax incentives for home buyers. And while interest rates have been dropping, we're anxious to see what happens when the Bank of Canada makes its announcement on March 12th.

So what does this mean for you? Well, buyers now might be the time to take advantage of some softer prices and with sellers, as we always say, pricing competitively is key, especially with more listings hitting the market.

The bottom line is that even in uncertain times, life goes on, and jobs change. We have babies, we get married, our circumstances change. So, let's talk about your circumstances and plans and how we can navigate this market together.

If you found this update helpful, don't forget to like, subscribe and hit the notification bell so that you don't miss our next market update.

If you've got questions, drop them in the comments or reach out to me directly for personalized advice.

Until next time, happy house hunting.