[A series documenting my efforts to eat local! Kick-off post's here]

“Start small” is the first tip on the 100 Mile Diet’s get started guide. So to prevent an all-out diet-induced panic attack, I’m gonna start with just my fruits and veggies.

Right now, I get almost all my produce from ParadiseO: a big box of all-organic, all-US grown fruits and veggies delivered to my door every 2 weeks, for a mere $24 per delivery. Yum!

But Jasmin’s comment made me curious about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. CSAs basically let you support a local farm. You pay a lump sum at the beginning of each growing season, and you get to nibble on that farm’s produce for a few months to a year!

So via Local Harvest, I found the Tierra Miguel Foundation CSA — an organic farm, really nearby in Pauma Valley, Calif.!

Okay — Pauma Valley’s actually 126 driving miles from me according to Google, which I s’pose technically takes it outta the 100-mile range. However, “There are no rules” is the second tip on the getting started guide — So I declare Pauma Valley within the rules. Plus, 125 miles is an improvement from the ParadiseO box, which comes from all over the US.

But the downside: Unlike ParadiseO, which delivers the box to my door, I’d have to go pick up the CSA box. And while I might do that if the pick-up spot was in Santa Monica, it’s not — The nearest spot’s in Mar Vista, which would mean an 8+ mile round trip via car each week.

So for now, I’m going to contact the Tierra Miguel Foundation CSA to get on the waiting list for when they start delivering to a spot in Santa Monica. In the meantime, I’ll keep getting my ParadiseO produce.

But! I’m also going to make a really concerted effort to get to the Main Street Farmers Market every Sunday — After all, I can bike there! I’ve rarely made it of late, though, cuz 1) I haven’t made it a priority and 2) it closes unreasonably early (1 pm).

Between that and my plans to finally start a lil tomato garden, maybe I won’t even need produce delivered in boxes soon –

If you live in Glendale, Highland Park, Manhattan Beach, Mar Vista, Pasadena, South Pasadena, or a buncha other places in SoCal (full list here), do sign up, cuz you have a pick up spot near you already! Get yr v. local produce, and make me jealous –

Update: The farmers’ market and zero waste!

Update, 3/12/07: Read the whole series, posted both here and on Treehugger.

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