I’m not sure how you guys divided your share amongst yourselves, but I split a CSA share a few years ago with my boss and another colleague and it was one of the best foodie things I’ve done in a while. We started out evenly dividing the loot, which didn’t work too well – everyone got a third of a broccoli head, or whatever. We ended up doing a sort of complicated system in which we would rotate who got first pick weekly, and each person would take the entire haul of one fruit or vegetable, unless there were just too many, as was sometimes the case with apples. Then we’d prepare something from our chosen items and bring it in for lunch to share with the others. We usually had enough food to feed us throughout the week, which made me feel like I was getting my money’s worth from the share, and it was great to experience other people’s creativity with food. In sum, I think that a split share and a strategy for attacking the weekly delivery are key for a 20-something looking to support local farmers with a CSA share.

Alek, it sounds like you might have enjoyed the CSA even more if you had simply stored the potatoes in the pantry instead of the refrigerator. Kevin, have you considered a winter CSA? It still has all the disadvantages you mention, except it can’t be replaced easily as a source of fresh, seasonal food by the abundance of summertime farmers’ markets.