Here’s an interesting twist on Community Kitchens from the people at Just Means. What do you think about this model?
You’ve heard about Community Supported Agriculture and the success the CSA model has brought to small, sustainable farms. But what about CSKs? Community Supported Kitchens may just be the next best thing since sliced bread and they’re starting to crop up all over the place, providing not only a community space for food education, but also serving up lots of delicious, healthy food with the help of CSK members.
As implied by the name, Community Supported Kitchens aren’t all that different from the CSA model used by small farms. In some sense, the CSK takes the CSA to the next level, transforming local, sustainable foods into a nutritious meal ready for the table. Often a CSK will offer a weekly pick-up box of nutrient-dense prepared foods made from local, seasonal fruits, vegetables, meat, cheese, etc. The menu changes weekly or you can pick and choose which items you would like, but often the prepared foods are not necessarily meals but rather a variety of sides or meal supplements. One community kitchen in Oregon offers things like orange curd, seaweed kraut, and rose-cardamom kombucha, among other interesting and super nutritious foods.
Community Supported Kitchens, however, aren’t about offering uber-healthy gourmet, expensive food. In fact, many CSK memberships are quite reasonable in price, comparable to a CSA. They also offer various payment options and are willing to work with members to find a way to accommodate their financial needs. Other CSKs offer a wide variety of foods that you can pick and choose weekly or whenever, without the commitment of paying upfront for 12 weeks worth of food. you simply pay as you go. More…
