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By Susan Kleinman

LocalHarvest.com allows you to search for local farmers markets and buy a share of a local farm's production, keeping your eating closer to home. Photo: LocalHarvest.com

2. Local Harvest, www.localharvest.com

Just when we've all finally learned to shop for organic produce, along comes a new group of experts who say it's actually more important to buy locally farmed fruits and vegetables. The good news is while the pundits duke it out, the rest of us are gaining better access to produce that is locally-grown, organic and socially responsible, thanks to a growing number of nationwide Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) groups.

Here's how it works: You pay one up-front fee to buy a share in a family-owned farm for the season, and can pick up a bushel or bag of produce at a local drop off spot once a week. The quality is almost always better — and the cost usually lower — than anything in an organic food store or supermarket. But, there is one catch: Your fortunes rise and fall with the farmer's. If she has a bumper crop, you'll be poring over your cook books looking for zucchini recipes; if his crop is damaged by frost or heavy rainfall, your larder will be a bit emptier. The unpredictability is worth it though, if you want produce that's just hours (or, at most, days) from the soil, grown by family farmers trying to compete with the agribiz giants. Plus, you help preserve heirloom species that don't lend themselves to mass production.

To find a CSA in your area, log onto LocalHarvest.com and search by zip code for a CSA near you. Note: Not all are organic. If that's important to you, read each CSA's information carefully. If it turns out you don't live near a CSA, or if you don't think the unpredictable weekly yield will work with your lifestyle, you can still enjoy the farmers' bounty through LocalHarvest.com's shopping section, with everything from meat to flowers to honey, much of it available for overnight delivery.

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