How to Find Fresh Fruit (And Vegetables) at Fordham

One major cliché about college life is that everyone overdoes it on junk food, especially during the first year. Often foods that are unhealthy can be the quickest and cheapest options, and for busy college students on a budget, it is tempting to just grab some chicken fingers and fries whenever there’s a gap between various classes and club meetings. But recently I have made a discovery at Fordham that is helping me stay on the straight and narrow in terms of maintaining a healthy diet: the St. Rose’s Fall CSA.

The St. Rose’s Fall CSA is a community sponsored agriculture program (hence the initials – CSA) that, for a fee, sends fresh fruits and veggies from nearby Norwich Meadows Farm to Fordham’s campus for any student or administrator that wants to sign up for it. All the food is fresh, organic, and grown locally. This semester a few friends and I went in on a fruit share to cut down the cost and now for less than $30 per person, every week for nine weeks we get to pick up some delicious fresh fruits to enjoy.

There is a wide variety of vegetables to choose from

Last Thursday was our first delivery and we came home with three pears, a carton of grapes, and about two pounds of plums. What’s so great about the CSA is that not only am I staying on top of eating healthy, but I’m also helping support the local agricultural economy because we pay the farm directly, so there is no middleman. In fact, participating in the CSA ends up being a cheaper option than if I was to purchase my fruit from a regular grocery store.

Picking out some delicious plums

I’m sure that when you think of going to school in New York City, you don’t really think you’ll be getting the freshest fruits and vegetables around. However, Fordham’s sustainability efforts offer students an awesome way to stay healthy despite the temptation of eating a bag of chips for a snack in between classes everyday. I feel really fortunate that I can take advantage of it!

If you would like to know more about the CSA, this link explains everything in more detail: https://fordhamsustainability.wordpress.com/csa-faq/