This Week’s LUCSA Box

For Box Delivery: 6/17, 6/18, 6/19 - 2026

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Previous Boxes

Fresh Produce:

Bok Choy
Strawberries
Head Lettuce

Garlic Scapes
Peas
Potatoes

Weekly Staples:

Bridgeport - Coffee Beans
Mushrooms
Bread
Eggs

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Any share changes must be submitted to lucsa@theurbancanopy.org by Monday at 11AM

Weekly Add-Ons

Add locally-sourced food and home goods to your box to round out your CSA delivery. Add-ons save trips to the grocery store and allow you to get more of what you want conveniently delivered inside your LUCSA share.

Access the Add-On Shop through our member portal.

Member Add-On Shop

This Week in the Shop:

On Sale!

  • Rishi Sparking Botanical Teas - Black Lemon — On Sale! $2.50

  • Middle Brow Beer - Open Crush — On Sale! $2.50

  • Upton’s Naturals - Bacon Seitan — On Sale! $2.50

  • Upton’s Naturals - Traditional Seitan — On Sale! $2.50

  • Deerland - Sour Cream — On Sale! $4.00

  • Bridgeport Coffee Beans - Finca San Carlos — On Sale! $5.50

  • Midwest Juicery - Lava Lemonade — On Sale! $3.50

NEW to the Shop!

  • Nordic Creamery - Garlic Butter

  • Nordic Creamery - Cinnamon Sugar Butter

  • Deerland - Greek Yogurt

*Reminder: Add-Ons must be ordered by Monday at 11AM

A Message from oFarm:

'Growing Thru History'

We're back y'all with another segment of 'Growing Thru History'!

Now last time, I kind of just ran through more of the geographical logistics of the farm site, with a little flowering of details. This time around we're gonna expand just a little further and get in touch with the community. So I feel like some neighborhoods I hear thrown out when talking/asking about the farm site is Pilsen, Englewood, and Auburn-Gresham. Immediate nix is Pilsen, literally just the warehouse location. And then the Englewood and Auburn-Gresham one I get so I checked maps ands......we are technically pushes up glasses located in Auburn-Gresham neighborhood!! The rail lines that sit north of the farm are literally the start of the neighborhood boundary! Which is so wild, cause the rail companies never wanna do anything about maintaining the land that they profit off of! Or invest into the local communities that they pollute through! yells into void Sorry real love/hate relationship with the rail lines...

Okay back on track! The neighborhood itself is so lively and its quite obvious that the neighbors know one another and graciously we've been getting to know them more and more! I mean how many reading this could say they know their neighbors?? No shade but....*pushes hair behind ear* Comments around the hand-washing station have been that it feels like this year has been the busiest so far with visitors. We ain't just out here cultivating veggies people! Graciously got to catch up with one of our sweeties from the neighborhood this week who I've gotten to know over the years. She said, "I knew y'all had to be back but I keep walkin through here and see the veggies but I haven't seen y'all! But today I saw the truck, so I stopped to look for y'all and couldn't see anyone until you popped up from behind the plants!" We laughed, chatted about growing and plants, her grandkids, how she was really happy to see that I came back this year. R says, "I know how hard this job is, I see you sweatin but I also see how much you care." R ain't wrong, this GG probably cares a little too much... Honestly can't wait to make a little space for R to come grow some stuff alongside us, which is probably one of this GG's favorite things to accommodate. Cause trust me! There is always more than enough space to share and hold with the others in our community.

We'll pull the brake lever on this segment for now but come back next month where I'll try and get a smidge more historical with y'all!

xoxo

gossip grower

Item Feature: Strawberries

Mick Klug Farm (St. Joseph, MI),

It’s Berry Season! Strawberries, botanically classified as Fragaria ananassa, are a type of aggregate fruit belonging to the Rosaceae family. There are more than 600 varieties of strawberries worldwide. Strawberries can vary in color, appearing in shades of bright red, dark red, pink, peach, to white. The fruit's surface is delicate, easily damaged, and soft. Strawberries release a fragrant, fruity aroma and must be picked when mature, as they will not continue to ripen after being harvested. Depending on the variety, they can be syrupy-sweet, fruity, sweet-tart, candy-like, to sweet with balanced acidity.

Look out for strawberries from Mick Klug in your next share!

Share Contents

Refer back to this page for updated share contents to help you identify produce.

Weekly Staples:

Beverage

Coffee Beans - Bridgeport Coffee (Bridgeport, Chicago, IL)

Storage Tip - Coffee beans should be stored in an air-tight and opaque container to avoid light and oxygen. Coffee beans are best used within a month of the roast date. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 4 months.

Bread

Wednesday: Toasted Sesame ‍ Publican Quality Bread (Fulton Market, Chicago, IL)

Thursday: Garlic Boule ‍ pHlour Bakery (Andersonville, Chicago)

Friday: Pumpernickel
FranHer Bakery (Pilsen, Chicago, IL) ‍

Storage Tip - Keep your bread cut side down in a bag on your counter for two to three days. At that point you will want to slice or rip/cut your bread into pieces and freeze for future toast, croutons, or panzanella! If it’s particularly hot, you may want to move it to the refrigerator after a day or two (the only time we will tell you to refrigerate bread).

Mushrooms

Wednesday: Crimini ‍ ‍River Valley Ranch (Burlington, WI)

Thursday: Crimini ‍ ‍River Valley Ranch (Burlington, WI)

Friday: Shiitake‍ ‍River Valley Ranch (Burlington, WI)

Storage Tip - Open the paper bag to reduce moisture, and keep mushrooms out of plastic. Smoke, dehydrate, or par-cook and freeze for longer storage.

Eggs‍ ‍

Pastured Eggs - Finn's Ranch (Buchanan, MI)

Storage Tip - You can freeze your eggs to make them last longer. Crack and scramble in a container, or crack whole into oiled muffin tins, and keep frozen for up to 6 months.

This Week’s Fresh Produce:

Bok Choy - Wild Coyote (Berrien Springs, MI)
Storage Tip - Store in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator -- unwashed and in a perforated plastic bag -- and use within a few days. When you do use it, remember that its cluster of stalks hides dirt, so wash it well.

Lettuce Head - The Urban Canopy (Auburn Gresham, Chicago, IL) - for oFarm
Storage Tip - Store in a plastic container or bag with a paper towel covering them for up to a week in the fridge.

Garlic Scapes - Hoffman Organic Farm (Earlville, IL)
Storage Tip - Keep garlic scapes in your refrigerator's crisper drawer in loose plastic or mesh bags so that air circulates around them. They should stay fresh for at least one week and up to two weeks.

Strawberries - Mick Klug Farm (St. Joseph, MI)
Storage Tip - Don't wash or remove stems until you are ready to eat your berries. Pick through your berries and remove any bad ones. Store in the fridge on a paper towel to absorb excess moisture. Berries should keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. If you are going to freeze berries, trim off stems and freeze on a sheet tray then transfer to a plastic bag once fully frozen.

Peas - Mick Klug Farm (St. Joseph, MI)
Storage Tip - Peas tend to get mushy and moldy fast. They can be stored in the fridge for a few days whether you shell them or not. If you aren't going to have time to eat them in a day or two, shell them, blanch them and freeze them to keep them sweet and perfect.

Potatoes - Second Spring Farm (Cedar, MI)
Storage Tip - Keep cool, dry and out of direct light, on your counter, in a cupboard or in a perforated paper bagfor up to 6 months.

Substitutions

Items for those already opting out of beverage, bread, mushrooms, or eggs OR having a conflicting allergy; subject to change, even if specified. Please refer back to this newsletter throughout the week for updates

Scallions - Wild Coyote (Berrien Springs, MI)
Storage Tip - Stand upright in an inch of water in a jar or glass, cover tips with a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator. Change the water if it starts to discolor.

Green Garlic - The Urban Canopy (Auburn Gresham, Chicago, IL) - for oFarm
Storage Tip - Keep green garlic and garlic scapes in your refrigerator's crisper drawer in loose plastic or mesh bags so that air circulates around them. They should stay fresh for at least one week and up to two weeks.

Onions - Garden Gate Farm (Fairbury, IL), Frillman Farms (Berrien Springs, MI),
Storage Tip - Keep cool, dry and out of direct light, on your counter, in a cupboard, or in a perforated paper bag for up to 6 months.

Kale - Sol de Chicago Farm (Chicago, IL)
Storage Tip - Make sure greens are good and dry. Either loosen or remove the rubber band. You can wrap the greens in a paper or cloth towel to cut down on extra moisture. Then store in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to a week. Or keep in a glass of water like a bouquet!

*Farming is never 100% Predictable

Please keep in mind that share contents may vary due to market availability so contents may vary slightly from this list. We appreciate your flexibility.

Pro-Tip for Produce Longevity

When your share arrives, immediately unpack your produce and move into proper storage containers!

Always Wash Before Eating

As a general best practice with all produce including ours, we recommend washing produce before eating.

Please Remember to Save and Return LUCSA Packaging

We request that you return your wax box and Finn’s Ranch egg cartons during your next delivery. Help practice sustainability by helping us re-use all of these items for future deliveries.

Recipes

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Recipes 〰️

Grilled Baby Bok Choy with Miso Butter

Garlic Scape Chimichurri

Nancy's Chopped Salad

Creamy Pasta and Peas

Summer Fruit Salad With Fried Goat Cheese

Pea Pepita Dip with Flatbread

Recipes

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Recipes 〰️

For more recipe ideas, follow us on Instagram

Our recipe reels provide additional information on how to use produce and processing items each week!

We have created a handy Produce Guide which includes most items you will be getting in your box this season and through out the year. It is helpful for identification and has lots of storage tips, and also includes a log of recipes. It’s not a bad idea to bookmark this page!

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View Produce Guide

Previous Boxes

If you missed a week and want to see what was in a previous share, we archive a PDF of all our previous newsletters here.

You can also use it to look at previous seasons if you are interested to see what crops are coming.

View Archive