Community Supported Agriculture or CSA has become a popular way for urban dwellers to support local agriculture while getting a tasty basket or case of edible goods each week.
While planning my visit to the Toulouse area, I discovered Catherine Fontvieille who takes the process a step further.
Based near Castres (Tarn, France) she built on her experience as an agricultural adviser and the farmers she met to offer a weekly delivery of fresh local foods from 16 providers that run the gamut from duck to lamb, herbs, cheese and dairy, to vegetables, fruits, charcuterie, jams and honey.
She sends a weekly order form via e-mail to her customers who can expect their goodies the following Friday. She provides home delivery when possible.
In the dairy section, she offers sheep milk's cheese and 'lait caille' (curdled milk) pots from GAEC de Lamarque run by husband and wife team of Marie and Frederic Jougla.
Poetic sounding 'Trou du Vent' (Hole in wind) is one of their cheeses named actually after one of the fields where their sheeps feed on grass.
Will I have the chance to meet Catherine and some of the producers she works with during my stay in Toulouse late August?
We shall see.