I swear, I’m not hoarding food.

That said, you might think from my refrigerator, chest freezer and pantry that I am – I haven’t been this well stocked in years. My buying habits have altered, not from any fear of running out of food, but because I want to go to the grocery store as little as possible to minimize outside contacts during this time of epidemic. And between buying directly from farmers and having multiple CSAs (or Farm Shares), I’m going to a grocery store about once every two weeks.

Apparently, a lot of people feel the same way. CSAs (which stand for Community Supported Agriculture, or farm shares) experienced a huge popularity boom about 10 years ago, when local eating was in the news much more. They’ve been on a steep decline for the past several years, with a number of farms dropping them entirely as demand dried up. Consumers like the idea of buying a piece of a farm, but find the experience of getting large amounts of unfamiliar ingredients somewhat daunting in real life.

Well, things have changed. CSA purchases have skyrocketed, and there are a ton of reasons – access to alternative supply chains, a lot more home cooking, and expanded home delivery options.

I’ve been a CSA loyalist for years (i use Tomato Mountain, but there are a ton of others), and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about exactly how to maximize productivity and minimize waste. Most of us are used to going to the store and buying the quantities of ingredients needed for a given recipe – a CSA forces you to think like a homemaker of a different era, with elements of storage, preservation and creativity in addition to just being a good cook. How do you actually do this?

Here are my top 7 tips for how to manage your CSA.

Re-Pack Everything – Immediately!

As soon as you get your CSA box, you want to unpack it and “re-pack” everything in the box. I set aside 20-30 minutes each week for this. What do I mean by “re-pack”? Well, convert everything into the form that will keep the longest and be the most useable in your kitchen.

Greens should be broken down into bite sized pieces, washed, dried in your salad spinner and stored in ziplock bags wrapped in paper towels. Vegetables should be separated and stored correctly – carrots and radishes in your crisper drawer, apples and potatoes in cool dry places, beans and dried goods in jars. The huge advantage of a CSA is freshness – instead of buying produce that’s weeks old, thanks to travel from South America, your produce is brand new – which means, with proper storage, it can last for weeks.

Bottom line: If you just throw everything straight from the farm box into the fridge, when you remember it a week later, it’ll be rotten mush.

Process Into Usable Chunks

While you’re re-packing, keep in mind the ways that you tend to use different types of foods. Do you eat salads? How much green stuff do you use for each salad? Well, pack bags that size, so all you need to do is pull one out and dump it in a bowl. Do your kids eat carrot sticks? Peel and slice them now. It’s much easier to do that sort of processing when you’re sitting down with a clean counter, a block of time and an empty fridge.

Make a List

I keep a list on my refrigerator of the stuff I got from my CSA, so I don’t forget it. If you’re not in the habit of eating this way, it’s easy to forget that you have an extra pound of watercress and you have to figure out something to do with it. If you look at that list before every meal, it’s a lot easier to think “how can I incorporate this into a recipe” and avoid waste.

Think Outside the (Dinner) Box

One of the best ways to use up a large amount of fresh produce is to be more creative with the other meals of the day, not just dinner. I’ll often add a small fresh salad of greens, cabbage or fruit to my breakfast plate, throw hearty greens like chard into my breakfast scramble, or bake potatoes or beets at lunchtime (making extra so you’ve got an already-done side dish for dinner). If you wait until dinner and try to shove all of it in, you’ll end up with a lot more waste.

Pickles Are Your Best Friend

Go buy a bunch of vinegar of all types right now. I’ll wait.

No, seriously. An insane amount of your CSA produce can be turned into refrigerator pickles, which means great snacks and a lot more time to consume stuff. Radishes, carrots, cucumbers, beets, green beans, peppers – any crisp, solid vegetable just needs to be thrown in a jar with vinegar, garlic and spices and a day later, you’ll have something delicious that doesn’t spoil. Last week, I found myself with pounds and pounds of mushrooms that were starting to get dry, and absolutely no plan to use them. About 20 minutes of work later, I had 2 awesome jars of super mustardy marinated mushrooms that i’ve been snacking on ever since.

Develop Some “Throw it All In” Recipes

It’s a great idea to have some recipes that don’t require thought but use up a ton of ingredients. I love to make “bottom of the fridge” scrambles, throwing in veggies, greens and other leftovers. Similarly, pastas with veggies (made from a simple oil, garlic and onion base) are awesome, as handfuls of veggies mix well and reduce to almost nothing in the pan. Make a batch of quinoa, a simple vinaigrette, and throw in a ton of different veggies for texture and crunch.

Forgive Yourself

You are going to waste food. It is 100% inevitable. Take a deep breath and start again the next week.

Even the most accomplished cook will forget about something, unconsciously avoid something or let something spoil. I’ve thrown away a ton of food over the years from my CSA, and it stings a little every time – but it also reminds me to forgive myself, google a few recipes and try harder.

If you want it to sting a little less, subscribe to a composting service like WasteNot (or compost in your own backyard).