Ann Price is luckier than many when the first crops of the year are ready for harvest. She lives within easy driving distance of two local farm markets: Trax Farms in Finleyville and Simmons Farm in Peters.

But while both do a terrific job of providing all the usual suspects (corn, tomatoes, peppers, etc.), they're not as bountiful with the more unusual food items that Mrs. Price, who loves to cook, has come to appreciate -- say, fresh garlic skates or several different varieties of beets. And not everything is organic. So when a friend told the longtime Peters resident last year about Cherry Valley Organics near Burgettstown, it was like killing the proverbial two birds with one stone.

A variation on the Community Support Agriculture programs that have popped up in the region in recent years, Cherry Valley offers its customers more than 200 varieties of vegetables, herbs and berries, all grown organically on a 35-acre farm maintained by owners Jodi and Evan Verbanic. Delighted, Mrs. Price quickly signed up.

While supermarkets have gotten better at filling their organic sections, she noted, locally grown organic produce is still hard to find. "And with all the attention being placed on eating well and what it costs to transport food long distances, I feel it's really important," she said, adding, "I wanted to get the best I could."

Introduced in the mid-1980s, community support agriculture programs aim to forge a relationship between those who grow food and those who buy it. By making a financial commitment up front to the farm, consumers like Mrs. Price become subscribers of the program and in turn, receive a weekly or monthly basket of produce. In short, they sustain the farm while it sustains them.

Now in its seventh season, Cherry Valley is a bit different in that it's the only regional farm based on the community support model that allows its subscribers, who pay a $50 annual membership fee plus $200 toward future purchases, to order their produce on an "a la carte" basis over the 35-week growing season. That is to say, you can pick and choose the type and amount of veggies and fruits you want -- and just as important, don't want -- from an e-mail menu each week.

Subscribers can also purchase cut-flower bouquets over a 20-week season that begins in May (the farm grows 300 varieties of flowers), and a selection of herbal bath and body products, herbal teas, baked goods and dried herbs and vegetables handmade at the farm.

Orders are then delivered once a week to eight pick-up locations in Allegheny and Washington counties, including farmers' markets and various businesses. Mrs. Price, for example, picks her produce up Wednesdays at the Holistic Wellness Center on Washington Road in Peters.

Since the weather is barely whispering "spring" let alone shouting it, you might think it premature to start planning this summer's veggie purchases. Yet this is when the farms make the biggest outlays of cash, so it's essential they line up as many subscribers as possible. Cherry Valley, for example, will undertake 90 percent of the year's expenses by April 1, said Mr. Verbanic.

Not that it's as tough of a sale as you'd think. Even though most of its buzz comes from word of mouth, business is booming. Sales increased 300 percent between the 2006 and 2007 growing seasons, said Mr. Verbanic. To keep pace, the couple this year added two full-time growers and a part-time assistant grower, and also added a new greenhouse and processing building.

It's a far cry from the six or so friends and neighbors and handful of farmers' markets the couple sold to when, in 2002, they first started Urban Roots, an organic farm on a quarter-acre in Crafton. Then, both were employed in other fields -- Mr. Verbanic as a project manager and consultant in environmental management and community development while his wife was a professional gardener. They could only farm part-time and on a small scale. But interest quickly grew, so in 2003 they purchased the farm in Cherry Valley.

For shoppers who are used to buying mass-produced produce at mainstream supermarkets, the service isn't cheap. But Mr. Verbanic, who grew up in Elizabeth and holds a masters degree in environmental science, would argue you're getting a much better product that's worth every penny. Not only is everything certified organic by the USDA, but all produce and flowers are delivered within 24 hours of harvest.

Prices, Mr. Verbanic noted, are set through "good old fashioned police work" aimed at determining what the market will bear. That includes consulting retail price indices for organic produce and considering what it actually costs to bring the fruit or vegetable to market. For example, he said, it's very easy to plant, nurture and pick a zucchini, so squash is generally on the lower end of price per pound. More labor intensive and therefore much more expensive are mixed greens, which have to be harvested leaf by leaf on hands and knees, and then hand-washed and packaged.

Because everything is grown organically, they don't use chemical fertilizers and pesticides which means they must manage the soil and pests by hand.

"It really boils down to factors of production," Mr. Verbanic said. "But we're not shy in telling people what we think our produce is worth."

"There's a lot of science going on out here," and not just with soil chemistry, agreed Mrs. Verbanic, who grew up Baldwin and, like her husband, holds a graduate degree in environmental science from Duquesne University. "We're all entomologists and botanists who have to ID every bug and plant."

Their customers, however, are only too happy to pay a premium for what they consider a superior product. Take Anthony Zallo, chef and owner of Abrio Restaurant in Peters, who's been a subscriber for several years now.

"Absolutely nothing compares with what they're doing," says Mr. Zallo, who is especially fond of Cherry Valley's mixed greens. "You can tell immediately it's something grown naturally, in the sunlight. There's just a heartiness about it."

"They're jewel-like," agreed Steve Dettinger, volunteer market coordinator of Main Street Farmers Market in Washington, where the farm this year will have a booth. "His squashes don't even look real."

That said, the service won't appeal to every shopper, or even those who are committed to buying organic. Different crops are grown and harvested at different times of the years, so customers have to commit to eating seasonally.

Yet learning to eat what's naturally in season instead of what's been trucked in from across the country can actually make for a better Epicurean experience. For example, Mrs. Price never could have imagined herself cooking mustard greens or blue potatoes or some other heirloom variety that looks funny on the plate. Yet because both were among the week's offerings, she tried them and surprise, surprise -- both were really tasty.

"It actually makes me a better cook," she said, "because I try things that sound so interesting."

The typical household, said Mr. Verbanic, spends $15 to $20 a week over the course of the season, or well beyond the $200 subscription. The farm also has several corporate and institutional accounts that spend much more on traditional "farm share" programs, including Bayer Corp., Dick's Sporting Goods, and Parkhurst Dining Services (a division of Eat' N Park Hospitality Group).

And if you'd like to sample their veggies but aren't sure you want to make a yearlong commitment? Cherry Farms' produce is also available at three weekly farmers' markets -- Sewickley, Washington and Bethel Park -- and the East End Food Co-op in Point Breeze.

"It's really important people understand what they're doing, and why they're doing it," said Mr. Zallo, who this year will use the farm's produce in his home kitchen, while his restaurant is in the process of moving to a new location.

For learn more about Cherry Valley Organics' subscription service, call 724-777-0790 or visit www.cherryvalleyorganics.com.