What is CSA?
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a type of "food buying club" that enables community members to know the farmers and farms that produce their food. It is a direct purchasing relationship between local farmers and community members. Community members agree to purchase a season's worth of produce before the harvest season begins. In turn, members receive a weekly "share" of the harvest during the local growing season (June - November). This agreement benefits the farmers by guaranteeing them a market for their produce and providing capital at a time when it is most needed. Members benefit by receiving the highest quality produce at an affordable price.
Members of the Fort Greene CSA will pick up their vegetables at a convenient neighborhood location once a week. You may pay for your share in installments throughout the season, or all at once before the season begins, but all members must commit to membership in the CSA for the entire season.
Isn't CSA expensive?
Actually, it's very reasonably priced. We took one weekly "share" from our farmer's CSA from last year and looked at how much the same vegetables in the same amounts would have cost at local grocery stores. We found that the CSA vegetables, which were freshly harvested and grown without pesticides or synthetic chemicals of any kind, cost approximately the same as the not-so-fresh foods that were grown with pesticides and herbicides available at nearby stores. When we compared the CSA share to the organic vegetables at Whole Foods, Fairway, and Pathmark, we found the CSA to be significantly cheaper. Click here to see the full comparison.
We are working hard to make the Fort Greene CSA available to all community members, regardless of income. You may pay for your entire share with food stamps, and low-cost shares will be available, too.
Details about pricing and payment options will be available soon.
What kind of vegetables will we get?
One week's CSA share will usually contain between 7-10 different types of vegetables. Local farmers grow everything from lettuce and tomatoes to garlic and tomatillos, so you will never get bored with your share. Shares will start out light in June with lettuces and fresh herbs and grow heavier over the season, ending with items like squash, potatoes, carrots, and onions in the late fall.