RSS Feed
|
|||||
|
Many Now Buy Their Food
When the Randolph Co-op closed in April, Clotilde Hryschko of East Brookfield had a problem. Hyrschko’s Camp Merrishko Organic Farm had sold about half of its vegetables at the co-op, and now she needed a new marketing strategy. She decided to make up for the loss by expanding her CSA program. Three months later, while Hryschko is still saddened by the closure of the Co-op, she is "very happy" with how the season is going and with the success of the CSA expansion. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. In CSA programs like Hryschko’s, members pledge support to the farm before the growing season, and in return receive a share of the harvest, often in weekly installments. This year, Camp Merrishko’s CSA program has more than doubled to about 50 members. Hryschko has added a second CSA pick-up day and has even been able to take a break from the Saturday farmer’s market, giving her more time with her family. Other CSAs around the region are also doing well. The CSA program at Luna Bleu, Susanne Long and Tim Sanford’s organic farm in South Royalton, is full this year with 90 members. Luna Bleu has one of the oldest continuously running CSAs in Vermont, having started in 1990, and at this point the CSA program comprises about a third of the farm’s business. On Monday afternoon, Sanford and several farm interns were busy tying up five-foot tall tomato plants, while Luna Bleu’s CSA members began to arrive to claim their share of the week’s harvest. Family Affair Nine-year-old Amelia Fisk and her brother, Sam, 6, of South Royalton, helped their mom, Stephanie, fill a canvas bag with veggies stacked on tables in the open barn. This week there were glistening greens and beets, zucchini and summer squash, curly garlic scapes, and shiny purple peppers. The Fisks have been members of Luna Bleu’s CSA program for five years. Stephanie said the CSA program is a good fit for her family because she appreciates "knowing we’re eating fresh and local" and giving her kids a farm experience. Amelia and Sam confirmed that they like picking flowers and seeing the baby chicks. Describing the philosophy behind their profession and CSA in particular, Sanford and Long echoed Fisk’s concern for food quality and neighborliness. "For us it’s a philosophy of producing good wholesome food for people in a community," said Long. One way Luna Bleu and other farms give back to the community is through participation in programs like Farm Share and Senior Share, projects of the Northeast Organic Farming Association which provide CSA shares to low-income families and individuals. Ginny Cleland of Four Springs Farm in Royalton, who operates a 40-50 member CSA and participates in Senior Share, said she believes people who own land "need to use it, and need to share it." In addition to food production, Four Springs offers a cabin and camping space for visitors, and hopes to offer educational programs soon. Jennifer Megyesi of Fat Rooster farm in Royalton, whose CSA program is being restructured this year, said conservation is a large part of her farming philosophy, saying she wants to produce food "sustainably and environmentally sensitively." Interest Is Growing While some CSA members like the Fisks have been interested in eating local produce for years, local farmers say they have seen a big increase in interest in their farms and CSAs lately. "Eating local is huge right now, especially in Vermont," Cleland said. This surge in interest comes on the heels of the burgeoning "localvore" movement. Strongly rooted in Vermont as well as certain other states, and endorsed in new books by Barbara Kingsolver and others, localvores are dedicated to eating food grown locally for environmental, health, community and gustatory reasons. Currently, area localvore organizations are sponsoring "Localvore Challenges" in which participants pledge to eat only local foods for a period of time ranging from a day to a year. Unfortunately, there is one less venue for local produce in Randolph—the Co-op—and it’s too late to become a CSA member this year, but produce from local farms can also be found at area co-ops, farmstands, and farmer’s markets. The HSA’s referred to in this story may be accessed at the following sites: |
for larger version     Ads have a Patent Pending. Click Here for More Information |
||||
