This
Spring at HWFC...
Fox Creek Farm Community Supported Agriculture
by
Raymond Luhrman
Fox
Creek Farm
With the
temperatures hitting record lows in the week of this writing, it’s hard
to imagine
that by the time you are reading this our greenhouse will already buzz
from activity
in preparation of the 2007 growing season. And by the end of that
month, we’ll be
moving out to the field to get the first peas planted for our fourth
community
supported agriculture (CSA) growing season. Almost sounds like spring,
doesn’t
it?
Fox
Creek Farm is run
by the farmers Sara and Raymond Luhrman, and is located in the
town of Gallupville about 25 miles
southwest of Albany.
We started with a market crop of
garlic for Honest Weight Food Co-op in 2001, and then added a small CSA
project
to our farming operations in 2003. We have been expanding our CSA ever
since,
and now are planning on growing wholesome, organically managed food for
approximately 100 local families, in conjunction with our continued
garlic growing
and some restaurant accounts.
Community
supported agriculture began in the U.S. in the 1980s. The
basic idea
is that families and individuals purchase a part of the farm season’s
harvest
(or farm share), instead of buying their vegetables from a store,
before the
start of the actual harvests. This helps the farmers with the expenses
for seeds,
labor and other inputs needed to begin the vegetable growing season. In
exchange for your share purchase, Fox Creek Farm’s CSA farmers will
grow you
local, chemical-free and delicious produce, and deliver it weekly to
local
distribution sites, including Honest Weight Food Co-op.
Five
Reasons to Join a CSA — a commitment to fresh,
local and in season with respect for the
environment and community:
1.
Locally Grown Food Tastes Better
The average
distance food travels from farm to plate is over 1,200 miles, causing a
long
delay between harvest and arrival at you dinner table, losing quality
and taste.
Most of our produce gets picked within the day of distribution — from
the field
to your plate in less than 24 hours.
2. CSA
Produce is Fresher
By joining
a CSA, you know that most of your produce was in the field not more
than a day
before you take it home — fresher than the produce that has been on a
truck or
waiting on the grocery shelves for days, losing nutrients, flavor and
quality.
3.
Community Supported Agriculture Builds Community
By becoming
a CSA shareholder you are establishing a vital relationship between the
eater
and the grower. Knowing the farm and the farmers gives you insight to
where
your food comes from and what is involved in growing it. Annual events
on the
farm encourage shareholders to visit and engage with other CSA members.
(A U-Pick
garden and nature trails, too, offer members a chance to get some fresh
air at
our beautiful site.)
4.
Joining a CSA Helps Preserve Farmland
By
supporting a farm directly with your CSA share you help the farmers to
make a
living off the land, giving the farmland the chance to do what it does
best: growing
wholesome, fresh vegetables in your locality, instead of transforming
it forever
into concrete. By participating in a CSA, you are also preserving the
agricultural
landscape.
5.
Joining a Local CSA Is About the Future
Reducing
food miles, supporting sustainable agriculture and maintaining local
farms all
help to secure an abundant supply of healthy food. It reduces “food
miles,”
which lessons our dependency on oil. It reduces the impact of synthetic
herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers on our environment. A viable
local
agriculture system encourages the next generation to stay on the farm,
growing
local, fresh and wholesome foods tomorrow!
Fox
Creek Farm CSA at Honest Weight Food Co-op
During this
season, Fox Creek Farm will be distributing CSA shares on Tuesdays at
the Honest
Weight Food Co-op. More information is available in brochures at the
store or by
calling the farmers, Sara and Raymond Luhrman at 872-2375, or emailing
your questions
to foxcreekfarm@highstream.net.
We hope we can grow for you!
Editor’s
Note: To
locate other CSAs
in the area, visit the Regional Farm and Food Project’s website: www.farmandfood.org/directory/csa.html.
You can find CSAs around the country at: www.localharvest.org/csa.
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