sustainable agriculture

Building a Local Food Community

  

One of the best ways to get a taste of the farm is to join a farm’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). For a subscription fee, you get a share of the farm’s harvest once a week. Many farms have different kinds of CSA’s, like vegetables, meat and dairy, and added value products such as baked or canned foods.   

Some farms even have a work-share as part of their CSA agreement. You might like to assist with the harvest or delivery of shares to a drop off point, or help with a specific farm project that needs extra hands. Volunteers are welcome at the Land Lab at CCCC.   

This fall in Organic Crop Production we were fortunate to be able to attend a workshop with the venerable Elizabeth Henderson, co-author of  Sharing the Harvest, A Citizen’s Guide to Community Supported Agriculture.   

http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/sharingtheharvest2    

In order for a CSA to be truly equitable, the subscribers must understand that they are sharing in the inherent risks of farming. This means that at times, there may be less in their CSA box due to hail or insect damage or the like.   

Supporting local farmers means that you know where your food comes from, and how it is grown. You know it does not have melamine in it, and little likelihood of e.coli since your meat was pasture raised. You know because you have a relationship with the farmer, have visited on Farm Tour or work day and have been a loyal customer for years. You know your farmer’s agricultural practices are not eroding the land and polluting the environment. Your support of local farmers helps them to keep land in their families, and preserve it for future generations. By joining a CSA, you can be a part of that vision.   Want to find a CSA near you? Click this link for a list of CSA farms in NC’s Piedmont:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/SustAg/csafarms.html#piedmont

  A lot of work goes into CSA harvest, so it’s great experience for students to get while in school. CCCC’s CSA subscribers are students and CCCC employees.   If you want to farm, starting a CSA is a great way to build community, educating people about their food and reconnecting folks to the land. 

CSA’s are also a good way to get fresh organic food in to people’s hands who might not otherwise be able to afford it. Farmers can now take food stamps, and can be eligible for WIC. Some farms give subscriptions on a sliding scale, or sell to a local charity at full price who then makes shares available to the local hunger agencies.   

 In our community there are two restaurants who are rally making an effort at utilizing the bounty of local produce and meat. In Pittsboro, there is Angelina’s Kitchen, serving up local food with a greek twist: http://www.angelinaskitchenonline.com/    Her gyro is the best I’ve ever had, coming from pasture raised beef and not the mystery meat stick that one usually sees in Mediterranean food places. They marinade the beef and stack it on the roasting spindle themselves. Delicious! 

  

Then, in Saxapahaw, there’s the General Store, a gas station grill, boasting the best goat burger in town. Chef Jeff’s menu will often have both fried chicken, as well as a cassoulet. MMMmmm. Not a bad selection of vino that side of the Haw River!   

Check them out: http://saxapahawgeneralstore.blogspot.com/   

By sourcing food for their restaurants locally, Angelina, Jeff and Cameron help local farmers and also show the public that good food can come from around the corner. Building a local food community one gyro, one goat burger, and one CSA box at a time.

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