City Fresh CSA
This program was initiated by the New Agrarian Center in Oberlin,
Ohio. The New Agrarian center is a non-profit who operates the City
Fresh program. Their employees work with local farmers to bring
shares of produce to several locations in Cuyahoga and Lorain counties.
LEAF Community volunteers work with City Fresh employees to manage the
Lakewood Fresh Stop.
How the program works:
Shareholders
are required to pre-pay for shares at least 1 week ahead. Low-income
shareholders receive a discount, and Ohio Direction Card is proudly accepted. The
program will run for 20 weeks. Delivery will be weekly at
LEAF Community Farmers' Market.
City Fresh website is: https://cityfresh.org/
People can order online or send in an order form via mail that is a pdf on their website.
There is a Single Share that feeds 1-2 people and costs $17 or $10 if a person is low income per week.
The Family Share feeds 3-4 people and costs $30 or $18 for low income.
This program accepts cash, credit cards (online only), checks or Ohio Direction Card as payment.
It is the only program that asks shareholders to prepay one week in advance and has no commitment for the number of times someone participates.
They start June 18th and run to October 29th at the Lakewood Library Fresh Stop.
Front 9 Farm
Front 9 Farm is a ten-acre market-garden farm established in 2015. They grow a large diversity of agricultural products including 40 herbaceous vegetables, 30 different types of herbs, and 25 fruiting crops, as well as broiler chickens, egg-laying chickens, and turkeys. Their goal is to provide fresh, highly nutritious produce to the local community. The produce is distributed through the CSA program and through two farmers’ markets. Front 9 Farm is located in Lodi, Ohio at the intersection of Route 224 and Richman Road.
Pricing
- 28 weeks, $20/wk, $560 for full season (best value!)
- 24 weeks, $22/wk, $528 for full season
- 20 weeks, $24/wk, $480 for full season
- 16 weeks, $26/wk, $416 for full season
- 12 weeks, $28/wk, $336 for full season
- 8 weeks, $30/wk, $240 for full season
- 4 weeks, $32/wk, $128 for full season
- Double my selection to make a four-person share.
- Broiler chicken every 4th week 1 chicken (avg. 5.5lb at $3.45/lb= $19)
- 1 dozen eggs ($4/dozen) every week
- 1 dozen eggs ($4/dozen) every other week
- 1 dozen eggs ($4/dozen) every 4th week
Sign up for Front 9 Farm CSA here.
For information about any of the
community supported agriculture programs offered by LEAF, contact LEAF at
leafcsa@gmail.com.
The LEAF Night Community Farmers' Market depends greatly on volunteers. We are always
looking for more people to help out. Please let us know if you are able
to help out.
About Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
When
people first settled in Lakewood, they purchased their food from local
farmers. Farmers from the area brought their carts into Lakewood and
sold their meats, dairy products, and produce fresh from the farm.
People ate what was in season. They preserved food when it was plentiful
to save for other times in the year. Today, the global food industry
allows us to purchase foods from all over the world. Most consumers
don’t worry about what season or continent their foods grow. Much of our
food today is grown at least 1,500 miles away. While this provides for
an endless variety of culinary tastes we are discovering that food
produced closer to home provides numerous benefits.
Food grown
closer to our plates tastes better than that grown for conventional
grocery stores. Since international growers ship from such a far
distance, they pick their crops long before they are ripe. The farmers
supported in the LEAF Community CSA programs all pick when ripe and
within 24 hours of LEAF Market. If you need proof of the difference,
simply visit a LEAF Market to taste some fresh cucumbers, melon, or
tomatoes picked that morning. If you are used to the conventional stuff,
your taste buds are in for a treat!
Besides tasting better,
local produce is actually healthier than that in grocery stores.
Spending weeks on a truck causes the breakdown of essential nutrients,
especially Vitamin C. Also, since most global growers plant the same
crops year after year on the same fields (monocrops), they deplete
essential micronutrients from the soil. If these micronutrients are not
properly replenished, the food produced is lacking essential nutrients
that it should contain. The produce available at LEAF Community Farmers' Market is the
healthiest produce around. The local farmers rotate their crops and work
with soil specialists to ensure that they are maintaining an optimal
medium for growth and nutrition.
CSA reduces the risk of foodborne illness. Remember the “Spinach
Scare of 2006”? The reason this e.coli outbreak was so widespread is
because 90% of the country’s spinach supply is processed in the same
location in California. By getting your produce locally, you greatly
reduce the risk of getting contaminated food. Rest assured, you won't find California spinach at our market!
Community Supported Agriculture is good for the environment for several reasons.
By
purchasing your food directly from a local grower, you reduce the
amount of fossil fuels used for shipping. Decreasing the number of “food
miles” can greatly impact the environmental tax we create.
It's in a small farmer's best interest to sustainably care for their
land. Global produce growers are increasingly dependent on harsh
chemicals and pesticides, because they typically plant few types of crops (monoculture) and
do not rely on traditional techniques such as companion planting or home
remedies to help keep their crops healthy. The small Ohio farmers we
work with feed their families with the same food we get on LEAF Community Farmers' Markets.
They want what is best for their land, their families and their
consumers. These farmers use very little pesticides, and whenever
possible use organic pesticides. Many of the farms would qualify as an
organic farm, however are too small to be certified organic.
One of our CSA offerings is a certified organic program,
offered by the Geauga Family Farms cooperative. This is a unique way
that a group of smaller farms can become certified organic, by bearing
the logistical and infrastructure hurdles together.
Purchasing food from local farmers prevents urban sprawl. Urban
sprawl creates concrete wastelands in the cities, steals ecosystems from
animals and insects, and contributes to a growing problem with
stormwater runoff and flooding. By ensuring that our small farmers are
successful, they will be less likely to sell their land for development.
CSA benefits the local economy. Northeast Ohio’s economy has been
increasingly stressed, with the loss of jobs and “brain drain”. We spend
approximately $3 Billion per year on food in Cuyahoga County. Keeping
as much of that money in our region will greatly help our local economy.
CSA connects city dwellers to the countryside and farmers.
Research shows that we all need a connection to nature.
Many urban people (especially children)
do not realize how plants grow, or what they look like in their natural
form. Carrots, for example do not grow in perfectly shaped 2 inch
nuggets! CSA connects us to our neighbors. In Lakewood, LEAFCommunity Farmers' Markets are
magical. People walk by and ask, “What is going on here?” If you come to
a Market, you will have the opportunity to meet new folks, enjoy
local art, trade your home- grown goodies, listen to great local music,
watch kids dance and play, pick up a local share of produce, learn
about a new vegetable, and enjoy the Library.