more LEAF Night photos

LEAF Night Markets are Thursday evenings at the Lakewood Public Library, from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm. LEAF Night Markets are the delivery location for several Community Supported Agriculture programs. We proudly accept Ohio Direction.

LEAF Community Market is a participating market in the "Produce Perks" program!  This is a program of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy coalition, where Ohio Direction card holders can get buy one get one free market tokens (up to $10) for fresh fruits and vegetables.  Visit the customer service table at the farmers' market to learn more.

The LEAF Community will offer four produce CSA programs, 1 meat CSA program and many visiting vendors in Lakewood in 2013! All of the programs offered below vend local produce, so items will vary depending on the growing season. Feel great that your food was grown within 75 miles, and picked within 24 hours of delivery!

New in 2013: Local, Sustainable Meat Community Supported Agriculture Program

Hoofty Match

At Hoofy Match they believe an economy built on local businesses like small and mid-sized farms, local distributors, retailers, restaurants and consumers creates better community. With your help, they want to build this new economy by connecting all of the players through one connected marketplace.

HooftyMatch, has 3 overarching goals.
1. Strengthen producers of Food
2. Empower consumers with information about Food
3. Build meaningful relationships between producers and consumers

Hoofty Match CSA Brochure

Produce Community Supported Agriculture Programs

CSA Payment Plan

LEAF Community's mission is to produce broad access to local foods. Limited income neighbors may be deterred from joining a typical CSA program, since most programs require the large lump sum payment in the early spring. The LEAF Community Payment Plan is offered to those individuals who wish to be part of a CSA, but need to make weekly payments. LEAF is offering the Payment Plan for Geauga Family Farms, Maggie's Farm, and Cleveland Crops in 2013. Click here for more information and the application.

Geauga Family Farms-Certified Organic CSA 2013

Geauga Family Farms is a cooperative of farms in the Geauga County Ohio area.  Geauga Family Farms CSA program will be delivered on Thursdays at LEAF Nights.  Geauga Family Farms will offer a 20 week season in 2013. New for 2013: Geauga Family Farms CSA will be offering a half share, in addition to their single and family shares. 

The half-share provides a selection of fresh produce perfect for one person. This will have less variety than the two larger shares, but will still include a broad range throughout the season. The single share provides enough produce for two to three people to have several servings throughout the week. The family share provides enough for four people to have several servings throughout the week with greater variety and a little more volume.

Pricing (1 market bag per week for 20 week season):

Half Share: $285

Single share: $435

Family share: $725                               

Extras      

1 dozen eggs each week for 20 weeks:  Price not set yet (check www.geaugafamilyfarms.org)                                                                                        

1 loaf of wheat bread each week for 20 weeks: $70                                                   

1 jar of jam each week for 20 weeks (specify a flavor or we'll choose): $70

1 pound of ground beef each week for 20 weeks: Price not set yet (check www.geaugafamilyfarms.org)

To  sign up: download the brochure.  Mail the contract in to 10401 Stuart Drive Concord Twp, OH 44077. Contact:Laura Dobson 440-478-9849

ldobson@geaugafamilyfarms.org

Maggie's Farm (an Urban Farm in Stockyards)

Maggie's Farm is in the Stockyards neighborhood. The farm is a true community effort. By participating in the CSA, you are keeping your food dollars in the community, offering economic opportunity and growth. Value added products will also be available!  While we can't guarantee that all produce is GMO free, we strive to search out seeds that are heirloom or non-GMO. We use sustainable practices where possible.  All our food is grown in raised beds built using a combination of lasagna gardening, and a hugelkultur hybrid (permaculture). We create our own compost, use no pesticides or herbicides and repurpose many things that we have sourced like pallets for our fencing.

Pricing: Two share size options

Regular Share (enough for 3-4 people per week): $600.00 per season for 20 weeks

Single Share (enough for 1-2 people per week): $300.00 per season for 20 weeks

More information about Maggie's Farm here

Cleveland Crops CSA

Cleveland Crops and Stanard Farm are an employment program with the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Their Mission is to employ and train people in jobs related to growing, processing, and selling fresh vegetables and fruits in urban farm settings. To operate a sustainable business that creates employment opportunities for people near where they live. As a part of Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities and its non-profit affiliate SAW, Inc., Cleveland Crops is a working Urban Agricultural entity that exists to provide employment and training for people with disabilities in the areas of farming and selling produce.

Pricing: Two share size options

Full size share: $500 per season for 20 weeks.

Single share size: $280.00 per season for 20 weeks 

Download the Cleveland Crops brochure

City Fresh

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 16 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.  

Sign up for City Fresh Lakewood online at http://www.gotthenac.org/members

How the program works:
Shareholders are required to pre-pay for shares at least 1 week ahead. Low-income shareholders receive a discount. The price for the regular income shares is slightly padded to subsidize the low-income share cost and some administrative expenses. Ohio Direction Card is proudly accepted.  The program will run for approximately 20 weeks. Delivery will be weekly at LEAF Nights  (Thursdays at the Lakewood Public Library) starting on June 14th. 

Pricing:                                 

Family (enough for approx 3-4 individuals)  

Regular: $28 / week                                                               

Limited Income: $16 / week                                                

Single (enough for approx 1-2 individuals)                                          

Regular: $15 / week                                                                        

Limited Income: $9 / week                                                                 

To sign up download the brochure and mail in your registration to the address on the form.

Contact: Chris, Crystal, Missy or Annie for information about any of the community supported agriculture programs offered by LEAF at leafcsa@gmail.com

Since LEAF Nights depend 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 Night. If you need proof of the difference, simply visit a LEAF Night 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 Nights 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. No California spinach at LEAF night!

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 “monocrops” 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 Nights. 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 this year 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, LEAF Nights are magical. People walk by and ask, “What is going on here?” If you come to a LEAF Night 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 sharebag of produce, learn about a new vegetable, and enjoy the Library.