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Flagstaff
Community Supported Agriculture project starting
From the
Flagstaff Community Farmers Market and Crooked Sky Farm
The
Flagstaff Community Farmers Market is starting a Community Supported
Agriculture Project for Flagstaff-area residents during the fall,
winter and spring season when the Farmers Market is not holding its
weekend events. The CSA will contract with Crooked Sky Farms, an
organic, family-owned farm in Glendale. Weekly vegetable pick-ups
will happen at Mountain Harvest Community Market in Flagstaff.
Crooked
Sky Farms farmer Frank Martin was born and raised in Arizona. He is
keenly interested in native crops. Crooked Sky Farms offers other
CSA programs around the state.
The
Sept. 2001 farm newsletter says, “Community-Supported Agriculture
allows people to have contact with a local farmer and receive fresh vegetables, fruits and
herbs grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. The original
purpose of a CSA was for the community to share risk with the farmer
by purchasing a "share" or "subscription" in the
future harvest. In return, the community enjoyed the benefits of a
nearby source of seasonal produce.
“Locally grown food reduces the extraordinary environmental
costs associated with massive corporate farms shipping their product
half way around the world. CSAs are catching on like wildfire around
the U.S., as more and more people seek out the health benefits
associated with food grown without chemicals.
“Another positive factor is that local farmers can grow
heirloom varieties, chosen for sweetness and flavor, rather than the
ability to be stored, packed and shipped for long periods like most
of the produce in the
supermarkets.
“Members of a CSA pay a set price in advance (usually
quarterly) to help the farmer pay for seeds, irrigation and land. In
return, they receive a variety of produce each week, depending on
the season. Each member receives
the same type and quantity of food.
“When times are good, members get a large selection of
tasty, organic food; if times are lean, there may not be as much
variety.
“‘Here in the low desert, we have the ability to grow a
wide assortment of crops year around so variety is seldom a
problem,’ says Farmer Frank. …
“A winter box might include bunches of spinach, basil,
cilantro, green onions and carrots, a full head of broccoli, and a
mesclun mix of baby salad greens. The contents alternate weekly,
depending on what is being harvested.
The
Flagstaff Community Farmers Market CSA mission statement says, “As a
community, we aim to support regional farmers through a
producer-consumer organization called Community Supported
Agriculture. Through this project we seek to build enduring
reciprocal partnerships that will nourish us with great tasting,
regionally produced food while contributing to the success of every
farmer who becomes involved. The payment schedule of the CSA is
designed to spread the risks of farming to the consumers. It is our
vision to create an alternative to long distance food distribution
and, in doing so, form new relationships with our food sources that
reflect our responsibility to the earth and to each other.”
The Flagstaff CSA Shareholder Contract for 2002-2003 says
that produce will cost $17 per week. The group is also hoping that
members will volunteer to help with weekly distribution at Mountain
Harvest, host a CSA get-together and help with planning and
organization for the CSA.
Members are asked to sign an agreement stating, “As a
member of the Flagstaff Community Supported Agriculture Project, I
understand that my share payment does not guarantee me an exact
amount of produce. I am making a commitment to support regional
farmers and to share in the rewards and the risks of the growing
season. I also understand that my payments are non-refundable.
It is my responsibility to pick up my share at the designated time
and place. I understand that if I am out of town or otherwise unable
to receive my share at any time during the season, I am responsible
for contacting a friend or neighbor to gather my produce or donate
it to a local food bank.”
The cost per share is $227 for each quarter:
Fall:
October–December 2002 (13 Weeks)
Winter: January - March 2003 (13 Weeks)
Spring: April - June 2003 (13 Weeks)
Members may also pay up front for the entire three quarters
— October 2002 through June 2003 (39 Weeks) for $656.00 (a savings
of $25)
Flagstaff residents may sign-up at the Flagstaff Community
Farmers Market booth each Sunday between 8:30 and 11:30 a.m. at the
Farmers Market, held on the parking lot between Mountain Harvest and
the railroad tracks on South Beaver Street. Or contact Tim Swinehart
and Emily Lethenstrom, 501 W. Santa Fe Ave. #18, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001 phone: (928) 773-4972 e-mail: trs27@dana.ucc.nau.edu.
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