Millerton CSA helps the neediest

MILLERTON — CSAs — Community Supported Agriculture — provide shares of fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables for a lump sum of money. It’s an economical way to access farm-fresh food that would likely costs much, much more in a supermarket or at a farm stand. 

But not everyone has the few hundred dollars it usually takes to purchase a share. Some don’t event have the few dollars it would take to buy small quantities of fresh produce in a local market. 

Low-income CSAs

That’s why Rock Steady Farm and Flowers — affiliated with The Watershed Center on Kaye Road — has worked with Ancramdale’s Neighbors Helping Neighbors to create a CSA program for those in need — free of charge, thanks to a fund drive with a set goal of $12,000.

“It’s a really exciting time for us,” said Rock Steady co-owner Angela DeFelice. “There’s been a huge outpouring of support for the low-income CSA program, so we’re excited about that. We’ve had a successful fundraising online, and we’re close to the $12,000 — I think we’ll get there.”

So, too, does farm co-owner Maggie Cheney, who is also the vegetable manager at Rock Steady. She said there’s roughly $3,000 more to be raised by
May 1.

“We’re really close,” she said. “That money will go directly towards the CSA program; it’s earmarked, and tax deductible through The Watershed Center. Basically, it allows us to pay at the wholesale price to produce vegetables and pack them up and send them to families for free.”

Working with The Watershed Center

Rock Steady Farm and Flowers, which evolved from Sol Flower Farm, has been connected with The Watershed Center for the past three years. Cheney and DeFelice have been involved since the start; they have another partner, D. Rooney.

“Our missions are very aligned,” said Cheney of the two organizations. 

“They’re a fascinating group of people,” said Watershed Center co-founder Gregg Osofsky. “In addition to being food justice organizers and educators, the farm is much more aligned [with us], and we’re really excited for an ongoing collaboration

“We’re excited for the opportunity to bring farming education more significantly into our programming offerings,” he added.

Currently, Rock Steady provides all of the food for the kitchen staff at The Watershed Center. It also provides food for many of the center’s retreats and seminars.

“So, when they have groups come from all over the country, they’re tasting our produce,” said Cheney. “Oftentimes, they’re sitting next to the farmers that grew that food. It’s such a learning moment, to be able to connect with someone over the food in an intimate way. That’s one piece of it.”

Another part of the equation is providing opportunities for people to work on the farm. Some who stay at The Watershed Center take tours and then get put to work. Cheney and her partners supervise seeding, planting and harvesting. She said the added hands are “incredibly helpful.”

The focus right now, though, is on the CSA program — both for low-income area residents  and for paying CSA participants.

Neighborly help

The collaboration with Neighbors Helping Neighbors, Cheney added, was modeled on a program Rock Steady runs with the North East Community Center (NECC) in Millerton.

“For the last two years, we’ve been providing produce for their food pantry program,” she said. “We serve 70 families in Millerton, Pine Plains and Amenia, with Neighbors Helping Neighbors. We just donated when we had an excess of produce; last year we donated 800 pounds of food.

“One of the things that came out of our working relationship last year was that they have to piece together leftover produce from all over the place, and that’s a lot of work, to collect it, make boxes and bring it into people’s homes directly. We simplified the process; we create a whole diverse box with the same quality and quantity we do for our CSA members.”

Neighbors Helping Neighbors then picks up the boxes and delivers them to families in need. It enables that organization to spend more time getting necessary staples for the families it works with and to focus on other programs. Also, the packaged produce is fresher and lasts longer.

A broken system

Cheney said the program is the result of a “broken food system” in this country. She said that the government really only subsidizes large farms and those that do business overseas. Small, local farms are left to fend for themselves.

“[Government] doesn’t promote small, local fresh vegetables as an affordable option,” she said. “Our farm is small, [our produce] is sustaintably produced, non-certified organic. We’re not getting any subsidies from the government. So, unfortunately, to cover our overhead we have to charge more than larger farms. The fact is, produce can be grown next door but is too costly for people to buy it.

“As a farm, we wish we could lower our prices, but then we’d go under,” Cheney said, adding there are eight employees total at Rock Steady. “We want to be able to pay our staff a living wage, which is very different than what many of the larger farms using migrant workers do. The whole system is broken. This is one piece of the puzzle, and kind of a band-aid, but it’s also a way to educate the community.”

That community, she added, is diverse — with some able to splurge on food and others barely able to scrape by.

“I think there’s a real disconnect,” Cheney said. “A lot of people don’t realize so many families in our area are under the poverty level. Unfortunately, the welfare system, food pantries and food stamps don’t give a lot of people fresh produce options. It’s fairly limited. 

“NECC has done a wonderful job of making this whole issue more of a conversation in Millerton, but there’s still so much to learn,” she added. “Our immediate solution is to give people food. That’s one piece of what has to happen on a global level.”

How to help

To donate to the low-income CSA program, call Rock Steady at 917-864-6198 or send a check c/o The Watershed Center, 41 Kaye Road, Millerton, NY 12546.

Any money raised above and beyond the $12,000 goal will go into a fund for next year’s low-income CSA program.

To learn more about buying into the regular CSA program, call Rock Steady at the above number. Whole shares cost $650 for 22 weeks; each week provides enough produce to feed a family of four (roughly 16 pounds of food).  Half shares may also be purchased, for $350 for alternating weeks during that 22-week span. Interested parties may also split shares in any way they choose.