FARMINGTON, N.Y. — For the sixth year, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY) Neighborhood Farm Share program (NFS) is making a difference for low-income and food insecure people living in the Rochester and Buffalo areas.
The program gives financially qualified individuals and families the opportunity to receive a cost reduction to participate in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for a share of fresh-picked, seasonal fruits and vegetables grown without chemical pesticides. CSAs provide affordable, nutritious, locally grown food to neighborhoods from a trusted source: farmers. Applications are due by May 15, and all information, including applications, can be found athttp://bit.ly/2praPjl.
“The Neighborhood Farm Share program is a win-win scenario that brings the community together,” says NOFA-NY’s Jonathan Hoose who administrates the program. “By helping to make CSAs more affordable and connecting low-income community members with CSA farms, we are improving access to fresh, healthy produce for food insecure individuals while helping to grow CSA markets and support local farms.”
NOFA-NY works with both its Certified Organic and its Farmer’s Pledge™ farmers as CSA providers. Community participants who qualify according to income eligibility guidelines on the NOFA-NY website http://bit.ly/1T3S6T4, receive up to a $100 discount for a CSA share from one of NOFA-NY’s provider farms. The participant pays the remainder of the share cost. Each farm has a slightly different price and delivery schedule. EBT/Food stamps are often accepted and payments can be made in increments.
Rochester 2017 partner CSA farms:
- Buzz’s Garden (pick-up in Honeoye Falls or Rochester)
- The Good Food Collective (pick-up in 12 Rochester locations and surrounding areas)
- Growing Family Farms (drop-offs in Spencerport or Rochester)
- Mud Creek Farm (pick-up in Victor)
- Peacework Organic CSA (drop-offs in Rochester and Newark)
- Porter Farms (pick-up in Brighton, Brockport, Chili, Greece, Irondequoit, Penfield, and various locations throughout the City of Rochester)
- Wild Hill Farm (pick-up in Bloomfield)
Buffalo 2017 partner CSA farms:
- 5 Loaves Farm (pick-up in Buffalo)
- Back Porch Produce (pick-up in Hamburg)
- Common Roots Urban Farm (pick-up in Buffalo)
- Green Shoots for New Americans (pick-up in Buffalo)
- Porter Farms (pick-up at 22 locations throughout Buffalo, Alden, Amherst, East Amherst, Cheektowaga, Clarence, Hamburg, Kenmore, Lockport, Wheatfield, and Youngstown)
- Thorpes Organic Family Farm (pick-up in East Aurora)
On average, more than 50 families per year from the two cities have participated in the NFS since its inception in 2011. “You have no idea what it means to have this help,” said a recent participant. “It is wonderful that you do so much to help so many people get what we could not have gotten otherwise.”
Buzz’s Garden in Honeoye Falls NY is excited to be part of the Neighborhood Farm Share program. “We want to help everyone eat well and local. The NOFA-NY farm share program makes it possible to subsidize the cost of our CSA shares without discounting our farm income.”
During late spring, summer and fall, the CSA farmer delivers a wide variety of produce to a community site where members pick up their weekly share. Each share includes a variety of fresh-picked, seasonal vegetables and fruits; some also provide flowers, herbs, eggs, dairy, and meat (sometimes at an additional cost).
The ideal NFS participant has access to transportation and the ability to commit to picking up weekly shares; enjoys cooking and experimenting with new foods, and desires to increase fresh, local, and chemical-free fruits and vegetables in their diet. Interested individuals are encouraged to research each farm to learn more about them. The NOFA-NY office can also help choose the farm that best fits an individual’s lifestyle and needs.
CSAs provide access to high-quality food that promotes community health. They also support the local economy by giving local, small-scale, family farmers a secure market to sell their produce, which frees them to focus on growing.
NFS applications at http://bit.ly/2praPjl , are due to NOFA-NY by May 15, and sent to: NOFA-NY, 1423 Hathaway Drive, Farmington, NY 14425, or faxed to(585) 271-7166. Once an individual is approved, the subsidy will be sent directly to their CSA partner farm of choice. Questions can be directed to (585) 271-1979 or jonathan@nofany.org.
—NOFA-NY
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