TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey State Department of Agriculture Secretary Douglas Fisher will announce that now is a good time to sign up for Community Supported Agriculture on National CSA Sign Up Day with a visit to Appelget Farm in West Windsor today.
A CSA allows for customers to pay for a season’s worth of produce, meat, eggs or other specialty products in advance. That provides farmers with working capital so they can prepare for the growing season and the CSA member receives locally produced goods throughout the harvest season.
According to Small Farm Central’s CSA Farming Annual Report, the most popular time to join a CSA each year is at the end of February. To promote this important time for farmers, CSA Sign Up Day was coined, and each year it falls on the last Friday in February.
Appelget Farm is owned and operated by Kevin and Lori Appelget on 10 acres in West Windsor, Mercer County. Appelget Farm has a CSA program and is a member of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey. Kevin Appelget is the fourth generation of his family to farm the fields on Conover Road continuing the family tradition.
Among the products sold at Appelget Farm are beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, collard greens, cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, green beans, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, okra, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, shallots, spinach, squash, swiss chard, tomatoes and watermelon.
CSA Sign Up Day will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at Appelget Farm at 135 Conover Road, West Windsor, NJ, 08550.
— New Jersey Department of Agriculture