What’s a CSA?
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, a program for purchasing fresh produce from a regional farm. With a CSA, you buy a fixed-price “share” of a farm’s output at the beginning of the season, and receive a selection of their harvest once a week from the beginning of June through the beginning of November. CSAs reduce wasted food (in good years) and financial loss (in bad years), allowing smaller farms to avoid some of the great risk of their business. In return, you get fresh, organic vegetables delivered right to your neighborhood.
For more general history about CSAs, check out Wikipedia; for more information about CSAs in NYC, hop over to Just Food.
Who Are We?
Grand Street CSA is a partnership between residents of Grand Street and other neighboring blocks on Manhattan’s lower east side, and farms and other producers located within a few hours drive. We are member-run and not-for-profit, organized in 2008 solely for the purpose of bringing fresh produce to our community. Our main farm is Norwich Meadows Farm, located in Norwich, NY.
How Does It Work?
In early spring, members commit to one or two (or three) shares of vegetables and pay Norwich Meadows Farm through us. From June through November (exact dates vary each year), our farmers deliver locally grown, organic produce once every other week to our distribution spot, where you come to pick up that week’s bounty.
Every member is also required to work at least one or two distribution shifts during the year, helping to set up the vegetables, sign in members, and clean up the distribution area.
A single share is generally enough for a (non-vegetarian) family of two to four and varies according to each family’s cooking and eating pattern. There is not a fixed quantity each week: you’re getting fresh vegetables from a single farm, so the variety and amount will vary based on the farm’s actual harvest.
More details about the shares, including price, can be found here.
CSA Extras
In addition to vegetables, we also have arrangements with local providers to provide fish and flower shares. The payment options are similar — you pre-pay for the entire season — though the share model is not exactly the same for each extra. (For example, fish shares can be bought at a fixed quantity of 2 portions per week — you’re not actually getting a share of the hens’ output.)
We also usually offer New York State organic maple syrup at the very beginning of the season, wild caught Alaskan salmon at the end of the season, and various local products on different dates throughout the season.
(For details and pricing of all our shares, check the Shares page.)
Distribution
Our distribution schedule and model shifts each season. For current distribution details check https://grandstreetcsa.org/distribution-basics/.
For more information, contact us at info@grandstreetcsa.org.