By Meredith Popolo
Lettuce, and Turnips, and Beets, oh my! Join a CSA this summer and receive a weekly basket of all those and more.
Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a method of food distribution that supports local farms. Members pay for a share of a harvest from a specific farm upfront and pick up deliveries weekly at a designated location. The model benefits farmers because they can better predict income, grow with more security, and build stronger relationships with customers. CSA members profit by gaining regular access to local and seasonal produce, supporting the regional economy, and developing a closer connection to their food. Buying into a CSA is also a great way to discover new foods and recipes—can you say Kohl Rabi? In exchange for joining a CSA, members often are asked to volunteer to help with set up or distribution a few times throughout the season.
There are a lot of decisions that go into selecting a CSA. Firstly, you should choose one that offers a convenient pickup location and time for you because you won’t want to miss out on your weekly share. You should also consider how many people you expect the share to feed. A full share generally feeds a family of four but many CSAs offer half shares fit for one or two. In addition to fresh vegetables, some CSAs also distribute optional fruits, dairy, flowers, and meat shares.
Below we’ve listed 10 Upper West Side CSAs that will supply you (and whomever you wish to share with) with fresh produce all season long. For more CSA specifics, click on over to www.justfood.org.
CSA at MSC
Pickup location: Manhattan School for Children – 154 West 93rd Street (between Amsterdam and Columbus)
Pickup time: Every Monday for full shares from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.; every other week for half shares
Farm: Angel Family Farm in Goshen, NY
Season begins: June 3
Season length: 26 weeks
Cost: $624 for full shares, $312 for half shares
B’Nai Jeshurun Hazorim CSA
www.bj.org/social-justice/taking-action-through-direct-service/csa
Pickup location: B’nai Jeshurun – 257 West 88th Street (between Broadway & West End Avenue)
Pickup time: Tuesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Farm: Free Bird Farm in Mohawk Valley, NY
Season begins: June 4
Season length: 22 weeks for vegetables; 20-21 weeks for fruits
Cost: $510 for full vegetable share, $375 for partial vegetable share, $255 for half vegetable share; $95 for full egg share (one dozen eggs), $50 for half egg share; $160 for fruit share, $360 for double fruit share
Roxbury CSA
www.roxburyfarm.com/content/5952
Pickup location: Church of St. Paul and Andrew – 540 West End Avenue (at 86th Street)
Pickup time: Thursdays from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Farm: Roxbury Farm in Kinderhook, NY
Season begins: June 13
Season length: 23 weeks
Cost: $612 for 23 weeks of vegetables; $70 for 20 weeks of fruit (starting July 11); $125 for a winter vegetable share (three deliveries of 30 pounds each); $145 for beef share; $150 for lamb share; $135 for pork share
Cream of the Crop CSA (Formerly Chubby Bunny CSA)
Pickup location: Church of St. Paul and Andrew – 540 West End Avenue (at 86th Street)
Pickup time: Tuesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Farm: Hepworth Farms in Milton, NY
Season begins: Early June, TBA
Season length: 24 weeks
Cost: $662.40 for large vegetable share; $438 for a small share
Central Park West CSA
Pickup location: St. Matthew/St. Timothy’s Church – 26 West 84th Street (between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue)
Pickup time: Wednesdays from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Farm: Vegetables from Angel Family Farm in Goshen, NY; fruits from Breezy Hill Orchard in Hudson Valley, NY
Season begins: June 5
Season length: 22 weeks
Cost: $536 for full vegetable share with optional $274 full fruit add-on, $283 for half vegetable share with optional $142 half fruit add-on
Kitchen Table/Project Harmony CSA
thekitchentablenyc.wordpress.com
Pickup location: Project Harmony Garden – 122nd Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues)
Pickup time: Thursdays from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Farm: Gonzalez Farm in Middletown, NY
Season begins: June 6
Season length: 22 weeks
Cost: Sliding scale based on income; ranges from $440 to $340
Morningside Heights CSA
morningsideheightscsa.wordpress.com
Pickup location: 3009 Broadway (between 117th and 118th Streets), outside of Barnard Library on Barnard College’s campus
Pickup time: Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Farm: La Baraja Farm in Goshen, NY
Season begins: September 8
Season length: 10 weeks
Cost: $235
West Harlem CSA
Pickup location: Broadway Community Inc. at the Broadway Presbyterian Church – 601 West 114th St. (corner of Broadway)
Pickup time: Every Tuesday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for full shares; every other week for half shares
Farm: Windflower Farm in Taconic Hill, NY
Season begins: June 12
Season length: 22 weeks
Cost: Sliding scale based on income; ranges from $522 to $314 for full share, $258 to $157 for half share
Farm to City CSA
www.jewishhome.org/news/news-archive/announcing-farm-to-city-csa
Pickup location: Jewish Home Lifecare’s Manhattan’s lobby – 120 West 106th Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues), on the patio outside
Pickup time: Wednesdays from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Farm: Angel Family Farm in Goshen, NY
Season begins: June 5
Season length: 20 weeks
Cost: $440 for full share, $320 for partial share
CSA at Ansche Chesed
Pickup location: UWS Manhattan Ansche Chesed – 251 West 100th Street (between Broadway and West End Avenue)
Pickup time: Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Farm: The Garden of Eve in Riverhead, NY
Season begins: June 5
Season length: 24 weeks
Cost: $595.20 for full vegetable share, $315 for half vegetable share; $275.04 for full fruit share, $150 for half fruit share; $155 for full flower share, $79.50 for half flower share; $33 for half egg share; $570 for Variety Pak (half shares of everything); $1,050 for Mega-Combo (full shares of everything)
We did CSA at Ansche Chesed last year and we’re excited to do it again this year. It was awesome, the produce was so good and they had good variety. We’ll skip the flowers and eggs this year. You only get 6 eggs per week, and we go through 6 eggs each day in our house, so it wasn’t really worth it for us. The flowers were just not the best. But the veggies and fruit were incredible!
Thanks for a great article highlighting local food! Also make sure to check out Corbin Hill Farm Share. It’s like a CSA, but slightly different because you can pay by the week, put your share on “vacation” any week you can’t make pick-up, and join anytime during the season if you miss the first-day cutoff. (For those who need to pay that way, Corbin Hill also accepts SNAP/food stamps.) This season there are medium and large produce shares (mostly veggies with a bit of fruit), fruit shares, egg shares, and order-ahead Thanksgiving turkeys. Pickup sites include Riverside Church (Tuesdays, 2:30-7 p.m.) and 116th & FDB (Tuesdays, 4-7 p.m.) — though there are also locations all over Harlem, Washington Heights and the Bronx. See http://www.corbinhillfarm.com.
What about the one at the Westside YMCA ?
I heard there was one there as well.