LEAF Community - Community Supported Agriculture Public Mtg

Annie Stahlheber · Post by **Annie Stahlheber** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:21 am

The LEAF Community is hosting a public meeting on Community Supported Agriculture on March 16th at 5:30 pm at the Lakewood Library Main branch auditorium.
Representatives from Covered Bridge Gardens and City Fresh will discuss their programs and answer questions.
Members of the LEAF community will briefly discuss our initiatives and announce volunteer opportunities.
Private message me with any questions or to get a copy of the flier. Thank you~Annie

Annie Stahlheber · Post by **Annie Stahlheber** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 9:39 am

The LEAF Community is please to announce that winter produce shares and farm fresh eggs will be available at the meeting Sunday!
All of the items are from Homerville Ohio, from 3 Amish farmers.

Shares will be available for purchase (cash only please) on a first come first served basis.

PM me with any questions; see you Sunday!
~Annie

David Lay · Post by **David Lay** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:21 am

How much are the shares and eggs?

Annie Stahlheber · Post by **Annie Stahlheber** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:04 pm

The price for the shares will be $10 or less (depending on the total number of shares we have). The eggs will be $2.50 with a share, or $3.00 without a share.
~Annie

Ruthie Koenigsmark · Post by **Ruthie Koenigsmark** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:54 pm

Thank you, Annie, for this info--looking very forward to this meeting--as I have much to learn--you all(LEAF) have done an amazing job . See you Sunday.

Bryan Schwegler · Post by **Bryan Schwegler** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:08 am

Although I wasn't able to stay for the entire meeting, I wanted to thank everyone involved for putting on a very informative presentation. You guys did a great job last night!

Heidi Hilty · Post by **Heidi Hilty** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 9:25 am

I, too, appreciated the wealth of information at the meeting although I did think the meeting went a little long. Kudos to all of you who made this happen last year and this.

I am looking for opinions on participating in the Covered Bridge program vs City Fresh. We participated in City Fresh last year (flipped a coin) but are considering switching to Covered Bridge. There seem to be benefits to both but would really like to hear what all of you have to say.
Thanks.

Rhonda loje · Post by **Rhonda loje** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 9:31 am

I could not make the meeting last night. I get the information from someone.
Thanks,
Rhonda

Bryan Schwegler · Post by **Bryan Schwegler** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 12:30 pm

Heidi Hilty wrote: I am looking for opinions on participating in the Covered Bridge program vs City Fresh. We participated in City Fresh last year (flipped a coin) but are considering switching to Covered Bridge. There seem to be benefits to both but would really like to hear what all of you have to say.
Thanks.

I'm in the same boat, although I didn't participate last year so I have a clean slate for both.

Brad Hutchison · Post by **Brad Hutchison** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:53 am

I, too, did not participate last year, so I was excited about the City Fresh option because I don't have to commit to (or pay for) the entire season, but can instead do a week by week try out.

Ruthie Koenigsmark · Post by **Ruthie Koenigsmark** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:03 am

Sheesh...I couldn't make the meeting either...where can I find info. to sign up???? This is great!

Bryan Schwegler · Post by **Bryan Schwegler** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:22 am

Brad Hutchison wrote:I, too, did not participate last year, so I was excited about the City Fresh option because I don't have to commit to (or pay for) the entire season, but can instead do a week by week try out.

That's a very good point. Although I think I like having to do it weekly because then it will force me to eat more vegetables.

Either one is a good choice really and it's exciting that something like this is offered in Lakewood.

Suzanne Metelko · Post by **Suzanne Metelko** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:50 am

I'm in the same boat. I would also like information.

Dan Slife · Post by **Dan Slife** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:56 pm

Hello Observers,

I will do my best to be concise in explaining the difference between the two programs, other LEAF members can fill in the gaps.

City Fresh: is an aggregator of locally grown produce with a built-in socially responsive mechanism for redistributing produce(wealth) to under-underprivileged neighborhoods lacking access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

A share bag from City Fresh is comprised of vegetables from multiple sources , including; conventional farms, Amish farms and urban gardeners. Everything in your bag is produced within a "75 mile radius of your plate".

The price of each share bag includes a mark-up which effectively subsidizes reduced shares for low income individuals and families. The program is regional in scope and focused on delivering fresh food to inner-city neighborhoods which lack sources for nutritious fruits and vegetables.

Covered Bridge Gardens: is one of a few conventional farms that sell wholesale produce to the City Fresh program. Covered Bridge Gardens also vends through locals farmer's markets and their CSA (Community Supported Agricultural) program.

By purchasing your CSA share from Covered Bridge Gardens you are connecting directly to the source. Your farmers, Mick and Kay Prochko, will be present during each LEAF pick-up. The buyer has an opportunity to develop an intimate relationship with the producer of their food.

This relationship is essentially a closed circuit, between the farmer and the community in which they sell CSA shares, reminiscent of the pre-mega farm connection between producer and consumer, with no middle man.

I hope this helps.

Rob Burgoyne · Post by **Rob Burgoyne** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:23 pm

We have PDF brochures for both programs at the bottom of our homepage: http://www.leafcommunity.org.

Thanks to everyone for coming out on Sunday and don't worry if you couldn't make it. Look over the brochures and ask us any questions you might have.

We had an unbelievable year with the CSA programs and LEAF Night and I am excited to get the fresh foods rolling into Lakewood again. I hope everyone can at least stop by and check it out when we get things started back up. You will see how much fun we all have distributing and celebrating this food. I personally think of it as one of those rare opportunities where volunteering for a few hours a week is something that I look forward to.

-Rob