CSA Week 10

The CSA shares really are in full swing at this time of year! This week, we got peaches (for our fruit share), beets, garlic, potatoes, carrots, a hot pepper, tomatoes, a cucumber, 2 zucchini, a big bag of beans, 3 small lettuce heads, a cabbage, mint, parsley, and kale. Plenty of meals to be made out of this collection of vegetables, now I just have to figure out what they will be!

Unfortunately, this has been a tough summer for the folks at Many Hands Organic Farm, the great place where our vegetables are grown. First, the economic downturn has hit the farm. One way this is evident is that they have several unsold shares this summer. Another way is that they have been hurt by the downturn is by a loss of workers. In the past they have had men from the Almost Home Program (a program that helps former prisoners transition back into society), but in early July the program was closed due to budget cuts. On top of those issues, the weather was very tough in June and July being much wetter and colder than normal. While they have been fortunate to avoid the late blight that has hit many other area farms, they have far fewer garlic braids to sell and the weather has cut back their yield of vegetables for sale at farmers markets.

The good news is that if you ever wanted to try out a CSA, there is great opportunity for you to give it a shot for the next 11 weeks. For just under $300 ($293 to be exact), you can get a big bag of organic vegetables for the remainder of the season. Monday and Friday Summer Vegetable CSA Shares are still available. They have pick-ups in Dorchester (Monday), Worcester (Friday), and Palmer (Friday). They also have Wednesday pick-ups in Fitchburg and Holden, but I think that their Wednesday shares are sold-out.

Go to their website http://www.mhof.net/ and contact them if you are interested.