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Join a CSA
Farm in 2008!
With updates for the 2008 season, plus resources for
gardeners and a mouth-watering spring recipe.
Spring
is just around the corner - and that means this
is the perfect time to sign up for a Community
Supported Agriculture farm, or CSA.
>>What's
a CSA?
Every winter, we bring you a
listing of places to find CSA farms and other
local organic food in NC. This year, we've
found lots more available than in years past,
especially in Eastern NC. This is great news
for consumers, and great news for NC's economy
and environment! When you choose locally-grown
organic foods, your whole community benefits
from greater availability of healthy food, a
cleaner environment, and a more vibrant local
and regional economy.
>>Find CSA
farms in NC
We'd also like to share with you
some great resources for
gardeners, and a delicious
recipe that features two tasty spring vegetables
- beets and salad greens. Yum.
Enjoy the first glimmers of spring,
everyone, and remember to make locally-grown, organic
and fair trade products part of your Valentine's
Day celebrations this week! |
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A
very delicious photo of one CSA member's
weekly share from Wild
Onion Farms in Middlesex, NC. Lettuce,
spinach, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, onions,
and cooking greens are all typical springtime
offerings for farm shares in NC. The selection
changes every week according to the season.
Many CSAs offer meats, dairy products,
eggs, flowers, and/or herbs in addition
to veggies. Photo courtesy of Flickr
user justinhenry.
Take
action Today!
>>Find
CSA Farms in NC.
>>A
few resources for
home gardeners, and a recipe
for elegant beet salad.
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What's a
CSA?
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Community Supported Agriculture Farms,
or CSAs, are farms with membership or subscription
programs. Members usually pay one bulk price at the
beginning of the growing season, and then get a variety
of seasonal fruits and veggies fresh from the farm
every week during the growing season. Most CSA farms
use organic and/or sustainable growing practices.
Some CSA farms also offer flowers, herbs, eggs, meats,
or dairy products. |
Every CSA works a little bit differently,
but a few things are always the same: As a CSA member,
you get produce that is locally grown and in season,
as fresh as can be, and at a price lower than what you'd
pay at the store. You also get a chance to know the farm
your food comes from and the people who grow it, so you
know exactly where your money's going, and exactly what's
going in to your body. Many CSAs also hold social events
and work parties. Joining a CSA is a fun, delicious way
to participate in an organic farm and connect with like-minded
folks in your area!
More
about CSA farms from Project Green Leaf at UNC Greensboro
Top | Find
a CSA Farm | Resources for
Gardeners | Recipe: Elegant Beet
Salad
Find CSAs
and other Locally-Grown Organic Foods
Statewide
& National CSA Searches
|
Western
NC
Buy
Appalachian Local Food Guide, from
the Appalachian
Sustainable Agriculture Project. Search
Western NC and the Southern Appalachain
mountains for CSAs, farmers' markets,
restaurants, grocers, and more.
Carolina
Organic Growers. Can't find a CSA
in your area? Look for information here
about starting a Buying
Club.
Locally-produced
foods listing from Slow
Food Asheville. |
Central
NC
Growing
Small Farms,
from NC Cooperative Extension. Frequently
updated listing of CSAs
in North Carolina, plus Chatham
County Farmers' Markets, and
a Chatham Regional Buy
Local Guide.
Project
Green Leaf at UNC-Greensboro.
Statewide listing of CSA
farms, plus Triad listings of Farmers'
Markets and Restaurants.
Local
Food Guide from Slow
Food Piedmont-Triad.
Local
Farms & Markets listing from Slow
Food Charlotte.
Slow
Food Triangle |
Eastern
NC
Center
for Environmental Farming Systems in
Goldsboro, NC. Offers courses for farmers
and gardeners, and also coordinates
local food systems projects.
Eastern
Carolina Organics. Marketing and
distribution for Eastern NC organic growers.
Call them about setting up a buying club
in your neighborhood, or to find out
about local restaurants and markets that
feature their produce.
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Know of a resource in your area that we're missing? Let
us know!
Top | What's
a CSA? | Resources for
Gardeners | Recipe: Elegant
Beet Salad
A
few great resources for home gardeners:
>>CEFS
Seasons of Sustainable Agriculture 2008 course
listing for farmers and gardeners.
>>Fight the drought! Discount
rain barrels are for sale by municipatlities
in Raleigh, Concord, Charlotte, Wilmington, Greensboro,
and probably many more! Check with your local
municipality, or make
your own.
>>The
National Center for Home Food Preservation at
the University of Georgia has loads of information
on freezing, canning, drying and pickling fruits
and vegetables. Especially useful in handling
an occasional overabundance of seasonal veggies
from the garden, CSA or farmers market, without
letting anything go to waste!
Top | What's
a CSA? | Find a CSA
Farm | Recipe: Elegant
Beet Salad
Elegant
Beet Salad, by Kate Pattison
Ingredients:
1 bunch of fresh beets
1 round of goat cheese
1 bag of mixed salad greens, rinsed and
spun dry
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans
oil & vinegar to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to
taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Wash, peel and dice the beets. Bake them
in a shallow pan for 15 to 20 minutes til
they are just tender and warmed through.
You can also heat the goat cheese at the
same time (for about 5 minutes). Make a bed
of field greens on each plate, toss with
oil & vinegar, and top with a generous
dollop of goat cheese, some beets and pecans.
Don't forget the freshly ground black pepper
on top. |
Top | What's
a CSA? | Find a CSA Farm | Resources
for Gardeners
Toxic Free NC Action
Alerts are a publication of
Toxic Free North Carolina
206 New Bern Place, Raleigh, NC 27601, (919) 833-5333,
1-877-NO-SPRAY
http://www.toxicfreenc.org
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