Summer CSA Days

Earlier this summer, I took Mr. Hudson Riverton out for a walk in our neighborhood when I spotted a bright green flyer posted on a telephone pole. I was going to keep walking, but Hudson also noticed the pole and decided that he absolutelymustimmediately mark it as his own, and dragged me toward it with the force of a much larger animal.

And I was glad he did, because that flyer was advertising a new farm share program that had just started in our neighborhood.

The program is run by Corbin Hill, which is designed to provide underserved neighborhoods in northern Manhattan and the Bronx with affordable access to local, seasonal produce. CSAs and farm shares are popular throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, but they're a bit of a rarity in my neighborhood of Sugar Hill, which sits at the very tip top of Harlem, just before Washington Heights.

While the little pocket that I live in is quite lovely and residential with a good supermarket just a couple blocks away, we don't really have easy access to the green markets and lush grocery stores available to those who live further downtown.

The majority of folks in the area have limited means, and tend to shop at the local bodegas and or discount markets--which are usually heavy on the canned and packaged foods vs. fresh and unprocessed.

Which is why it's pretty exciting to have an option like this located literally a block and a half away from my apartment. The program allows people to sign up on a week-to-week basis and accepts payment in checks, credit card, or SNAP.

It also allows people to sign up at any point in the season; a wonderful bonus compared to others that have you sign up for the whole thing at once before it starts.

Upon getting home that afternoon, I told Eugene about it and immediately signed us up for a medium share, as well as 2 egg shares (pastured eggs for less than $3 a carton!) and a fruit share. The total came to about $28 a week for a large bag of very high quality produce (and eggs!).

I've been picking my shares up every Tuesday evening, always taking a few pictures before putting it in the fridge, and decided to share some of my favorites so far.

If you follow me on Instagram, you can also see my weekly CSA snapshots (as well as lots of other fun photos!).

****
Love Always Order Dessert? Let's connect! Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!