Please contact us for more updated information at 212.645.9880.

For Immediate Release
Contact:: Shana Berger, Just Food 212/677-1602
Stacey Sherman, Blackbird Communications 203/459-9620

COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE BRINGS FARM FRESH PRODUCE TO NYC NEIGHBORHOOD CO-OPS

New York, NY, July xx , 1999 – Just Food, a New York City nonprofit, is making it easier for city residents to get affordable, fresh organic fruits and vegetables, and support struggling regional farms at the same time. Just Food matches farmers and consumers in a regional food system called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). A growing movement in the United States, CSA offers a win-win situation for everyone involved. There are over 600 CSA farms across the country, and about 300 of them in the Northeast, and 8 CSA partnerships in New York City.

“Just Food’s mission is to help build a more just and sustainable food system – one that provides good jobs, easy access to local organic food, and protection of the environment, “ said Kathy Lawrence, Executive Director of Just Food.

“Community Supported Agriculture is central to achieving that mission. CSA gives farmers a chance to grow food for people who care about the quality of their food, their neighbors and the planet. CSA gives city folks the peace of mind that comes from knowing and trusting the people who grow their food --plus, the food is terrifically fresh, affordable, and has tremendous flavor.”

Just Food’s CSA Program in NYC
Just Food coordinates the only CSA Program in New York City. The program bridges the rural-urban gap to help farmers and New Yorkers of all income levels build lasting relationships based on trust and shared interests.

Since its inception in 1995, Just Food has helped six upstate farms and 8 New York City
community groups in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens create solid partnerships. As a result, fresh fruits and vegetables “just-off-the-farm” have reached over 3,000 New York City households. Just Food is instrumental in introducing farmers and neighborhood groups, and educating city residents on the necessary steps to create and sustain successful CSAs.

How a CSA Works
During the winter, CSA farmers sell shares in their upcoming harvest to individuals, families, and restaurants. Each farm grows between 40-50 different items each season. Members of the CSA pay the farmer for their share in advance. The average cost per share is $375.00, which goes toward the cost of growing and distributing a season’s worth of produce.

Each week, during the months of June through November, farmers deliver the week’s harvest, in bulk, to a central neighborhood CSA distribution site in New York City – usually a church or community center. Members who own shares collect their food at their neighborhood sites. Typically 7 to 10 different fresh picked vegetables and fruit are delivered weekly. Fresh flowers and herbs always abound.

“The cost of a week’s worth of fresh CSA is less than $15.00 per week – two people can’t go to the movies in New York City for that,” said Lawrence. “.95 cents of each $1.00 goes toward producing quality food. It’s a small price to pay to ensure healthy, fresh from the ground produce to your table. If you were to analyze that against the cost of produce in a supermarket, you would realize that approximately .75 cents of every $1.00 spent on food in a supermarket actually covers the cost of advertising, packaging, long distance transport and storage. Doesn’t that make you wonder what the quality of produce that would cost .25 cents to grow would be?”

Building Community
According to Paula Rojas, youth organizer at El Puente de Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who has worked with Just Food to start the first low-income CSA in New York City, “CSA allows the people in South Williamsburg access to fresh, healthy produce and ensures that a part of the farmer’s income is more stable and reliable. The program ensures a more equitable distribution of resources by building personal supply and demand relationships.”

Just Food’s CSA in NYC Program brings New Yorkers together on a social level as well. “In the age of television and bowling alone, CSA’s are building communities,” according to Peter Mann, International Coordinator for World Hunger Year, “When I go to my CSA site on Manhattan’s Upper Westside, I leave the subway stress, the swirling Broadway crowds, and descend into another world.“The tables are piled high with glowing mounds of lettuce and chicory, and mizuna, swiss chard and kale, squash, peppers and tomatoes, onions, potatoes, carrots and beets. Members share cooking stories of success and failure, and remember recipes from their mothers and grandmothers. People talk together, and not just about food. I have learned that food doesn’t come from the supermarket, but from the earth.”

The Farm/Farmers
Farms in the Northeast are at a competitive disadvantage in an increasingly globalized food system. The short growing season; rough and rocky terrain; very high land, energy, and labor costs, agricultural land taxes; and severe development pressure add to the disadvantage. Small-scale farming in the Northeast, which provides jobs and the chance for nearby communities to get the freshest possible food, is in danger of extinction as land values and operating cost in this region rise and market channels remain limited. The Just Food CSA program offers a solution to this problem by uniting regional farmers with city dwellers in a basic relationship built on need, common interest and trust.

How to Join
CSAs throughout New York City are currently accepting new members. Individual groups can be contacted for specific details. If you’d like more information about Community Supported Agriculture, contact Just Food, 625 Broadway, Suite 9C, New York, NY 10012; telephone: 212/677-1602; fax: 212/677-1603; e-mail: csa@justfood.org

About Just Food
Founded in 1995, Just Food’s mission is to help develop a just and sustainable food system in the New York City region by fostering understanding, communication and partnership among diverse groups concerned with farming, hunger, and other issues related to food. The nonprofit nurtures collaborative projects that support the region’s farmers while increasing the availability of healthy, locally grown food to the people of New York City.

In addition to Community Supported Agriculture in NYC Program, Just Food runs The City Farms Program; a collaborative research project on Ethnic Markets and Sustainable Agriculture; a Food-Systems Education Task Force; an Annual Conference.
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