Unfortunately there will NOT be a 2020/21 WINTER SHARE. Golden Earthworm Organic Farm needs to take a breather after a very challenging growing season.
Please stay tuned over the winter for news and info about the 2021 SUMMER SHARE.
In the meantime, we are fortunate in Jackson Heights to have a wonderful year-round farmer’s market for locally-grown food!
#grownyc #jacksonheights #queens
UPDATE: We are currently SOLD OUT of full price Vegetable Shares for the 2020 season. We have a limited number of Subsidized Vegetable Shares available. Please read info about income eligibility + sign up HERE. Email us with any questions or to be put on the waiting list: farmspot@gmail.com — posted 5/29/20
>>> Sign up for a 2020 CSA share HERE. <<<
Dear Farm Spot Friends and Family,
We hope that you are staying safe and taking care of each other.
As we roll out the 2020 CSA season with Golden Earthworm Organic Farm, we realize that many of you have concerns regarding the upcoming season. We hope that we will be covering some of these concerns below. If you have other questions, please let us know. Contact us at farmspot@gmail.com
2020 DATES + PRICES
– Distribution will run from JUNE 4th through NOVEMBER 12th, 2020
– The price of the VEGETABLE share is $680.54* (25 weeks) *please scroll down for a note on pricing!
– The price of the FRUIT share is $101.77 (14 weeks)
A) NEWS FROM THE FARM…
Golden Earthworm Organic Farm , the producer of our beautiful organic produce year after year, is on track to start delivering to us the first week of June, as planned. They have seen an uptick in signups due to the concern about food safety and quality during this time. CSA organic produce is less handled in general, and not handled by the public. The farm is committed to food safety and is closely monitoring the situation and updating protocols. We are so happy to support this.
Here is their statement regarding food safety:
“Our produce is grown is nutrient-rich soil that we have been building for over two decades. Not only is it 100% Certified Organic and non-GMO, every member of our staff has been trained in food safety following certification training of our management staff through the Produce Safety Alliance. We follow USDA GAP standards and protocols and we were one of the first farms to adopt these standards more than a decade ago. CSA produce is perhaps the least handled food available. It is harvested in the field, washed and packaged, and then shipped in clean boxes directly to CSA member pick-up sites. No warehouses, middle men, extra handling or consumer touching. We will continue to monitor the situation and adjust our handling protocols as necessary to ensure that our produce is clean and safe for you”.
Please also consider supporting local food through Lewis Waite CSA Extras. You can order a la carte items from local farms such as meat, cheese, grain, bread, and more. They distribute/deliver to Farm Spot members during our CSA season. Lewis Waite Farmer Network (local marketplace)
NOTE on 2020 PRICING:
As you may know, we run on extremely slim margins in order to keep the price for the share affordable and to be able to offer a limited amount of subsidized shares to community members in need. The price increase this year reflects a price increase from the farm which is due to the increased cost of production resulting from the new law in New York State mandating overtime pay for farm employees. Golden Earthworm Farm fully supports this expansion of labor rights to the farm sector – as does Farm Spot – but this will increase the farm’s payroll costs, and in turn increase the cost of the share. Read more about the Farmworkers Farm Labor Practices Act
— We are offering a 3-MONTH INSTALLMENT PAYMENT PLAN for those who prefer to make multiple payments.
— If you are able, please consider making a 💚donation to Farm Spot💚 so that we can fundraise for 🌟subsidized shares🌟.
FARM SPOT UPDATES:
VOLUNTEER SHIFTS:
The requirement for membership will still be two shifts per share. We are 100% volunteer run and really value the time that you spend helping to make this happen in our neighborhood. Please remember that volunteering is part of your responsibility as a Farm Spot member. Megan, our volunteer coordinator, will email with details about volunteer sign ups in May.
SPLITTING SHARES:
In past years, Farm Spot has encouraged members to look for share partners on social media and community message boards. People have been known to find share partners by posting on the Farm Spot Facebook page or on Jackson Heights Life (a free list serve, but sign up is required in order to log in). If you cannot find a share on your own, please email farmspot@gmail.com and we will do our best to match you with a share partner.
SUBSIDIZED SHARE PROGRAM:
Farm Spot feels that it is imperative to continue to offer a subsidized share program so that members of the community who fall within specific income requirements can access fresh, organic produce. We have been operating on reduced shares since last year, which has made it difficult to fund this program. We continue to rely on donations for the subsidy. Please consider making a donation (or multiple donations) when you sign up for your share. We are very grateful for any type of donation received towards this. We will announce subsidized share sign ups later in the season when we are able to subsidize them. Please stay tuned.
WE ARE SEEKING A NEW CORE MEMBER:
We are looking for a core member – someone who will be responsible for overseeing signups and tech support. Core members are volunteers who are involved in decision making and implementation of actions needed in running a CSA. Requirements would also include attending occasional core group meetings, participating in group discussion, and voting on issues regarding the CSA (the last two duties are mainly done via email).
If you are interested in becoming a core member, or have questions about it, please email farmspot@gmail.com
Thank you for reading this all the way through, we look forward to our upcoming season!
Sign up now for a Farm Spot Winter Share HERE!
>>> Deadline to sign up is November 20th, 2019. <<<
All the details:
The GOLDEN EARTHWORM ORGANIC WINTER VEGETABLE SHARE consists of Certified Organic root vegetables and hearty winter greens
Cost: $128.80 for a share (4 distributions)
Each box will contain 15+ lbs of the following crops grown on the Golden Earthworm Organic Farm (and sourced from other local, organic family farms). Actual crops depend on availability: Potatoes, Watermelon Radish, Purple Top Turnips, Parsnips, Rutabaga, Carrots, Beets, Leeks, Winter Squash and Cabbage. If we have a warm December, the first box may include greens from the fields. Exact contents to be determined.
NON-ORGANIC BRIERMERE FARM APPLE SHARE – $33.35 for a share (4 deliveries, 4 lbs of apples per delivery)
NON-ORGANIC BRIERMERE FARM CIDER SHARE – $26.45 (4 deliveries)
PICK-UP DATES FOR ALL SHARES:
Delivery 1 – December 12, 2019
Delivery 2 – January 9, 2020
Delivery 3 – February 6, 2020
Delivery 4 – March 5, 2020
Pickup will be at St. Mark’s Church, 33-50 82nd St, Jackson Heights, from 5:30-8:15pm
Note that we are *unable to save shares*. If you are unable to make it to pick up, please ask a neighbor, friend or family member to pick up for you. Unclaimed shares are donated to those in need.
Some additional announcements for this upcoming winter share season:
-You will notice a slight increase in price for the winter share. We strive to keep costs as low as possible but we needed to increase the price slightly to cover administrative fees (rent for distribution, etc).
-Please consider a donation to Farm Spot, even if you aren’t getting a winter share. Our margins have been extremely slim and we are working to fundraise for subsidized shares for the upcoming summer season – thank you!
To make a donation, please use the link for the winter sign up where there is an option to add a donation to your cart.
-Please remember to sign up for your volunteer shift for the winter share. This is a requirement of being a member (one volunteer shift per share for the winter season). Everyone’s efforts helps to make this happen. Please use this link to sign up:
https://signup.com/go/SOgZNyC
–Lewis Waite Farm CSA Extras will deliver on Thursdays during our winter distribution this year! Please place your orders as usual. If you aren’t already aware of their great local selection, check out their website HERE and sign up to be able to place orders for local products
-Farmbridge frozen share is NOT available this year.
-We cannot save shares, please pick up during distribution hours. You can always send a neighbor or friend to pick up your share in your place.
Questions: farmspot@gmail.com
Sign up now for a Farm Spot CSA share for the 2019 season!
We are offering an organic vegetable share, from Golden Earthworm Organic Farm in Jamesport, Long Island, and a fruit share (non-organic, but responsibly grown), from Brieremere Farm in Riverhead, Long Island).
The season starts on May 30th and runs until November 21st. (Note: there will NOT be a delivery on Thursday, July 4th due to the holiday, but we will receive the full 25 weeks of deliveries).
All shares must be picked up during distribution on Thursdays, 5:30-8:15pm at St. Mark’s Church, 33-50 82nd St., Jackson Heights, Queens.
As a volunteer-run group, all shares are asked to volunteer 2 shifts (each shift is 1 hour, 45 min) during the season. (If two households split a share, it is still only two volunteer shifts per season)
Questions? email us at farmspot@gmail.com
Chef Tony Liu gave a cooking demo last week during distribution at The Queensboro focusing on winter root vegetables. If you missed it, take a peek at the photos and recipes below.
Golden Earthworm Organic Farm sent us an extra box of winter vegetables, which chef used to make two dishes – both delicious and simple.
The first was Sweet Potato Gnocchi. A very simple dough of baked sweet potato, flour, and eggs was rolled out and cut off into small pieces. These were scored with a fork to create ridges (which catch the sauce), boiled, then pan-fried with butter.
The second dish chef made was Root Vegetable Pakora. For this, a variety of root vegetables (including carrots, golden beets, and leeks) were julienned using a mandolin (though a food processor or a knife can be used instead).
The julienned vegetables were then mixed into a chickpea flour batter before being fried.
A batch of golden pakora after being fried!
A tasting plate with a vegetable pakora (left), and sweet potato gnocchi (right).
Here are the recipes. Enjoy!!
Notes:
farmspot 