We are excited to announce that Farm Spot CSA will now be partnering with Angel Family Farm!
The Angel Family
Ana is the head farmer. Crisostomo, Ana’s husband, farms and is the driver.
Ana & Crisostomo
Lizbeth, their eldest daughter, farms and is in charge of Finance & Outreach. David, her fiance, farms with the Angels. Ana and Cristosomo’s son, Henry, has another full-time job but helps out. They also have two teenage daughters who help when they can.
History of Angel Family Farm
Ana grew up on a farm in Progreso, Mexico, where everyone farmed organically, although there was no such word in the local lexicon.
Anna and Chrisostomo immigrated to the USA in the 1980s. They lived in Brooklyn and worked various jobs to help raise their four kids, but Ana missed farm life. In 2004, Ana heard about and was accepted to the Grow NYC’s New Farmer Development Project, which helps immigrants with agricultural experience establish small farms. She trained in organic techniques, got help procuring seeds, finding land, and making connections. Two years later, the Angels became a farming family – at least on weekends and in the summer, when they drive up from Brooklyn to work their fields and live in a trailer on the farm. The family owns 15 acres and rents 25 in Goshen, NY, the black dirt region in Orange County, NY, a 1.5 hour drive northwest from Queens. In the winter, they live in Brooklyn and work other jobs. They sow the early season seeds in their apartment, and they bring the plants to Goshen when they are ready to be planted. They have several CSAs and also sell at several farmers’ markets. With this year’s addition of three CSAs (Farm Spot, Sunnyside CSA, and Forest Hills CSA) they hope to grow more for CSAs and decrease their market sales.
Farming Practices
The Angels follow organic practices but are not certified organic. The soil in the Black Dirt Region is very fertile, and they use few machines in their farming, so the soil needs little nourishment. The only fertilizer they use is compost which they make from any of their vegetables that are not in edible condition. They do not use any pesticides, but sometimes use pepper spray (as allowed in organic certification) as a deterrent to insects and mammals.
They use crop rotation to minimize pests and for soil health. They have a tractor, but most of their farming is done by hand. They weed by hand and with handheld hoes. They mainly buy organic seeds but sometimes buy non-organic, untreated seeds when they can’t find the seeds they want organically certified, as is allowed on certified organic farms. They do not use GMO or treated seeds. All the produce in our shares is from their farm. They use a well on the farm for irrigation, which is infrequently needed. Most of their electricity is solar. This past winter, they purchased a small plot of land near their primary farmland. This plot has electricity, and they bought a walk-in refrigerator to keep our harvested vegetables fresh until distribution. Their delivery truck is also refrigerated.
Our CSA Shares
Angel Family Farm will deliver fresh vegetables to Farm Spot for pick up every Thursday, 5:30 – 8:15pm, for 20 weeks, June 16th through October 27th, 2022 at St. Mark’s Church, 33-50 82nd St, Jackson Heights, NY. You will receive a generous amount of 6-8 different vegetable varieties, including herbs, that will change from week to week as the season progresses. For past Farm Spot members, it will be similar in size to Golden Earthworm’s shares, but with five fewer weeks to the season, due to the shorter farming season in Orange County.
Prices: Vegetable Share is $700 for the season (20 weeks)
Subsidized* Vegetable Share is $350 for the season (20 weeks)
*limited number of subsidized shares available
Share Examples:
Early season: kale, chamomile, green lettuce, red lettuce, garlic scapes, mizuna
Peak season: zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, fresh onions, collard greens, carrots, peppermint, potatoes
Late season: winter squash/pumpkin, thyme, onions, potatoes, carrots, beets, celery, kale
You can learn a lot more about Angel Family Farm online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelFamilyFarm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelfamilyfarm/
A recent article on them in Dirt Magazine https://tinyurl.com/dirtmagAngelFamilyFarm
A farm video, produced by JustFood in 2012: http://vimeo.com/45161846
A Brooklyn Beet CSA Farm Visit: https://vimeo.com/316620678
They also have lots of brief Youtube videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK4c48FkwSMgQYw7TXWdKkA/videos
They were featured in the film, “What’s on your Plate?” Available on https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/whats-on-your-plate or Amazon Prime
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