LEAF Night 2010 Photos

LEAF Night at the Lakewood Public Library is the pickup location for several of our CSA Programs

The LEAF Community hopes to expand thier CSA programs in Lakewood in 2010. All of the programs offered below vend local produce, so items will vary depending on the growing season. Feel great that your food was grown within 75 miles, and picked within 24 hours of delivery!

 

Covered Bridge Gardens CSA              

This farm, run by Mick and Kay Prochko, is located in Jefferson, Ohio (Ashtabula County). Mick and Kay run a traditional CSA program with Mike and Diane Heiner of the Peters Creek Farm of Dorset, Ohio. Mick and Kay deliver weekly produce market bags to Lakewood on LEAF Nights (Wednesdays at the Lakewood Public Library). They include a weekly newsletter in their market bags, with tips on how to handle, prepare, and preserve items in your share bag.

Pricing (1 market bag a week for 16 week season):
Family Pack $516            Single/Couple $330
Fall Storage Pack $50

To sign up: Download the Covered Bridge PDF Brochure and send in your registration.
Contact: Mick Prochko – mick@coveredbridgegardens.com

 

Geauga Family Farms-Certified Organic CSA ** (Delivery on Thursdays)

Geauga Family Farms is a cooperative of farms in the Geauga County Ohio area.  Geauga Family Farms CSA program will be delivered on Thursdays at the Root Cafe from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. The Geauga Family Farms will offer a 20 week season in 2010.

Pricing (1 market bag per week for 20 week season):

Full share: $650                                 Half share: $400

To  sign up: download the brochure.  Mail the contract in to 17050 Nash Rd (Rt 88) Middlefield, OH 44062. Contact:Laura Dobson 440-478-9849

lmfree99@yahoo.com

 

City Fresh

This program was initiated by the New Agrarian Center in Oberlin, Ohio. The New Agrarian center is a non-profit organization that receives grant funding to support staff and transportation costs. Their employees work with 16 local farmers to bring shares of produce to several locations in Cuyahoga and Lorain counties. For the Lakewood Fresh Stop, all the produce is delivered directly to the Lakewood Public Library.  Volunteers unload the truck and set up the Fresh Stop. Shareholders then pick up their share bags.

How the program works:
Shareholders are required to pre-pay for shares at least 1 week ahead. Low-income shareholders receive a 50% discount. The price for the regular income shares is slightly padded to subsidize the low-income share cost. City Fresh accepts Ohio Direction Card.  The WIC and Senior Farmer’s market vouchers programs have been applied for.  Information about these programs will be available by the start of the season. The program will run for approximately 20 weeks. Delivery will be weekly at LEAF Nights (Wednesdays a the Lakewood Public Library).  To gaurantee that you receive a share on the first week, please submit your registration and first week's payment by May 15th, 2010.

Pricing:
Family Share: $24/week
Single Share: $12/week

Limited Income Shares:
Family Limited Income Share: $12/week
Single Limited Income Share: $6/week

To sign up download the brochure and mail in your registration to the address on the form.

Contact: Jeannie, Chris, or Annie for information about any of the community supported agriculture programs offered by LEAF at leafcsa@gmail.com

 Since the fresh stops depend greatly on volunteers, we are always looking for more people to help out. Please let us know if you are able to help out.

It’s going to be another great year of LEAF!

About Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
When people first settled in Lakewood, they purchased their food from local farmers. Farmers from the area brought their carts into Lakewood and sold their meats, dairy products, and produce fresh from the farm. People ate what was in season. They preserved food when it was plentiful to save for other times in the year. Today, the global food industry allows us to purchase foods from all over the world. Most consumers don’t worry about what season or continent their foods grow. Much of our food today is grown at least 1,500 miles away. While this provides for an endless variety of culinary tastes we are discovering that food produced closer to home provides numerous benefits.

Food grown closer to our plates tastes better than that grown for conventional grocery stores. Since international growers ship from such a far distance, they pick their crops long before they are ripe. The farmers supported in the LEAF Community CSA programs all pick when ripe and within 24 hours of LEAF Night. If you need proof of the difference, simply visit a LEAF Night to taste some fresh cucumbers, melon, or tomatoes picked that morning. If you are used to the conventional stuff, your taste buds are in for a treat!

Besides tasting better, local produce is actually healthier than that in grocery stores. Spending weeks on a truck causes the breakdown of essential nutrients, especially Vitamin C. Also, since most global growers plant the same crops year after year on the same fields (monocrops), they deplete essential micronutrients from the soil. If these micronutrients are not properly replenished, the food produced is lacking essential nutrients that it should contain. The produce available at LEAF Nights is the healthiest produce around. The local farmers rotate their crops and work with soil specialists to ensure that they are maintaining an optimal medium for growth and nutrition.

CSA reduces the risk of foodborne illness. Remember the “Spinach Scare of 2006”? The reason this e.coli outbreak was so widespread is because 90% of the country’s spinach supply is processed in the same location in California. By getting your produce locally, you greatly reduce the risk of getting contaminated food. No California spinach at LEAF night!

Community Supported Agriculture is good for the environment for several reasons.

By purchasing your food directly from a local grower, you reduce the amount of fossil fuels used for shipping. Decreasing the number of “food miles” can greatly impact the environmental tax we create.

It's in a small farmer's best interest to sustainably care for their land. Global produce growers are increasingly dependent on harsh chemicals and pesticides, because they typically plant “monocrops” and do not rely on traditional techniques such as companion planting or home remedies to help keep their crops healthy. The small Ohio farmers we work with feed their families with the same food we get on LEAF Nights. They want what is best for their land, their families and their consumers. These farmers use very little pesticides, and whenever possible use organic pesticides. Many of the farms would qualify as an organic farm, however are too small to be certified organic.

One of our CSA offerings this year is a certified organic program, offered by the Geauga Family Farms cooperative. This is a unique way that a group of  smaller farms can become certified organic, by bearing the logistical and infrastructure hurdles together. 

Purchasing food from local farmers prevents urban sprawl. Urban sprawl creates concrete wastelands in the cities, steals ecosystems from animals and insects, and contributes to a growing problem with stormwater runoff and flooding. By ensuring that our small farmers are successful, they will be less likely to sell their land for development.

CSA benefits the local economy. Northeast Ohio’s economy has been increasingly stressed, with the loss of jobs and “brain drain”. We spend approximately $3 Billion per year on food in Cuyahoga County. Keeping as much of that money in our region will greatly help our local economy.

CSA connects city dwellers to the countryside and farmers. Research shows that we all need a connection to nature. Covered Bridge Gardens farmers, Mick and Kay Prochko vend their shares weekly at LEAF Night. They can answer questions about the food they grow, or provide tips for you on your own backyard garden. They also host a Farm Visit every summer. If you are interested in visiting their farm, please contact them. City Fresh also has events at various farms throughout the year. Last year, several LEAFers helped build a straw bale building, learned about vermicomposting, and attended a festival at the George Jones farm in Oberlin.

Many urban people (especially children) do not realize how plants grow, or what they look like in their natural form. Carrots, for example do not grow in perfectly shaped 2 inch nuggets! CSA connects us to our neighbors. In Lakewood, LEAF Nights are magical. People walk by and ask, “What is going on here?” If you come to a LEAF Night, you will have the opportunity to meet new folks, enjoy local art, trade your home- grown goodies, listen to great local music, watch kids dance and play, pick up a local sharebag of produce, learn about a new vegetable, and enjoy the Library.