Cultivating Community: Community-Supported Agriculture
(Page 3 of 3)
March/April 2009
By Laurel Kallenbach
Sending up new shoots
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In 2008, Community Roots started an outreach program that donates some CSA food shares to low-income families. Kipp also spearheaded the Community Fruits backyard harvest program. Members pick apples, plums, peaches and raspberries that aren’t harvested because homeowners lack time or treetop access, then distribute them through the CSA.
To solve the demand for foods that need larger spaces to grow, Community Roots recently partnered with Father Earth Organic Farm in Lafayette, about 10 miles east of Boulder, where farmer Frank Hodge grows winter squash, melons and corn. The thriving agricultural network also is plotting Urban Hens, which will build chicken coops for homeowners, and potential programs for backyard honey, flowers and herbs.
“My vision is that people start thinking about the food needs of their entire neighborhood, not just their private weekly trip to the grocery store,” Nash says.
Although he’s proud of the fresh organic vegetables he puts on people’s tables, Nash is proudest of how the program connects people. “It’s awesome watching neighbors meet each other as they gather at the CSA pickup stand for their share of the week’s crops,” he says. “That alone makes all the work worthwhile.”
Resources
Community Roots Urban Gardens
SPIN-Farming
information on small plot intensive farming, how-to guides for urban and peri-urban farming, consulting
Local Harvest
information about local foods and community-supported agriculture (CSA
Inspired by Community Roots’ fruit-harvest program, freelance writer Laurel Kallenbach hopes to organize neighborhood picking days for the apple trees on her cul-de-sac this fall.
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