News & Events
Gardeners supporting local food pantries
AmpleHarvest.org is a nationwide campaign enabling more than 40 million
gardeners who grow food in home gardens to donate excess produce to a local food
pantry. Rolled out nationwide in May 2009 and backed by Google Inc., the USDA,
the National Gardening Association, Garden Writers of America, numerous faith
and service organization and many others, AmpleHarvest.org is helping more than
2500 food pantries
across all 50 states get garden fresh produce that would have otherwise been
wasted.
Genesee Land Trust Awarded Funds To Preserve Farm Land
Genesee Land Trust, the Monroe and Wayne County based land and waterway
preservation organization, was recently awarded $1,083,707 in grant funding from
the Farm and Ranch Protection Program (FRPP) of the US Department of Agriculture
for the purchase of conservation easements (development rights)
on four farms in Wayne County, NY. This grant award will add 1100 acres of
preserved land to the 2000 acres of
productive farm lands currently protected in perpetuity by the Trust.
One of the properties, Alasa Farms, overlooking Sodus Bay, has scenic
and agricultural value. It is also an important migratory bird
stopover and nesting area with woodlands and tributary creeks. Alasa Farms is
home to the Cracker Box Palace, a non-profit no-kill farm animal
shelter
and rehabilitation center.
Kids Days at the Farm
Some work days are specially designated as Children's Days at the farm
to encourage families to enjoy the fresh air and green fields, and so that
families with children can meet each other. To view a list of upcoming
Children's Days at the farm, see the Farmwork Schedule.
'Kids' appears to the right of the date on days designated as
children's days. Children are always welcome at the farm if properly supervised.
For more information, see Farmwork.
Important 2010 Dates
February 10 and March 6: GVOCSA Sign-up
Meetings
April 25: Sanctuary at Crowfield Farm's Spring Medicinal
Plant and
Wildflower Walk and Spring Kick-off Party
May 20 (Thursday) and May 23 (Sunday):
Season starts
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What is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a partnership between consumers and
farmers. Consumers contract with
farmers before the growing season begins for a share of the upcoming harvest.
They agree to share the risks
and rewards of growing food in their local climate. Farmers are guaranteed a
market and an income; consumers
receive fresh, just-picked local produce and the satisfaction of helping to keep
local farms in business. CSAs
are as individual as the people who form them. GVOCSA founder, Elizabeth
Henderson, has written an excellent book on the topic called Sharing the
Harvest. For information
on how to order a copy, see below.
GVOCSA Brochure (tri-fold)
Who Is GVOCSA?
Genesee Valley Organic Community Supported Agriculture (GVOCSA) is a member  organization of consumers in the
Genesee Valley area of New York, in and around the city of Rochester. We began
in 1989, making us one of the
oldest CSAs in the United States. We contract with Peacework Farm Newark,
Wayne County, NY for shares of main season organic vegetables and herbs and with
Blue Heron Farm in Lodi,
Seneca County, for organic winter shares. We also special-order items such as
berries, apples, wine, and maple
syrup from other New York producers during the main season. Another local farm
that raises livestock using
sustainable methods is often present at our main season distributions selling
meat and eggs and delivering
items members have previously ordered. A cooperative bakery also delivers
pre-ordered bread and other items
to our members on specific distribution dates. During the main season, Peacework
Farm offers extra produce
for sale on a weekly basis, if and when it's available. During a good growing
year, Peacework also has bulk
quantities of certain vegetables for sale for canning, freezing, and winter
storage.
GVOCSA's distribution site is the warehouse/parking lot area of Abundance Cooperative Market at 62 Marshall
Street
between Monroe Avenue and Broadway in Rochester (see map).
During the main season, we distribute shares on Thursday and
Sunday evenings. When you sign up, you choose the pick-up day that's best for
you and keep that day throughout
the season. The main season runs for 26 weeks from mid-May to mid-November (see
News & Events
at left for specific dates). Winter shares are contracted separately from the
main season membership. Winter
share distributions occur every other week from January to March, also in the
Abundance warehouse.
Peacework Farm also operates a separate CSA for 30 to 40 members in Wayne and
Ontario Counties who pick up their
local shares at the farm. See Peacework Farm
CSA on this web site if
you live within 30 minutes of Newark and are interested in a local share.
What does it cost?
The cost of the food varies according to the
type of share you purchase. There are three types of shares available for
purchase:
Full Share: Sliding scale (choose what you can
afford to pay):
$400 - $480- $540 - $680
for the 26-week main season (this is about $15.40 - $18.50 - $20.75 - $26.15 per
week).
Choosing the upper range helps the folks who can only afford the lower range and
assures
the farmers get a fair price for their produce. An annual membership fee of $15
is also required.
Shared:
Same size as a Full Share. Cost, work, and produce are divided among the
households sharing the share.
Sliding scale: same as a Full Share.
Partial Share: 4-6 items per week depending on
the time of season.
Set Cost: $300 for the 26 week season (approx. $11.50 per week, no sliding
scale) plus annual
membership fee of $15.
Every member signs a contract for the 26-week season. A down payment of at
least $50 is required
to join. The remainder may be paid in a lump sum or in increments designated on
your contract. Food
stamps are accepted. Bulk and special orders are paid for separately when
ordered.
GVOCSA Vision
We envision the creation of a land-based community of
people of diverse ages, backgrounds, and incomes, farmers and non-farmers, who
are committed to love, justice, equality, democracy and cooperation, and who
honor the intrinsic value of nature and food, and the dignity of labor. The
members of this community will work gently together to learn and teach others to
live sustainably, in the broadest sense, for the health of all living creatures
and the planet. We will practice an agriculture that supports a whole, healthy,
sustainable, and loving community.
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Work Requirements
GVOCSA is one of the few CSAs that require all members to work as part of their
share. We feel it is important
for ourselves and our children to understand where our food comes from, how it
is grown and to know the people
who grow it. It gives us an appreciation for the labor that goes into growing,
harvesting, washing and packing
the food that appears on our plates. Our labor also helps to keep the costs of
our shares reasonable. Work
requirements include work shifts at Peacework Farm during the main season and at
distribution for both main
season and winter share members.
Alternatively, members may choose to serve on the Core Committee that
administers and coordinates the activities
of GVOCSA. See News & Events (upper left) for current Core
position openings.
Main Season Work Requirements:
Full or Shared Share:
3 Farm Shifts of 4 hours each (8 AM to Noon) on your pick-up day (Thursday or
Sunday) and
2 Distribution Shifts of 2.5 hours each (starting one hour before food pick-up
begins) on your pick-up day
Total of 17 hours for the 26-week main season. (Hours do not reflect driving
time to the farm and time spent
delivering produce to the GVOCSA cooler at Abundance at the end of your work
shift.)
Partial Share:
2 Farm Shifts of 4 hours each (8 AM to Noon) on your pick-up day (Thurs. or
Sun.) and
1 Distribution Shift of 2.5 hours (starting one hour before food pick-up begins)
on your pick-up day
Total of 10.5 hours for the 26-week main season. (Hours do not reflect driving
time to the farm and time spent
delivering produce to the GVOCSA cooler at Abundance at the end of your work
shift.)
Members often stay for a picnic lunch at noon. If you'd like to stay, please
bring some food to share and let the
farm staff know to load your vehicle after lunch. The farm crew makes a big
seasonal salad and there are plenty of
plates and utensils at the farm.
You choose your work shift times at the annual sign-up meetings (see
News & Events for dates). If you sign up
two adults and an able-bodied child willing to work four hours, you can fulfill
your Full Share farm work obligation
with one visit. You may instead choose to work a Special Vegetable Action Team
(SVAT) shift. SVAT teams help with
special jobs that only happen once a season such as putting up pea fencing,
harvesting garlic, or dividing and
weeding perennials. You can sign up for SVAT shifts at a separate table at the
sign-up meetings. Many members and
Core Committee members (who are exempt from farm and distribution work shifts)
sign up for extra shifts at the farm
because they love being out there. Extra help is always welcome on Thursday and
Sunday mornings. If the weeds get
ahead of them or other urgent help is needed, the farmers will post an alert to
the GVOCSA e-mail list. Members should
see the Contact Us/Join the email list for how
to be added to the list.
Winter Share members are required to work only a single 1.5-hour distribution
shift. There is NO farm shift.
How long does the season last?
Produce is typically distributed for 26 weeks: from mid-May through the middle
of November.
The annual Winter Shares program is not part of the regular
membership season. Participating members may receive regular supplies of
organically grown beets, carrots, celeriac, cabbage, daikon, garlic, kohlrabi,
leeks, onions, parsnips, potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, winter squash and more.
Detailed information is announced in the fall.
A typical Winter Share program might include both Full and Half shares.
For example, a Full Share might provide approximately 16 pounds of vegetables
per distribution; and a Half Share nets about 8 pounds per distribution.
Distributions usually take place every other week beginning January 9th through
March 20th.
Each share is only required to work a single 1.5 hour distribution
shift. There is NO FARM SHIFT.
Sign me up!
Sign-up meetings for the main season occur in early February and March (see
News & Events, upper left, for dates). All new and
returning members must attend a sign-up meeting. If you miss both meetings,
contact Dave Fergusson on the Core Committee
to see if shares are still available
or to be put on the waiting list. Click here for a 2010 GVOCSA
Membersip Contract (.pdf file).
Sharing the Harvest
The latest edition of Elizabeth Henderson's book, Sharing the Harvest: A
Citizen's Guide to Community Supported Agriculture (Chelsea Green, 2007) is
now available. According to Howard Zinn, a historian, author, and playwright,
Sharing the Harvest is "an extraordinary book, an opening to a new world
in which growing and eating food will be a sharing among humans, between farmers
and surrounding communities, not a commercial venture for profit. It is both
utopian and practical, inspiring and down-to-earth. It is a treasure, rich with
suggestions, exciting for what possibilities it foresees for the human race."
To purchase the book directly from the author, send a $35 check plus $4 postage
and handling to Elizabeth Henderson, 2218 Welcher Road, Newark, NY 14513.
Click here to call or write today
Peacework Farm is proud to work closely with Sanctuary
at Crowfield Farm, a local non-profit community-based organization offering
environmental education in a beautiful
natural setting and giving people a safe and welcoming place to reconnect with
the earth.
Special thanks to The Genesee Gateway for
generously hosting this web site.
Copyright © GVOCSA 2002-2010. All rights
reserved.
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