Cooking with your CSA box:

Cooking with your CSA box:

Join Chef Bonnie as she discovers what is in this week's CSA box from Tanaka Farms, Irvine, CA:

 

Chef Bonnie walks us through her kale chip recipe:

Lexicon of Sustainability: CSA

Here is a great info-artwork that crowd sourced the definition of Community Supported Agriculture. Made by our friends at the Lexicon of Sustainability in Petaluma.

CSA Farmer Profile: Lockewood Acres

 Lockewood Acres

Vacaville, CA

Ben and Denise Lyons of Lockewood Acres CSA in Vacaville have a lofty mission for their ten acre farm: “to create a core family base of customers who can watch us grow as we watch them grow, and to make a small farm plot as self-sustainable as possible.” Lockewood Acres offers the community a chance to be involved in the farm through the CSA, U-pick, the annual Spring Fling with workshops, demonstrations, and a petting zoo. The farm has many varieties of organic, heirloom, vegetables, fruit trees, dairy goats, free-range chickens, heritage turkeys, and honey bees. With sustainable practices and abundant produce, Ben and Denise are fulfilling their mission of feeding families.

Located just off Highway 80 outside of Vacaville, it’s easy to visit Lockewood Acres for a day in the U-Pick orchard or to learn about shearing and bee keeping. But, if you can’t visit their little slice of heaven- have it delivered to your door! By joining the CSA, you can commit to supporting your farmers  and be rewarded with a weekly array of what’s in season. As a single-farm CSA, all of the produce, protein, and honey in the box are grown on-site at Lockewood Acres.
Ben and Denise participate in many farmer groups around the Sacramento Valley, including CAFF’s CSA project, in an effort to further the success of sustainable and small-scale farming. Visit the farm on June 28^th for the next event, Fun on the Farm, from 11 – 3 PM.  Until then, visit Lockewood Acres on Facebook to see pictures of baby goats, beautiful vegetables, and farm scenery.

CSA Bill: Updated Registration List

This is the list of California CSA operators who have registered with CDFA as of May 2014:

http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/i_&_c/cfm.html

For more information on how to register or if you have questions about the process, visit: http://caff.org/programs/csas/regulations/

CSA Farmer Profile: Say Hay Farms

Say Hay Farms

Woodland, CA

 

Chris Hay is the owner and operator of Say Hay Farms, a twenty-acre organic farm in Yolo County. Say Hay feeds fifty CSA members with fresh vegetable shares, eggs, and preserves. Along with a diverse mix of row crops, Say Hay is home to a flock of Vega hens. 

“Our commitment to high-quality produce begins with our integrated cropping and grazing system, wherein we rotate a team of egg-mobiles through our five pastures of crops and soil-building grasses and grains.  This commitment continues with our direct connection to our customers through farmers’ markets, restaurants, and, our CSA program.” 

Each item packed into the CSA box is grown at Say Hay- a true single farm CSA. With more than 12 drop-off sites, plus a home delivery option, sharing in the Say Hay bounty is easy! To learn more about CAFF’s commitment to Community Supported Agriculture, click here. 

CSA Farmer Profile: High Ground Organics

 Farmers Stephen and Jeanne, standing by one of
many hedgerows at High Ground.

Farmer Profile: High Ground Organics CSA

By Rachel Petitt

Stephen Pedersen and Jeanne Byrne of High Ground Organics are the stewards of a gorgeous 50 acre parcel of land off Harkins Slough, in Watsonville. They also farm the historic Redman House property off Highway 1. The land was purchased from the Open Space Alliance, complete with conservation and agricultural easements that help to protect the fragile wetlands surrounding the farm. As part of their commitment to sustainability, Stephen and Jeanne plant native hedgerows, use perennials to prevent erosion, and only use organic farm inputs. Their voluntary contributions to the environment have awarded them recognition as exemplary landowners and farmers.

Field of Fennel. 

Stephen’s love of fresh food began early in life, with a job cooking in San Francisco.  During an internship at his Uncle’s organic farm, Thomas Farm in Corralitos, he was introduced to the joys of working outside. Jeanne Byrne says, “Once he started working outside all day, he could never go back to working in an office or kitchen.”

Apple orchard with owl boxes.

Over the 17 years that High Ground Organics has run a CSA, it has grown to about 800 members. The produce offered in their CSA boxes showcase the diversity of food grown on the Central Coast; peppers, legumes, root vegetables, stone fruit, berries, and more. Most of their produce is sold through Community Supported Agriculture, but you can also find it at the Mountain View Farmer’s Market and the Redman House farm stand.

CAFF and High Ground Organics have partnered on many projects in the community over the past two decades. Stephen and Jeanne attended workshops on water management, farm ownership, and direct marketing hosted by CAFF. High Ground is one of the many farms involved in the statewide CSA network.

To find out more about the restoration projects happening at High Ground Organics, or to join their CSA, visit http://www.highgroundorganics.com/.