July 4th pickup change!

Please note that pickup for next week falls on July 4th. 


Our farmer will be delivering the day before, on Tuesday July 3rd.

This is the only exception for this season. Pickup time (4-7pm) and location (W 84th between Columbus and CPW) will be the same as usual.

Pickup #4: Vegetables for June 27th

This week's vegetables:
-Swiss Chard
-Dill
-Basil
-Orange Mint
-Lemongrass
-Beets
-Kohlrabi

Fruit:
-Gooseberries
-Plums

Want more info? Check our our farmer's FB page! 

Pickup #3: Vegetables for June 20th

This week's vegetables:
-kohlrabi
-broccoli 
-green leaf lettuce 
-red leaf lettuce 
-collard greens 
-kale 
-radish 
-herbs


Want more info? Check our our farmer's FB page! 

Pickup #2: Veggies for June13th

This week's vegetables: (for sure)


-KALE 
-MINT 
-LETTUCE
-MIZUNA 

Possibly --
-Chamomile 
-Broccoli 
-spinach 
-cilantro

Want more info? Check our our farmer's FB page! 

Pickup #1: Vegetables for June 6th

Mizuna 

Red Mustard 

Chamomile 

Lettuce 

Garlic 

Cilantro 

Spinach

First Pick Up!

For those of you who have signed up for our burgeoning CSA, get excited for the first pick-up!

When: Wednesday, June 6th. Pickup anytime between 4-7pm

Where: In front of St. Matthew/St. Timothy church on W 84th Street, between Columbus and Central Park West

What: Bring a bag to transport your veggies home in (reusable shopping bags work well, as do the paper or plastic bags you get at the grocery store)

What to expect: When you walk up to the site, there should be a table with both vegetable and fruit sign-in sheets. 

-For full shares: the names associated with the shares are in an alphabetical list. 

-For half shares: you should have received an email with a number, your name will be listed on that line. 

Please initial that you are picking up your vegetables and/or fruits. After signing in, feel free to locate the dry-erase board with the vegetables and fruits listed and how much of each to take. 

Pick ups will run in the same fashion every Wednesday from now until October 17th with one exception: July 4th, pick up will be the Tuesday, July 3rd.

Enjoy your bounty! 

Picnic Success!

Thanks to all those who came out to the picnic in Central Park! We had a great day. The weather was agreeable and we shared yummy eats and lively conversation under the trees. The event was attended by current and potential members. It was wonderful to meet new people from the area and reconnect with those we already knew. Paula Lukats, who was there on behalf of Just Foods, said it eloquently that community is an important part of a CSA.

Our farmer, Ana and Lizbeth Angel of Angel Family Farm came out to meet the members and share information about their farm. We thank them for making it out and bringing delicious tamales.

We've met our minimum goal for membership, but we are continuing to grow. If you're still interested in joining or know someone who would like to join, please feel free to download an application or forward this on to a friend. If you have any questions, please email the core team at centralparkwestcsa@gmail.com. We'd love to have you join our CSA!

The picnic is on!

Hi all! We're still on for the picnic in Central Park.
The forecast for today says it'll be sunny with a high of 60^o F.
Hope to see you there!

When: Sunday April 29, 2012. 2-4PM

Where: Central Park, enter at West 86th Street

We will be on the grass to the left as you enter the park.

Please Bring: Finger food to share and a picnic blanket.

Please also bring your own drinks and re-usable cups or bottles.

Friends and family who are interested in joining our CSA are welcome.

There will be special guests, including the farmer, and music.

CSA Picnic!

The CENTRAL PARK WEST CSA

Invites you to a picnic celebrating our 3rd year

When: Sunday April 29, 2012. 2-4PM

Where: Central Park, enter at West 86th Street

We will be on the grass to the left as you enter the park.

Please Bring: Finger food to share and a picnic blanket.

Please also bring your own drinks and re-usable cups or bottles.

Friends and family who are interested in joining our CSA are welcome.

Check out our blog if it rains: http://centralparkwestcsa.blogspot.com

There will be special guests, including the farmer, and music.

Welcome to the 2012 CSA Season!

Central Park West CSA's Core Team has been working hard to bring you fresh fruits and vegetables for the 2012 Season. Enrollment is starting now and is currently open to previous members. So if you have participated in the 2010 or 2011 season, you may have already received our initial sign up email. Enroll now to reserve your spot!

If you are interested in our CSA and are not yet a member, please email centralparkwestcsa@gmail.com and ask be to put on the wait list. If there are spots open we will email you in mid March to sign up! Please don't hesitate as we do have a bit of room to grow!

What's on Your Plate? The History and Politics of Food A panel discussion

What's on Your Plate?  The History and Politics of Food  

A panel discussion with HILARY CALLAHAN, KIM F. HALL, DEBORAH VALENZE, AND PAIGE WEST

Tuesday, November 1 at 6:30 PM James Room, 4th Floor Barnard Hall        

How much do you know about the food you eat? Food production and the  politics surrounding it have an enormous impact on our environment and  economy. In recent years, scientists and activists have raised concerns  about the sustainability and security of our food systems here in the US  and around the world, but food has always been a driving force in  international and domestic policy.  

Barnard faculty members Hilary  Callahan, Kim F. Hall, Deborah Valenze, and Paige West will join us for  an interdisciplinary conversation about the past and present social,  geopolitical, rhetorical, and environmental factors that influence how food-including items as seemingly ordinary as sugar, coffee, milk, and  corn-shapes culture and politics.

Hilary Callahan, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, teaches  courses in Plant Evolution and Diversity, Applied Ecology and Evolution,  Global Change Ecology, and Evolutionary Genetics and oversees the  living collections of the Arthur Ross Greenhouse on the roof of Milbank  Hall.

Kim F. Hall, Lucyle Hook Chair and Professor of English, is currently working on a book, tentatively entitled Sweet Taste of Empire, which examines women, labor, and race in the Anglo-Caribbean sugar trade during the seventeenth century.

Deborah Valenze, Professor of History, has received a Fulbright-Hays  Fellowship, among other scholarships and awards. Her most recent book, Milk: A Local and Global History, has been published by Yale University Press.

Paige West, Associate Professor of Anthropology, researches and writes about the relationship between society and the environment. Her  most recent books are From Modern Production to Imagined Primitive: The World of Coffee from Papua New Guinea, Conservation is our Government Now: The Politics of Ecology in Papua New Guinea, and, co-edited with James G. Carrier, Virtualism, Governance, and Practice: Vision and Execution in Environmental Conservation.
        

Sharing Risk and Supporting Farms

*Please check out Just Food's article in their most recent newsletter about how CSA's share risk with farms. 

*Also, you might be interested in this article published yesterday in the New York Times: Where Storm Takes Food Off Tables

Angel Family Farm in the News

Hi Everyone,

Angel Family Farm sent me this link. They were on the news.

http://www.telemundo47.com/video/29044606/index.html

It is in Spanish. If someone can summarize what the report says and post it in the comments, that would be terrific!

Melissa

Angel Family Farm Hurricane Irene Update

This is a personal note from our farmer:

Hello all,

I hope that all of you stayed safe this weekend and were well prepared for the storm. Unfortunately there was no way we could have saved the farm from flooding.

Its a complete disaster. Ana had tears in her eyes as she made her way into the fields with water almost reaching her hips.

It was going so well this year-- :(

Ana and Crisostomo have made it their personal duty to deliver something this week to their CSA's.

They will not give up on their promise to provide you with good food each week. Although the conditions are a bit extreme they are picking and gathering as much as they can to make the delivery tomorrow.

Please be cautious that the share may not be as big as usual but please know we tried and are trying to maximize what we can.

Thank you
Angel Family Farm

Just Food is with us This Week!

Just Food will be visiting us this Wednesday at our CSA site.

Just Food is a non-profit that works with communities to make fresh, locally grown food accessible throughout NYC. One way they do that is by helping start and support CSA sites like ours. Over the years, Just Food has helped over 100 NYC neighborhoods connect with 29 vegetable growers to create an extensive network of CSA throughout the city. They work to support city groups in starting and maintaining CSA sites as well as with farmers who want to grow for CSA.

This year, Just Food is formalizing their relationship with all the people who have benefited from CSA by creating a CSA Network that each one of us contributes to —$3 of your share fee goes to Just Food to help them build new CSAs, support additional farms and existing sites, and make NYC a better place to eat and live.

Just Food staff member Paula Lukats will be joining us at our distribution this Wednesday to meet (and thank!) members, talk more about Just Food and answer questions about the new Just Food CSA Network. Be sure to take a minute to say hi and grab a reusable bag when you pick up your share. And find out more at justfood.org!

This Week's CSA Selection - August 17, 2011

EGGPLANT

POTATOES

LETTUCE

CUBANEL

PEPPERS

PARSLEY

CABBAGE

Do You Have A Friend Who Didn't Get to Join the CSA this Year?

We need a volunteer to help out on Wednesdays at 2:00. If you know someone who can commit to this for the rest of the share season, we can offer that person a free vegetable share in exchange for their help.

This is a perfect opportunity for someone who was unable to join the CSA this year. We can also offer this opportunity to someone who is already a member but would enjoy the extra veggies.

The person would be required to arrive at 2:00 and wait for the farmer to deliver the produce. They would also need to give the crates from the previous week back to the farmer (the crates are stored at the CSA site). Then the person would need to keep an eye on the produce and wait for the first set of CSA volunteers to arrive, which is around 4:00. There may be a few other odds and ends we ask this person to do, but there would also be plenty of down time to read or catch up on other personal work while waiting. 

Our CSA is entirely member run. So, we need everyone's help to find someone to fill this position. If you know someone who is interested, please have them e-mail me asap at wellnessandenergy@gmail.com

This Week's CSA Selection - August 3, 2011

Onions

Basil
 
Swiss chard
 
Cilantro
 
Kale
 
Lettuce
 
Green tomatoes

Ratatouille

If you haven't made Ratatouille yet, it's definitely worth a try.  If you have kids, plan a night to watch the animated film (Ratatouille), and beforehand, bring everyone in the kitchen to make the recipe together.

This post is inspired by Doug, who posted in the comments last week:

Ratatouille makes a great dinner if you fry some polenta slices in olive oil, put the ratatouille on it, and top it with a big chunk of goat cheese. - Doug

Below is a recipe I found on SparkPeople several years ago:
Nathan's Two-Thumbs-Up Ratatouille
This veggie-packed dish makes six healthy and hearty servings.

Ingredients
2 small onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium eggplant, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes
1.5 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil OR 2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chopped fresh marjoram, OR 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
2 summer squash, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
2 cups chopped tomatoes
12 ounces dry pasta, cooked according to package directions
 
Optional ingredients: sliced black olives, fresh parsley, Parmesan cheese, Mozzarella cheese
 
Directions
Sauté onion, garlic and bay leaf in olive oil for 5 minutes.
Add eggplant, basil, rosemary, salt and marjoram.
Cover and cook over medium heat.
Stir occasionally until eggplant is soft, about 15-20 minutes.
Add squash, sweet peppers and tomatoes.
Simmer 10 minutes until tender.
Remove the bay leaf carefully.
Serve over hot, prepared pasta.
Sprinkle with parsley, black olives, shredded Mozzarella cheese and/or grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

That's Not Trash, That's Dinner

In case you didn't see it - New York Times article on using food scraps:

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/dining/thats-not-trash-thats-dinner.html?pagewanted=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha210