Joining a CSA is about more than great food...
Your membership in Foxtail Community Farm CSA offers you many opportunities
and benefits - whether you want to learn more about healthy cooking and
eating, expose your family to where their food comes from, gain some hands-on
experience with farming, or just get out of the city for an afternoon!
Farm Days
Throughout the season we will host a series of
"Farm Days" - special days when members are
invited to the farm for a variety of seasonal
activities. Farm Days follow and incorporate the
local and agricultural cycles of planting, weeding,
and harvesting. With garden tours, learning and
fun activities, and social potluck meals, these days
are a great way to get to know other CSA
members, to learn more about how your food is
produced, and to participate more fully in the
farming experience. Click here for a 2010
calendar.
Work Commitment
There is always work to be done on a farm. Beginning
in 2010, we are introducing a work commitment of
two hours (one working visit) per share, to be
completed over the course of the season. Member
work commitments are an integral component of
traditional CSA models and have always been part of
our vision for the CSA as a true partnership between
farmers and consumers. We will have plenty of
opportunities for members to fulfill this commitment.
Click here for more details.
Research, Education and Service
We participate in seed trials sponsored by the Northeast Organic
Farming Association (NOFA), and are exploring other research
projects to help expand the practical scientific knowledge base of
our field. The weekly CSA newsletter features a wide variety of
short articles on farming topics to expand our members'
knowledge and awareness of different issues in sustainable
agriculture.
We partner with our local food pantry and Capital District
Community Garden's Squash Hunger Program to share extra
produce, and have worked with CSA members to bring farming
education to local schools.
Recreation
As a CSA member, you can explore and enjoy the
entire farm property. In addition to the flower gardens
and cultivated fields, the farm includes over fifty acres
of open fields, wooded trails, seasonal creeks, and a
small pond. You can hike, bicycle, picnic, birdwatch,
swing, swim, catch frogs, go on nature hunts, explore
the flower and vegetable gardens, or just lounge in
the hammock.
Beyond our own farm, Greene County is a great place
to spend some time. Horseback riding, swimming,
hiking, and boating can be done at a number of
nearby ranches and parks, including the vast Catskill
State Park to our south. Mini golf, go-carts, and
regular golf courses are nearby, as is the Zoom Flume
water park. There are many small gift and antique
shops and restaurants in the neighboring villages, and
plenty of country roads for scenic drives.
