2009 CSA Invitation

Cold Water Creek Farms
2009 CSA
Concord NC

Are you tired of canned vegetables or tasteless tomatoes from the grocery store? Do you have a case of the winter eating blues? Perhaps all the recalls, market withdrawals and safety alerts from the FDA have you wondering where your food comes from. Or maybe you’ve heard about the local food movement that is taking root across America. Well you don’t have to wait any longer to take part! Now is the time to secure your share of Concord’s organic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Cold Water Creek Farms is offering 40 local families a chance to change the way they eat and enjoy 5 full months of local produce in 2009.

The CSA movement started in Japan where the arrangement was called “teikei” which translates as “putting the farmers’ face on food.” This is a network of community supporters and local citizens who support local farmers. They become members and purchase a “share” of a farmer’s labor in advance of the growing season. In return they receive a regular allotment of fresh food throughout the year. The local farmer gets financial support and the shareholder gets great food.

How does this work?

Starting in June, a weekly basket (1 share) of organic produce will be available for pick up from the farm on Atando Road off Hwy 49 just minutes from downtown Concord. (Map) Pick up will be on Tuesday evenings from 4:30 until 6:30pm. One share will equal an average of $25 of in-season, organic produce per week.

Vegetables will include:

Basil
Beans
Beets
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Corn
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Garlic
Greens (Chard, Lettuce,
Spinach, Kale, Collards, Etc.)
Melons
Okra
Onions
Peppers
Potatoes
Radishes
Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes
Zucchini

You won’t get all of that every week of course but what you will get is a basket of the freshest in-season produce money can buy from friendly faces you’ll get to meet and come to know as the farmers growing your family’s food.

One of the goals of the CSA program is to open a dialog between the people who eat food and the people who grow it. Don’t know how to cook with Kale? Think your kids won’t eat beets? Do we have some recipes for you! We understand that learning (or relearning) how to cook with fresh, whole ingredients is part of the process and part of the fun. We’ll include recipes and be happy to help you change the way you cook for tastier results!

A meeting for prospective share holders for the 2009 season will be scheduled soon so you can meet the farmers and ask questions. Contact us if you are interested.

Cost of Membership:

Working memberships require participation in one on-farm project (see below)

• Full Share Annual Membership: $500, plus participation in 1 on-farm work project
• Half Share Annual Membership: $300, plus participation in 1 on-farm work project

Non-working memberships have no on-farm work project requirements.

• Full Share Annual Membership: $540
• Half Share Annual Membership: $340

An optional donation of an additional $10 will go entirely to make extra shares available for those who go hungry in our community. A security deposit of $250.00 is due by March 31, 2009. Any remaining balance is due August 1, 2009.

On Farm Projects:

On-farm projects offer the opportunity for members to join in the fun of farming for one morning during the growing season. Several on-farm projects will be scheduled, typically for weekends, throughout the year. Each project will take roughly 4 hours to complete.

Typically we will meet at the farm and work with other CSA members to complete the farm project. This time allows members the opportunity to get to know each other as well as see where and how their food is grown. A typical project might include one of the following: Starting seeds, drilling mushroom logs, weeding, watering, harvesting vegetables, washing produce, or helping glean fields of food for the hungry.

Meet You Farmers:

Three farmers make up Cold Water Creek Farms:

Brad Hinckley (Hinckley Farms) has been farming organically for more than ten years outside of Boone NC. He helped found New River Organic Growers. Brad is currently serving as the Mentor Farmer at the Elma C. Lomax Farm Incubator here in Cabarrus County as he relocates his farming operation to our area.

Eric Williamson (Sunnyside Farms) is a garden enthusiast who never met a vegetable he didn’t love. When Eric heard about the Farm Incubator program he recognized the opportunity to translate his love of gardening into a career. Eric has returned to live in Concord where he and his wife grew up. He will be a Participating Farmer in the Farm Incubator program this year.

Aaron Newton (the Greater Goods Garden Co.) is an author and local food activist looking to make the transition from gardener to market farmer by participating in the Farm Incubator program. He and his family have been transitioning to a local diet over the past few years and are excited about the commitment of the Cabarrus County region to making local food a cornerstone of happy, healthy living in our area.

Contact us with questions or to sign up.

Phone: 704/305.6654 (Aaron)

Email: coldwatercreekfarms@gmail.com

Blog: http://coldwatercreekfarms.blogspot.com/