Friday, February 26, 2010

Seacoast CSA and CSF Day Coming to Winter Farmers’ Market

ROLLINSFORD—
Seacoast Eat Local will be hosting a CSA and CSF Day at their upcoming Winter Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Feb. 27th, at the Wentworth Greenhouses in Rollinsford. Residents will have the opportunity to learn more about CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and CSF (Community Supported Fisheries), meet the farmers and fisherfolk offering shares, and sign up for the 2010 season. Fifteen CSA farms are signed up to take part in this event.
Community Supported Agriculture and Community Supported Fisheries offer a terrific way for people to get a steady supply of local food directly from the producers. Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a partnership between consumers and farmers in which members buy shares of the farm’s harvest and receive regular allotments of food throughout the growing season.
For farmers, this provides much needed cash flow for the beginning of the season, as well as a ready market and community of supporters. Shareholders join in the risks of the growing season but reap the benefits of the harvest. Community Supported Fisheries, or CSFs (modeled after CSAs), are a way to buy seafood directly from fishermen, and support our local fisheries by purchasing seasonal shares.
Each CSA and CSF has its own pricing structure and distribution schedule, and some farms have work requirements. Signups for CSA and CSF shares often begin in February by directly contacting the farm or sponsoring fishery. A list of CSA farms in the Rockingham, Strafford, and York Counties is available at Seacoast Harvest, www.seacoastharvest.org, an online guide to local food sponsored by Seacoast Eat Local.