Bradley Estate farm lottery deadline is April 22

The Trustees of Reservations announced last week the opening of their newest Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA) in Massachusetts at the Bradley Estate in Canton.

Growing in popularity around the nation with demand significantly outpacing supply, CSAs offer community members the opportunity to buy fresh, local, seasonal food directly from a farmer by purchasing a “share” in the farm. Shareholders buy into the farm as members at the start of the growing season, and in exchange receive a weekly allotment of the farm’s harvest. Shareholders and the Trustees share in both the risks (such as a dry or rainy summer) and the many rewards of the growing season, which include weekly access to delicious, locally grown, nutritious vegetables, pick-your-own fruits and bountiful flowers – all grown organically without synthetic chemicals or pesticides.

This year’s City Harvest CSA season will run for 10 weeks, from July 9 to September 10. Share pickups are scheduled on Saturdays of each week, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Bradley Estate, located at 2468B Washington Street (Route 138) in Canton.

Beginning in July, shareholders will receive a mix of the following: arugula, beans, beets, bok choi, broccoli, cabbage, calaloo, carrots, collards, cucumbers, flowers, herbs, kohlrabi, lettuce, radishes, summer squash, scallions, and spinach. From August to September, shareholders will receive a mix of the following: beans, beets, calaloo, carrots, collards, cucumbers, eggplant, flowers, herbs, husk cherry, kale, lettuce, melons, onions, peppers, potatoes, scallions, summer squash, Swiss chard, and tomatoes.

Pick-your-own crops will include peas, herbs, flowers, cherry tomatoes, and strawberries, enabling shareholders to engage children and other family members in the experience, get to know the City Harvest Youth Corps farmers, and learn more about agriculture and how things grow. Volunteers are welcome every Saturday morning from 9 to 11 a.m. from May 7 through June 18.

For current Trustees members, a full share costs $250 for the season. For non-members, a full share costs $285 and includes a Trustees membership. Trustees’ members enjoy many additional advantages, such as discounted admission to our more than 100 reservations, discounts on Trustees’ bed and breakfasts and stays at Tully Lake Campground, and discounts on hundreds of events and programs across the state – from guided walks, lectures and concerts to special programs just for kids and much more.

The City Harvest CSA lottery has been extended until Friday, April 22. Shareholders chosen through the lottery will be notified by email shortly thereafter.

For more information on the City Harvest Youth Corps CSA and online form, visit www.thetrustees.org/cityharvest.

For those not interested in a share but interested in purchasing produce from the farm, the Trustees’ City Harvest Youth Corps sells produce at nearby farmers’ markets in Stoughton, Dorchester and Mattapan. Visit the website above for specific dates and hours of operation.

The CSA program will be run entirely by the City Harvest Youth Corps, an innovative “green jobs” program now in its fourth year at the Trustees. The program connects teens to the land and local food through hands-on, agricultural experiences, all while building critical work and leadership skills. The youth members take on all of the jobs at the farm: planting, weeding, and hoeing in the fields, as well as sales and customer service through the farmers’ market and CSA.

The youth members have also become teachers and mentors through a partnership with the Mattapan, Blue Hills, and Yawkey Way Boys & Girls Clubs, through which the youth corps teens work with the Boys & Girls Club students in the farm fields once a week, and then continue the lessons in the classroom.

For its first three seasons, the City Harvest Youth Corps program was based at the Trustees’ Powisset Farm in Dover. Now the program has an opportunity to move to the Bradley Estate in Canton, making it even more accessible. In just three short years, the program has offered farm-based educational programming for more than 250 children, accumulated more than 200 volunteer hours from partner organizations, and served hundreds of people who are able to buy fresh produce from the youth at the Mattapan Farmers’ Market.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=4356

Posted by Canton Citizen on Apr 14 2011. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.