Farm shares growing in York Region
Yorkregion.com
May 27, 2016
By Fina Scroppo
When Stephanie White and her family moved north from Toronto two years ago, she wanted to embrace a healthier lifestyle, so she began to shop at her local farm for fresh produce.
After weeks of buying fruits and vegetables from the market at Round the Bend Farm in Kettleby, she learned about its CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm box program and readily signed up to get a share of crops over 22 weeks. She’s among the thousands of other York Region residents who are choosing to support sustainable agriculture and eat with the local growing season by ordering a weekly share box.
“We love the idea of having freshly picked, in-season vegetables and fruit,” says White. “It’s like a surprise every week to find out what goodies are in the box.”
But you don’t need to move to the country to get a taste of that weekly farm-fresh produce within hours of being harvested. Dozens of farms in York Region and surrounding areas like Round the Bend are offering what’s referred to as “farm share” or CSA box, delivered to your doorstep or ready for pick-up over a 20-plus week period starting in mid-June.
Here’s how it works: Members register with a participating farm and pay a one-time fee to get a box of just-picked fruits and vegetables from the local farm. They choose from a variety of box sizes and types-the amount and variety of crops, costs, time period and delivery arrangement of boxes vary from farm to farm. Members enjoy the weekly bounty with their families or share it with friends, family or neighbours.
“Farm shares are a great way for consumers to get to know their Ontario farmers,” says Kelly Daynard, communications manager with Farm & Food Care Ontario, an organization that represents farm families and associated agribusinesses in Ontario. “They become more familiar with the diversity of the amazing produce available right here at home, especially things you wouldn’t necessarily see in grocery stores.”
The Harvest Share Food Box program at Carron Farms in Bradford, for example, offers a personal size with seven to eight items a week, while its family size box contains 10 to 12 items. Wondering what to do with garlic scapes in your box? No worries, each box typically includes a recipe, in particular for those not-so-familiar vegetables.
“The best part about the program is the variety and quality of the produce we have to offer,” says Lesley Martin, Carron Farms’ food box co-ordinator. “It really allows us to see what Ontario has to offer in terms of variety. We feel we are special because we partner with the best farmers in the province to source the best produce.”
At Round the Bend, owner Sue Feddema says she likes giving members of the farm share boxes a few surprises from time to time.
“Our bins are heavy, fresh, diverse and give you a little of what you may not know about,” says Feddema. This year, members will see artichokes-a first in the bins-along with okra, tomatillo, romanesco broccoli, orange watermelon and every colour of pepper, from purple to brown. Returning members will get a hanging strawberry plant and members will try their own green thumb at nurturing a seven-herb potted plant.
Partnerships with other local farmers are also typical. For example, peaches, nectarines, concord grapes and plums come from a farmer in Niagara and mushrooms are sourced from a farm in Mount Albert, says Feddema.
Variety isn’t the only incentive to order a box. “The size of the produce is so much larger than in grocery stores,” adds White. “You can’t beat the flavours and freshness. Some weeks were harder to finish all of the produce, but my relatives and friends didn’t mind getting the overflow from our boxes!”
The popularity of the CSA program at Round the Bend has grown considerably over its four years in operation, and this year it expects about 300 registrations. Feddema says they’re ready to meet the demand and more. Husband Brian, along with Sue and staff, will be busy planning, seeding and planting up to 8,000 plants a week over 30 acres from May to July.
Carron Farms has seen a similar growth over the past six years of their Harvest Share Food Box from 95 boxes when the program first started in 2010 to 525 boxes a week going out to households last year.
Daynard says the practice of CSA farming is growing in part because Ontario consumers want to know more about where their food comes from. “In Ontario, specifically, we have a province that has less than 2 per cent of farmers-98 per cent are relying on food prepared by only 2 per cent.”
Feddema agrees. “People are removed from agriculture and where their food comes from. It used to be that you can go to grandma’s farm, but you can’t do that anymore. So, if you want to see where asparagus grows, I’ll point you in that direction-it’s all part of knowing your farmer.”
