(Morrisville, NY – March 2015) Madison County Cornell Cooperative Extension will be hosting the first Annual Madison County CSA Fair- to be held on Saturday, March 21 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Madison County Ag Center, 100 Eaton St., Morrisville.
Develop a relationship with a farmer who grows your food and learn more about how food is grown at this free event. The event includes quiet activities to occupy children while parents circulate CSA Booths, and there will be table space to sit and review the materials you gather from the various farmers.
As the interest in eating locally increases many farmers and consumers have turned to the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model to ensure the steady flow of local products to community members. Not just veggies, CSA shares can include anything from eggs to herbs or meats to milk-and even locally grown and produced teas! Joining a CSA with provide you with a hands-on approach to your food by introducing you and your family to a local farm including exposure to new products and new ways of cooking. But the CSA model supports more than a consumer’s excitement to see what each week’s “box” has to offer, it supports the local farms in your community.
Customers who purchase a share at the beginning of the season are making a commitment of support to their farmer by understanding that their share will reflect whatever the season’s harvest brings. Through selling at a farm stand or farmers’ market, farmers are covering the initial cost of starting a harvest and accepting the big risk of a particular crop failing all together. Share fees are used to purchase the startup materials and supplies and provide a market for a bumper crop of squash and reduced tomato crop due to blight, which is reflected in member shares.
To learn more about the Madison County CSA Fair visit http://madisoncountycce.org/.
For more information, contact Katherine Brosnan, Agriculture Community Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Madison County at kmb279@cornell.edu or 315.684.3001 ext. 100.