CSA CNY

Join us this Sunday, June 13, from 5-7pm for our annual Summer Kick-Off Potluck Dinner.  The Potluck will take place at the First Unitarian Universalist Society, 109 Waring Rd in Dewitt (corner of Waring Road and Nottingham Road, across from Tecumseh Elementary School and Drumlins).

This is a great opportunity to share favorite dishes and to meet your POD leader, your farmers, members of the CSA-CNY Planning Group, and other fellow CSA members.

Bring a dish to share (enough for 10-12 people, if possible), tableware for your group (plates, cups, & silverware), and either the recipe or a list of ingredients for your dish.  Note: dish need not be vegetarian.

*Keep an eye on your email this week for important information about your POD location, pick-up details, and other announcements.

The deadline for signing up for Summer Shares has been extended!  If you haven’t signed up yet, contact Grindstone Farm directly as soon as possible to sign up.

We are pleased to offer a variety of produce and specialty shares for the 2010 season!  The Planning Group has been working hard this winter along with Grindstone Farm to plan an exciting and bountiful season for our CSA members.  Visit the Join page for all the details of this year’s shares.

Sign up by April 15 to receive the Early Sign-up Discount!

A few exciting changes from last season:

• Online sign-ups! Click on Join for sign-up information.  This year all sign-ups will be taken online.

• New Share options! We are extending the CSA-CNY season by offering Spring and Early Winter shares, in addition to our traditional Full Summer and Late Summer shares.  We are also offering Egg shares and Flower shares!

• Standard Shares. We have eliminated the Deluxe share option, ensuring that all members receive the same high-quality, local, organic produce in your weekly shares!

This fall, Congress will decide whether to update the Child Nutrition Act, a federal law that governs the National School Lunch Program.  This act comes up for reauthorization every four to five years and it determines what 30 million children eat at school every day.  For many children, school lunch is their only meal of the day.  Right now, these children are forced to choose between going hungry and being unhealthy.

On Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2009, tens of thousands of people in communities across the nation will sit down to share a meal with their neighbors. This National Eat-In will send a clear message to legislators: our country is coming together for a future where no child is denied his or her right to good health, and where every child enjoys real food in school.

Join Slow Food Central New York for a public potluck picnic! Share a meal and show support for getting real food in schools.

Elmwood Park pavilion, Syracuse
11:30am – 2:30pm

Bring a blanket, chair, your own plate and utensils, beverage, and a homemade dish to share.

Directions:
Elmwood Park is in the southwestern portion of Syracuse.  The park entrance is just west of the junction of South Avenue (Rt 175), Valley Drive (Rt 80), and Glenwood Avenue.  MAP

- From South Avenue or Valley Drive, go west on Glenwood and watch for the park entrance on your left.
- From the northwest: Take Geddes Street to Glenwood Avenue. Turn left on Glenwood, drive past Roberts Elementary, and continue east to the park entrance on your right, across the street from Craddock Street.
- From the east: Take either Colvin Street or Brighton Avenue to South Avenue. Turn left and drive towards Glenwood Avenue.

The picnic pavilion is in the center of the park.  The park road leads to a small parking lot above the pavilion.  Alternatively, leave your car in the lot next to the old mill, near the park entrance.  Follow Furnace Brook upstream to the picnic pavilion, a 5-10 minute walk.

Please read information on potluck food safety.

Colorful brochure on potluck food safety.

More details:

In a time of escalating diabetes and obesity epidemics, our schools serve children precisely the fast food and junk food that endangers their health.

This year, Congress can give schools the resources to improve school lunch by increasing school lunch reimbursements by $1/child/day in this year’s Child Nutrition Act. The current reimbursement rate for a free lunch is $2.57, which must also pay for labor and equipment.  Schools are left with only $1.00 to spend on food.  It’s time to make a down payment on health care reform by raising the reimbursement rate to $3.57.

Tell US Congress you support reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act.

CSA-CNY has a growing page at Facebook. You need an account there and must log in to see it. But for those who are interested, here it is.

Don’t worry, we’ll be sure to keep all pertinent information updated at this site!

Got any photos you’d like to see here?  Let us know!

Sign up deadline for Late Summer Shares is today. To sign up, go to our Join page.

Sign up forms can be downloaded from the “Join” page of the website.  Scroll down the “About” page for specific information about share types being offered this season.

Also available this season are organic cotton CSA-CNY tote bags, great for picking up your produce or using around town.  These can be purchased when you submit your sign-up form and will also be available throughout the season at our pod locations.

One behind-the-scenes change at CSA-CNY is that Jamie Edelstein of Wyllie Fox Farm will not be growing for us this year.  Our farmer, Dick de Graff of Grindstone Farm, will be working with other local, organic growers to supplement CSA shares as needed.

Planning group meeting tonight at 7:00 pm at the Friends Meeting House on Euclid Ave. Keep checking this site for more information as it becomes available.