WESPAC to Host Roundtable Discussion on Community Supported Agriculture
WESPAC Foundation, a social justice organization based in White Plains, will host a roundtable discussion about farms that sell their produce directly to community members. Known as CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), this arrangement connects local residents to regional farms for weekly deliveries of freshly harvested, organic produce.
CSA members commit to a season of 20 weeks, paying in advance so that farmers have the resources to produce the best crops possible, depending on growing conditions. A bumper crop widens the variety and quantities of produce delivered to local communities. In difficult growing conditions, deliveries are smaller, but the farms are assured the means to recover and deliver again in the following season.
There are currently at least four CSAs serving the White Plains area. As the Spring season approaches, local farms are looking to fill their CSAs to make sure the fresh produce reach our tables as efficiently as possible. This event provides an excellent opportunity to get questions about CSAs answered and will help people who want to join a CSA sign up that evening.
WESPAC will be particularly focusing on how CSAs can become more accessible to lower income communities of color. One of the farmers who will be present that evening is Jalal Sabur, one of the few African American farmers in New York State. He has started the Sweet Freedom Farm CSA in Germantown, New York.
Participants will include CSA Coordinators as well as Farmers and CSA members, all of which will share their experiences with CSAs followed by a question and answer period.
The event includes a Pot Luck Dinner at 6 p.m. followed by the roundtable discussion with CSA coordinators at 6:45 p.m. featuring the Stoneledge CSA, Hazon CSA, Lineage Farm and Sweet Freedom Farm CSAs. Mapleton Conference Center, 52 North Broadway, White Plains.
