By Michael Coughlin Jr.
Eastie Farm, a local non-profit, is expanding its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program to expand its reach and provide fresh produce to residents from all socio-economic backgrounds.
Essentially, the organization’s program allows residents to sign up for and purchase shares containing a weekly supply of fresh produce from Massachusetts farms and even Eastie Farm itself.
This year, the non-profit is offering discounted, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)/Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) eligible and even free CSA shares to get fresh produce on the tables of more residents.
The updated program contrasts with last year, in which Michael Zayas, Eastie Farm’s Food Distribution Coordinator, explained there was mainly a large and small share option.
Along with the shares mentioned above, Eastie Farm is offering a market-rate share along with what has been coined the helping hand share, where a percentage of proceeds from every sale goes back to the organization so it can provide more discounted and free shares.
“This year, we’ve made it more inclusive for everybody. There’s cheaper points of entry for people who maybe aren’t able to afford the helping hand share; they can get a discounted share; if they can’t afford the discounted share, we could try to get them a free share,” said Zayas.
The non-profit is slated to work with up to 40 small local farms within the state as part of the program. “At the most the produce is traveling anywhere between 100 to 150 miles to get from the farm directly to our site at the greenhouse,” said Zayas.
Moreover, he explained that Eastie Farm will be ordering and offering produce that is not only in-season but is organic.
“A lot of what we’re going to be offering this year — it may not necessarily fall in line with what you’ll see at a grocery store,” said Zayas. “We are working with organic farms and farms who practice organic growing practices.”
Additionally, in a change of course from last year, the shares are “basically going to all be the same,” according to Zayas. He explained that this year’s shares will be standardized and contain 10-20 pounds of produce, eggs, honey, and more.
Also, Zayas explained that the free food distribution program, which ran last year and provided over 50,000 total pounds of produce to residents through weekly distributions, has been built into the CSA program this year to offer discounted or free shares.
“I think there could be a potential for us to do maybe some events at the greenhouse, not as consistently as we were doing it in 2023, but perhaps a once-a-month sort of thing or maybe like a one-off event where we’re able to distribute large quantities of food again,” said Zayas.
“For the most part, I believe we’re shifting into just providing more free CSA shares and discounted shares.”
This change will also enable residents to get their food quicker instead of waiting in lines and at times that work best for them.
As to why residents would be prudent to at least check the program out — Zayas had a few different reasons. Not only does this program allow residents to get fresh local produce, which is being harvested and shipped to the neighborhood within the same week, but it also gives residents a chance to connect with farms from around the state.
For example, Eastie Farm will host events for its CSA customers to connect the farms with the community.
“We are trying to not only bring their food into the community but also bring them into the community so that people can meet directly with the people who are growing their food,” said Zayas.
He also pointed out that the CSA program can help bypass the grocery store hassle. “For me, the CSA is an opportunity for people to kind of skip that hassle. We’re basically getting you the fruits and the produce that’s locally grown that you need, we’re giving you eggs, and we’re giving you some other dry-stock items that would be a good addition to anyone’s kitchen,” said Zayas.
Furthermore, the CSA will allow residents to try out some new seasonal food they might not get at the grocery store, like collard greens, kale, rutabaga, and more. The shares can also include guides and recipes to cook the food.
For those looking to get involved with the program, if you act quickly, you can take advantage of early bird pricing until March 1st, which offers a $125 discount on the helping hand share.
To learn more about the program, visit https://eastiefarm.com/csa/, and to purchase shares or receive free shares, visit https://eastie-farm-inc.square.site/.
“We really wanted to build into our programming the availability of the shares for everyone in the neighborhood, no matter what your socio-economic background is. So we’re really excited about that,” said Zayas.