NOW SIGNING UP MEMBERS FOR 2013 SEASON! Please contact amy.black@katchkiefarm.com if interested in joining for the 2013 season!

What’s a CSA?

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs developed around the concept of “investing” in local, small-scale farms. Before the start of the season, members sign up for a “share” in the farm and pay up front so the farmer can plan crops accordingly and purchase seed without taking loans. During the harvest season the farm delivers weekly bundles of produce, giving their “investors” a great value on high quality produce.

What does the Katchkie Farm Workplace CSA consist of?

Modeled on the concept of a traditional CSA, Katchkie Farm’s Workplace CSA expands it for the workplace. Gather 20 (or more) employees and we will deliver CSA shares directly to you, at your office, each week, month or however often you choose. There are multiple benefits to this arrangement: CSA’s are a great tool for companies supporting the local food movement and good environmental practices; and CSA’s encouraging healthy eating for employees, as well community building.

Workplace CSAs also build inter-office camaraderie: one of our office clients, WSP Flack + Kurtz organized an Iron Chef-type cook off, in which employees cooked their favorite recipe with produce from their CSA share. Co-workers also explore new and unfamiliar vegetables together, sharing recipes and culinary triumphs and failures.

Each share includes eight to nine different certified organic vegetables that change with the seasons. A share in July might include broccoli, carrots, cucumber, eggplant, kale, summer onions, scallions, lettuce, zucchini and parsley. A share in October could include beets, garlic, celery root, onions, mustard greens, leeks, butternut squash, peppers, tomatoes and turnips.

In addition to the veggies themselves, members receive weekly newsletters with updates from the farm, cooking tips and recipes. All members are invited to the farm, in Kinderhook, New York for Spring Planting Day in June, the annual Farm to Table dinner in July and October for the Fall Harvest Festival.

Benefits

The Katchkie Farm Workplace CSA will expose employees to fresh, local produce and, when conducted in conjunction with Great Performances’ cooking demonstrations, teach them simple ways to prepare delicious meals. The program will help you create and encourage health and wellbeing among your employees and their families, while exposing them to the taste of great seasonal food. By supporting a local, organic farm your company will also be taking steps to decrease the carbon footprint of your food supply and heightening awareness of healthy eating.

Options

We are happy to tailor any program to best fit your needs and provide maximum benefit to your company. You can choose to include cooking demonstrations with Great Performances’ chefs each month, or simply provide a space for employees to pickup produce.

Read about the Katchkie Workplace CSA in The Wall Street Journal, The Daily News and Crain’s New York

Please contact amy.black@katchkiefarm.com for more information about this innovative program for your office.