February 2021
"Connect with the ones you cLove this month!" Sweet Core Farm. Hermon, NY.
Image courtesy of the Farm-to-Table Initiative led by Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County..
National CSA Week is Coming Up
From February 21-28, we are joining with farmers from across the country to celebrate CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Week.

First thing's first... what is CSA?
CSA is a farm membership system that allows consumers to sign up for a share and receive a season’s worth of a farm’s products. Shares are typically veggie focused but eggs, meat, cider, jams, and more could be included - it all depends on the farmer. Along with getting to enjoy fresh, delicious, and local food, being a CSA member is an excellent way to support and get to know your local farmers!

Why is there a CSA week in February?
According to national CSA research, the last week of February is the most popular week of the year to sign up for a CSA farm membership. While you don't have to make a decision in February, you do need to sign up for a share ahead of the growing season so your farmer(s) have time to plan how much of each crop they need to grow.

Interested in learning more?
During the week, we'll be sharing informational posts on our Facebook and Instagram to celebrate our relationship with local agriculture and lift up local CSA farmers who work hard to produce the season’s best food.

If you can't wait that long, our friends at Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County put together a great video introduction to CSAs in St. Lawrence County.
Seed to Supper: Free Course
Are you interested in growing food for your household?

GardenShare is excited to partner with Cornell Cooperative Extension to provide this free online gardening course tailored to low-income county residents who are new to gardening.

The course will consist of 6 weekly sessions and will be assisted by a small group of Master Gardener Volunteers.

Space is limited, so contact Erica soon at ENL2@cornell.edu."
Growing Our Minds
In honor of Black History Month, this month's recommended watch is a video on from farmer and food justice activist, Karen Washington, titled "Empowering our Communities to Transform the Food System."

We hope that this powerful and thought provoking speech will help us all think about how we can transform our food system right here in St. Lawrence County.

We're eager to hear more from Karen in her keynote speech at the North Country's Annual Feed Back Summit, happening online, February 24-25. If you're interested in food justice in our region, consider signing up! We'll see you there.
Image Credit: https://www.karenthefarmer.com/about
Opportunities for Local Farmers
Get in the Guide!
We are now accepting listings for our 2021/22 Local Food Guide.

The Guide is open to all farmers in St. Lawrence County* (SLC) and any SLC restaurants and retail locations that showcase food produced in SLC.

Paper listing request forms will be arriving in your mailboxes soon, but if you're eager to reserve your spot, check out the information and online forms on our website!

*New this year, we're reaching outside St. Lawrence County (SLC) for the Local Food Guide. SLC residents shop beyond the county line when it is closer for them. Local food products that are grown or produced within 15 miles of the SLC border are invited to be part of our the Local Food Guide.
New CSA Farms: Sign Up for Bonus Bucks
You may know that one of our programs at GardenShare is Bonus Bucks, which offers a cost sharing arrangement with income-eligible SLC residents to participate in a CSA Share or to purchase local food at one of the SLC farmers markets.

The 2021 Bonus Bucks application will be launching soon and, to best serve SLC residents and farmers, we want to make sure that we're partnering with any CSA farm that may be interested. We work directly with farmers to make sure they are paid in full for the shares and help connect program participants choose the share that is best for them.

If you are a CSA farm that was not part of the Bonus Bucks program in 2021 but is interested in joining, send us an email at info@gardenshare.org. Contact us by Friday, February 19, 2021.
Malone Farmers Market is Seeking Vendors
The Malone Farmers’ Market is held 12-4:30 pm every Wednesday from May through October.
 
If you're interested, give Kim a call, 804-356-4447 to talk more about joining the market.
 
Online applications will be available soon at adirondackfarmersmarket.com