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Camphill Village Kimberton Hills announces that shares are available for Sankanac CSA’s 2012 season.
Part of Camphill Village Kimberton Hills, the biodynamic 15-acre garden operates as the 200-member Sankanac CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Typically a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public which includes a set amount of vegetables or other farm products, based on the harvest. Participants purchase a share and in return receive seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.
The gardens of Sankanac CSA, which are organic and biodynamically farmed, are harvested each week, and shareholders can pick up their produce either on Tuesdays or Fridays for 24 weeks. There are also U-pick crops, including flowers and berries.
Members can choose to purchase either a full or partial share depending on their personal needs. A full share is designed to feed a family of about four; a partial share to feed a couple, or a veggie-loving individual. The cost for a full share is $750 and a partial is $430.
Sankanac CSA grows a diverse seasonal mix of vegetables, flowers, herbs, and berries and also tends a small herd of mixed livestock (sheep, goats, donkeys). The head gardener, Todd Newlin, and his wife, Mary, oversee this enterprise with a crew of over 10 gardeners (including individuals with special needs, apprentices, service volunteers, and interns).
The crew is deeply committed to the use of biodynamic methods, which allows them to strengthen the fragile ecosystem as well as provide food of the highest quality to our local community. Activities in the CSA include plant propagation, greenhouse management, pruning, crop cultivation, harvesting, tractor and equipment operation and maintenance, irrigation, livestock management, composting, and making/using the biodynamic preparations.
