Community Supported Agriculture of Kingston, Inc. (CSA of Kingston)
Melody Newcombe was founding organic farmer and Executive Director of the CSA of Kingston. This cooperatively funded project was supported annually by 200 individual and family shareholders. Each shareholder got equal weekly shares of the harvest of vegetables, herbs and flowers. Crops were organically grown on 5 acres in the heart of Kingston, NY. Member shareholders choose their weekly share of seasonal crop harvests from bins in the distribution room in the barn. What they didn't want, they placed on a sharing table for anyone to take. At the end of the day, crops left on the sharing table went to the local food pantries.
There were working and non-working shares, pot lucks, planting and harvesting work parties, community building projects, music, farm and nature walks and talks, gardening, cooking and food preservation classes and workshops throughout the growing and harvesting seasons. The shareholders held a greenhouse raising party and constructed a 25' x 98' greenhouse which served as a place to start seedlings, hang out and hold parties and classes.
The farm project helped to build community, inform members and the community at large about the virtues of growing and eating organic produce and the importance of living in harmony with our planet, all life and our neighbors. The project also spawned other similar projects throughout the Hudson Valley, U.S. and world.
There were working and non-working shares, pot lucks, planting and harvesting work parties, community building projects, music, farm and nature walks and talks, gardening, cooking and food preservation classes and workshops throughout the growing and harvesting seasons. The shareholders held a greenhouse raising party and constructed a 25' x 98' greenhouse which served as a place to start seedlings, hang out and hold parties and classes.
The farm project helped to build community, inform members and the community at large about the virtues of growing and eating organic produce and the importance of living in harmony with our planet, all life and our neighbors. The project also spawned other similar projects throughout the Hudson Valley, U.S. and world.
