Come on out and meet your farmer: This Saturday, February 25th, from 1pm-4pm in the King Center Johnson City
Thank you to the Johnson City Food Coop interest group and Three Rivers Market for sponsoring the Fair.
Folks looking to eat healthier this year have another convenient option for bringing home fresh, local produce to their dinner table: Join a CSA! Coming up in February the ARC&D is hosting two educational family-friendly fairs in order to introduce local farms and their CSA options to you. The fairs will be held February 4th in Bristol and February 25th in Johnson City.
A “CSA” stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and it is essentially a subscription for a box of produce from a farm that is conveniently packaged for you. Want local meat? Bread? Eggs? Some farms are able to offer those as well.
Similar to other subscriptions, CSA customers pay up front to the farmer at the beginning of the year and then receive weekly or monthly boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, raised by the farm community. Farms benefit, because they get funds when they need it most: for buying seeds, fertilizer and repairing equipment. Customers benefit because they get high quality produce for a big discount, and a bounty of fresh food delivered and ready to cook or “put up” for later.
Both fairs will offer fun garden-theme activities for kids so that parents can talk to farms. Our CSA farms donate door prizes for lucky winners, to thank attendees for coming out to learn about CSAs.
The first CSA Fair will occur on February 4th at the Bristol Public Library, 701 Goode St, Bristol Virginia. 1pm-4pm. Five farms will be present, offering CSA options for fruits and vegetables, pasture raised meats, eggs, bread and pasta, and even flowers.
List of farms at Bristol CSA Fair:
- Frosted Hawk Farm, Bristol VA, www.frostedhawkfarm.com
- Laurel Brooks Farm, Broadford VA, laurelbrooksfarm@gmail.com or at Abingdon Farmers Market, or contact
- Rehoboth Farm Dairy Herdshare, Bristol VA, http://rehobothfarmva.com/
- Pollinator Produce, Duffield, VA, www.facebook.com/pollinatorproducepartners
- Willow Bend Farm, Hiltons VA, www.facebook.com/farmstofamilies
The second will be in Johnson City, TN on Saturday February 25th at The King’s Centre lobby at 300 E. Main St. 1pm-4pm. Thirteen vendors will be present in Johnson City, offering a wide variety of CSA options. Sponsored by the Johnson City Food Coop interest group and Three Rivers Market. Thank you so much to Main Street Pizza for use of the lobby.
List of farms at the Johnson City CSA Fair:
- Bates Family Farm, Jonesville VA, www.facebook.com/batesfamilyfarmllc
- Harbin Hill Farms, Mountain City TN, www.facebook.com/HarbinHillFarms
- JEM Farm, Rogersville TN, http://jemfarm.net
- Rehoboth Farm Dairy Herdshare, Bristol VA, http://rehobothfarmva.com/
- River Creek Farm, Limestone/Johnson City TN, www.rivercreekfarmcsa.com
- Pollinator Produce, Duffield, VA, www.facebook.com/pollinatorproducepartners
- Serenity Knoll, Jonesborough TN, www.facebook.com/serenityknollfarm/
- Trosly Farm, Elk Park NC, http://www.troslyfarm.com/
- Up Jump Trouble Coffee Roasters CSA, Johnson City TN, www.facebook.com/UpJumpTroubleRoasters
- Willow Bend Farm, Hiltons VA, www.facebook.com/farmstofamilies
- Boone Street Market, Jonesborough TN, www.facebook.com/Boone-Street-Market-738767102860278/
- HERBalachia (display/vendor), Johnson City TN, http://appalachianacupuncture.com/herbalachia-herbal-training/
Joining a CSA is an affordable and convenient way to get more fresh vegetables and fruits into your family’s diet, everything from arugula to zucchini. You can pick the size box and how often you want it, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. Most farms offer several options, plus fun add-ons like bread, eggs and flowers.
–Lexy Close, ARC&D Farm Support
Main Street Pizza/River Creek Farm CSA is hosting the Feb 25th Johnson City CSA Fair inside their space in the King’s Centre lobby, 300 E. Main St.- Thanks guys!