Maverick
Farms launches High Country CSA Project to link consumers to local
farms
Maverick Farms, a non-profit educational center for food
and farming, has launched the High Country CSA, a community-supported
agriculture (CSA) project linking area consumers to several local
vegetable farms.
In a CSA, consumers take direct responsibility for supporting
their local foodshed, pre-buying produce before the season begins
and pitching in work during the season. Maverick Farms launched
the area’s first CSA in 2005. The High Country CSA marks
an expansion of that effort, said Hillary Wilson, co-director
of Maverick Farms.
The organization’s CSA opened with 10 members in 2005; last
season’s CSA had 25 members.
“As a single farm with three acres under production, our
CSA reached its limit in 2008,” Wilson said. “Each year,
we’ve had more demand for shares than we could meet. People
are getting more and more interested in using their food dollars
to support our community economy—and buy the freshest food
possible.”
To expand to meet community interest in local food, Maverick Farms
has turned to a multi-farm model, inviting other area farms to
join in. The group has hired Franya Hutchins of Boone to coordinate
the High Country CSA project. The coordinator position is funded
with a grant from the N.C. Rural Center, which Maverick Farms
received to fulfill its mission of “reconnecting local food
networks and promoting family farms as a community resource.”
“Choosing local food is one of the best ways to support the
health of both your family and the community,” Hutchins said.
“Our farmers are committed to growing without the use of
chemical pesticides or fertilizers, and CSA members will receive
absolutely fresh produce once a week. Our goal as a multi-farm
CSA is to make farming viable for locals and the local economy.
Having lived in Watauga County all my life, my experiences as
both a daughter and a mother here have made creating a stronger
local economy a great priority to me.”
Maverick Farms co-founder Tom Philpott concurs, adding that High
Country CSA can be a tool for building community in the High Country.
“We strongly believe that if the High Country is going to
create a sustainable and fair food system, many more people are
going to have to step up and take responsibility,” Philpott
said. “CSAs provide people the opportunity to form direct,
supportive relationships with the folks who grow their food.”To
learn more about CSAs, visit this profile of pioneering CSA farmer
Elizabeth Henderson at http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/archive/1000_stories/sare_stories/henderson.shtml.
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