Tuesday 12 June 2012

urbanlocavore on Cooper Road CSA



Kristin Neudorf published this lovely post on her blog http://theurbanlocavore.wordpress.com/ on CSAs in the Toronto area.


Cooper Road CSA



Eileen’s garden in Madoc at the height of the 2011 season.
Cooper Road CSA.  Eileen Fawcett’s enthusiasm for gardening is the driving force behind Cooper Road CSA, a small operation that serves the Riverdale neighbourhood of Toronto with produce from Eileen’s own garden in Madoc, Ontario.  Because its a relatively small operation, there’s a lot more flexibility than with the more conventional CSA models.  Eileen spends her weekends tending the vegetables in her 1-acre garden in Madoc, and sends out an email to her customers on Monday mornings letting them know what’s going to be available at the end of the week.  Rather than buying a share at a set cost for the whole season, customers order week by week, depending on what’s available and what they need (the minimum purchase is $20).  On Sundays Eileen wakes up at 6 am to harvest the produce, and then brings it to Riverdale when she returns to Toronto on Sunday evenings.  Eileen’s CSA has evolved organically over the years – initially her gardening efforts were actually devoted to ornamentals, and over time she became more interested in vegetables, eventually leading her to plant her own garden and explore other organic and local food initiatives.  She’s now partnered with other farmers in the Madoc area to provide additional produce that she doesn’t grow in her garden, like asparagus and eggs, bringing her customers more variety in their weekly food deliveries.  For more information visit Eileen’s blogcooperroadcsa.blogspot.ca/ or call 416-463-5462.

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