Ditmas Park CSA to bring fresh veggies to community for its 14 year

May 26, 2021 Jaime DeJesus

A look at some of the veggies offered by the Ditmas Park Community Supported Agriculture.

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It’s still going strong.

Despite COVID-19, the Ditmas Park Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is entering its 14th year of bringing fresh vegetables to the local community.

For 2021, the group will be continuing some of the changes incorporated last year into its pickup routines to protect the volunteers and the members, as the circumstances require.

The group members added that they want to minimize person-to-person contact during pickups and enforce social distancing.

“We will be giving out pre-packed bags to all members, based on the shares they have purchased, while allowing more individualized selection of certain items, such as tomatoes,” said the CSA in a release. “All members and volunteers will be required to wear masks at pickup.”

In order to get the pre packed bags ready, pickup will begin later in the afternoon from 5-8 p.m.

The produce will be supplied by farmer Jorge Carmona of Amantai Farms and will include an array of seasonal vegetables and melons grown with traditional and sustainable methods. Eggs and fruit will also be available.

The CSA plans to use a core group member’s front yard at East 19th Street and Avenue H for distribution. The goal is to begin the season sometime between mid-June and early July.

“The produce varies as the season changes,” explained the member last year. “We begin with lots of greens, though there are almost always some tomatoes and other veggies (maybe nine or 10 different items each week), and as the heat of summer intensifies, we get peppers and cucumbers and zucchini, fresh heads of garlic, then melons. With fall comes an increase in root vegetables and lots of winter squash, as well as other stuff (again, at least nine or 10 different items each week).”

The group added that full shares, picked up weekly, not including any add-ons, will cost $875; partial shares picked up weekly will cost $620; and full shares picked up every other week will cost $460 as a cost-effective alternative to weekly partial shares for smaller households. All prices include an administrative fee of $35 to cover the expenses of running the CSA.

Pickups will take place on Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m.

Only a limited number of shares are available, and the CSA will close its 2021 membership once that number has been reached or by May 31.

For more info, visit the CSA’s website or email [email protected].