That’s the impression I’ve gotten from asking folks about Calvert Farm, source of Greenbelt’s Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, and more goodies on Sundays at the Greenbelt Farmers Market.  People also say great things about Pam Stegall Roberts in particular, shown above at the Farmers Market’s opening day for the 2013 season.

The Farm

Calvert Farm is located in Cecil County, in the far northeast corner of Maryland, about two hours away, which is why I haven’t stopped by for a tour.   I hope to make it for one of their visitors days, though – CSA coordinator Susan Barnett tells me the energy there is terrific.

But without visiting I’ve learned that the farm runs with a major dose of volunteer labor – members of local garden clubs, a craft club,  plus members of the Down to Earth Food Co-op, which has a Facebook page (naturally) that describes the co-op this way:

The Down to Earth Food Co-op is a democratic, egalitarian food cooperative of students and other young people in Newark, Delaware, founded in the fall of 2012. Our mission is to increase access to healthy and organic food, facilitate the development of practical skills such as cooking and farming, and strengthen our local community.

We work at local farms in exchange for organic produce, which we use to prepare weekly member dinners as well as larger community dinners. We currently have 47 members, among which the tasks of cooking, cleaning, and farming are equally distributed.

So students like the fresh-faced young farmers above volunteer for the knowledge, the experience, and great vegan meals – two huge meals a week (with leftovers for take home) for the group, which ranges from 40 to 80 at each meal.  The volunteers work alongside the paid work crews of four to 10 people, depending on the time of year.  Pam describes the meals this way:

I’ve been cooking up great vegan meals for them when they come out.  It is fun – we have good discussions about sourcing food, how to cook from basic ingredients and how not to waste money on pre-packed and processed  stuff – like vegan mayo and condiments. We have them making dressings from scratch – veggie-based sauces and soup stock – it’s like an open book with their minds – and they are having fun too!

The CSA – Deliveries to Greenbelt Start This Week!

The fee for the 20-week program of farm-fresh produce is $500, which  includes a $50 non-refundable reservation fee.  And it’s not too late to sign up for this year – pro-rated memberships are available.

The deliveries are made to outside the New Deal Cafe on Thursdays between 2 and 6 p.m.

Click here for CFA info, including how to pay.

Greenbelt currently has 51 subscribers, and the deliveries and pick-ups run smoothly thanks to a group of volunteers.

Coordinator Susan Barnett says the volunteers stay with the veggies to make sure things go smoothly – that the subscribers check off their names when they pick up their subscription – and to answer any questions. “My volunteers are a terrific group of folks and we could not have this program without them.”

Not all the food in the CSA deliveries is grown on the Calvert Farm – Pam pools produce from a group of farmers, many of them are Amish.  That spreads the risk, so if  one farm has a difficult year or crop, then the subscriptions are covered by others.

The Beaverdam Connection

The intention here is to help folks connect the dots between food production and our environment.  Having good healthy produce grown organically and locally is better for our environment because it puts fewer polluting nutrients and toxins into our water system and our bodies. A focus on vegetables and fruits is better for the environment since animal agriculture for meat production is considered to be one of the most damaging to our environment in terms of global warming due to methane production, water usage, and pollution. That’s why BCWWG felt it was very much in line with our mission to promote the CSA.

CSA delivery photos from the farm’s Flickr page.