Happy Summer!
Anyone who doesn’t have a Flower Share want a bunch of
Snapdragons this week? There will be one bunch for sale for $15. Reply to this
mail before noon if you want it held for you, or ask at the CSA sign-in desk.
Next Thursday is July 4th, and there’ll be
NO CSA next week! See you all again on Thursday, July 11th.
If you signed up to work at the CSA this week but didn’t get
an email asking for your confirmation, you’re not working at the CSA this week.
CSA weather report…warm and breezy
Do NOT leave your CSA Shares in your car! They will not be
happy, and neither will you when the don’t last as long as they could. Over 40
degrees in your car and your CSA Share’s not happy (and inside your car with
closed windows it’s probably hotter than you’d think… and it is – check
this out… https://abc7news.com/how-hot-can-it-get-inside-a-car-baby-in-gets/2266627/#:~:text=Here's%20a%20look%20at%20just%20how%20hot%20it%20can%20get%3A&text=When%20it's%2080%20degrees%20outside,and%20119%20after%2030%20minutes
)
Important…if you ever send anyone to the CSA
to pick up food for you, please tell them to BRING BAGS (and make
sure at least one of them is plastic for the wet foods so you don’t get the dry
ones wet which would not be a good thing…will make the foods that don’t want to
be wet rot faster)!
- What you need to know
- FREE CSA Cooking Classes
on Zoom – if you missed the first one you can watch now
- Food safety and
COVID-19…
- What you actually got
last week
- Live organic - It’s a
small world after all
- Emergency situations at
the CSA (hurricanes/electronic communication glitches/medical emergencies,
etc.)
- And now, for something
completely different…
*Anything in any of our CSA emails not directly related to
the functioning of the CSA, feel free to take or leave at your discretion, and
anything related to health issues always consult with your physician(s) before
taking any action.
1.What you need to know (will be either new info to
first time CSA members, or reminders/old hat to returning CSA members)…
Most immediate helpful hints…
- Bring at least TWO bags
to the CSA EVERY WEEK for wet and dry food items (and never
the twain should meet)
- When packing up your CSA
food, start at the left side of the long table and work your way to the
right and out the garden door. Why? We set out the food to be packed in
that order so the heaviest food items will be on the bottom of your bag,
and your food won’t get squished (another way to make your food go bad
faster), and if you separate the wet from the dry foods you’re doing
pretty good on having your food last longer! 😊
- When you get your food
home, if it’s in a plastic bag take it OUT of the plastic bag and store
elsewhere…even if it’s in another plastic bag (the original bag will be
too wet and your food won’t be happy there for long)
- Plan on using your food
in the order of how long it will reasonably stay fresh.
Before you leave the house…BRING BAGS
to pack up your food (CSA members are responsible for packing up their own
shares) – canvas/plastic/paper…bring whatever suits your fancy. The CSA does
NOT provide bags for CSA members.
Time – 3:30pm to 7:30pm
Place – Sky Room Café in the Cinema Arts
Centre at 423 Park Ave, Huntington
Parking – park in the all the way around at
the back of the building by the day care center (you’ll see a fenced in
playground area with a sandbox)
When you arrive at the CSA –
- Check in at the sign-in desk with our friendly CSA
worker
- Read the Wall Chart that tells us every week what we’re
getting, how much we’re getting, and what the farm charged us for it…some
weeks it’s take one of everything but…SOME WEEKS IT’S NOT!!! So you have
to make sure you read the Wall Chart every week, and not assume anything.
You can also ask your fellow CSA members that are working that day what
the story is for the day (they should have name tags on).
Before you leave the CSA – Make sure you have
everything on the list (like the story of the 3 bears…not too much, not too
little, but just right 😊)! If you get to talking
with people, have kids with you, etc., it can be easy to be distracted and if
you get home and find out you don’t have everything that was on the list,
you’re out of luck because at 7:31pm the food is donated to a local food organization
(Community Solidarity…read more about them in the CSA Events email under
Tuesdays) that’s waiting to pick it up and get on their way.
Veggie info sheets are added as needed. This is the link to the: Veggie Info Sheets. Print them out, put them in a notebook and you end up with a cookbook at the end of the CSA season. Also, there are good tips on storage, prep, and nutrition.
The list…this is a general list and you’ll be sent another
email within the next week with the detailed list after I get it (which isn’t
till the day of the CSA…the list is subject to change without notice because
farming is like that! 😊 However, most of the
time it’s accurate and if it’s not…usually only one food item will be changed)…
Paraphrased wise words by a nutritionist that I read (and
don’t remember where I read it or who said it), BUT it’s pretty smart info
regarding eating seasonally in our part of the globe…
Spring… is all about detoxing (what we get
from the CSA at this time is a lot of green things that are really good to help
clean us out from whatever we accumulated during the winter)
Interesting piece about spring greens (out of the 14 listed,
we get 12 of them with our CSA…watercress nutritionally and botanically similar
to Curly Cress/Peppercress) and detoxing…
http://www.nourishingmeals.com/2012/03/detox-with-spring-greens.html
Summer is all about being hydrated (the
popular summer foods are all full of water…Tomatoes, Lettuces, Summer Squashes,
etc.)
Fall/winter is all about storing energy (we
get all the dense vegetables…Sweet Potatoes, Winter Squashes, etc…. that are
energy powerhouses to fuel us through the winter) to get you through the winter
to make it to…Spring!
Week #4
June 27, 2024
- Garlic, Fresh* – 1 bunch
- Peas, Shelling – 1 bag
- Mustard Greens – 1 bunch
- Dandelion Greens – 1 bunch
- Lettuce – 1 head
Herb Share – June 2B
Marjoram AND Nasturtiums
Flower Shares – Week #2
Snapdragons
*Info on Fresh (or Green) Garlic…
https://chatelaine.com/food/green-garlic-faq/
More info and recipes...
https://www.thekitchn.com/why-spring-garlic-is-the-best-garlic-229770
https://www.thespruceeats.com/green-garlic-and-garlic-scapes-2216459
2.FREE CSA Cooking classes on Zoom – if you missed he
first one you can watch now!
I don’t know about you, but I totally forgot this was
happening the other Friday. However, thanks to YouTube it’s posted for viewing
here…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOmk6t_rsS4
The title of this is…So, you’ve joined a CSA! Now what? 😊
Check out our Events email for the dates Friday, June 28th
and Sunday, July 28th. I’ll be there. Will you? It’s a rhetorical
question so you don’t have to get back to me 😊.
3.Food safety and COVID-19…
Even though it’s been a while since the word “pandemic” has
been bandied about, people are still getting COVID and other illness. And the
lessons we learned during the past few years can still come in handy today to
avoid basic things like colds and the flu.
Watch writer J. Kenji Lopez-Alt (son of a Harvard University
geneticist and immunologist, grandson of a chemist, and author of Food Lab:
Better Home Cooking Through Science), talk about COVID-19 and food safety…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkvw9lZ3v3I
And read in more detail here…
After keeping the CSA going thru 2020 and 2021 while the
Cinema Arts Centre was closed (with everyone staying healthy using the simple
practices of wearing face coverings, hand washing, and social distancing), this
is where we are now at this moment in time…
- Face coverings are
optional
- Hand washing upon
entering the theater is recommended (it’s always a good idea in preventing
COVID as well as the flu and colds)
Why COVID HATES soap (works better than hand sanitizer or
gloves), and we’re talking plain soap, NOT antibacterial soap (the use of which
causes antibiotic resistance which could kill us all ☹)…
https://healthmatters.nyp.org/how-does-handwashing-with-soap-kill-the-coronavirus/
- Will try and keep the
CSA area relatively uncrowded if any future outbreaks of any infectious
diseases occur
- Enter near the Box
Office entrance, and exit thru the door that leads out to the Cinema
garden and upper parking lot stairs
4.What you actually got last week
June 20, 2024
Week #3
1.Garlic, Fresh – 1 bunch - $4.75
2.Radishes: French Breakfast OR Red – 1 bunch - $4.50
3.Peas: Snow – 1 bag (.4 lb.) - $5.50
4.Lettuce: French Crisp, Red -1 head - $4.50
5.Lavender – 1 bunch. - $4.50
Total Items: 5
Total Amount: $23.75
We pay our farm $22 per week for our CSA share…some weeks we
get a bit more, some a bit less. This week (and last week), it was $1.75 over
$22.00. Doesn’t sound like a whole lot, but it adds up over the course of the
CSA season (at the moment it’s a total of $6.75 more food than what we paid).
We seem to always get at least one CSA share’s worth of food every year that we
didn’t pay for…some years two, and last year it was almost four weeks worth
extra, so we’re talking almost $80 worth of food we got gratis…it’s all good! 😊
Flower Share - #1
Yarrow (everlast…can be dried)
5.Live organic - It’s a small world after all…
Back in 2023, there was a train derailment in Ohio that
contained toxic chemicals and the officials there decided to do a controlled
burn of vinyl chloride. Now, scientists have found that the remnants of that
burn have shown up in the rain and snow in 16 states that include New York, and
I see on the map it includes LONG ISLAND…
https://weather.com/news/climate/video/chemicals-in-ohio-train-wreck-spread-to-16-states-study-says
Vinyl chloride is used to make PVC and other plastic
products so the less plastic you can use in your home and in life, the less
will show up in the environment (plus, we’re now eating plastic as well). Ex. –
in plumbing for your house, use as much metal piping as you can and not PVC or
PEX, etc., in fencing use wood and not PVC, and most things one can use that’s
plastic can be substituted with something that’s made of
wood/stone/paper/glass/metal. When PVC burns in a house fire, if you’re not
wearing protective breathing gear you’ll be dead in short order (why? one of
the byproducts of PVC when burned is hydrogen cyanide). Every little bit not
used helps you and the environment (and heaven forbid you have a house fire,
it’s less toxic for firefighters to help save you and your home).
6.Emergency situations at the CSA (hurricanes/electronic
communication glitches/medical emergencies…on my part, etc.)
- It’s hurricane season till November 30th
(our CSA’s last day is December 12th)! Farmers are more
hardcore than postal workers so your food will be at the CSA between
3:30pm and 7:30pm on Thursdays, pretty much no matter what. Hurricane
Sandy didn’t stop our CSA. We were at the Unitarian Fellowship in
Huntington, and there was no power and there were tree limbs around the
property BUT I checked out the building to make sure there was no danger
for us being in the building or entering the property, and with
flashlights brought by me, we had our CSA. If there’s no emails…show up
anyway. If there’s some problem/issue with the food arriving there should
be a note on the door of the Cinema letting you know what’s up (if we’re
not already in there waiting for you). In a storm situation please bring a
flashlight/lantern as it could be helpful for you and those of us at the
CSA. Again…show up, and at 3:30pm and 5:30pm if there were no emails
please offer to work if you’re able and available. If you feel it’s not
safe/wise for you to venture out, know that any food left at the end of
the CSA will be picked up and donated to the gang at Community Solidarity.
They have NEVER missed a food distribution day even in snow and ice storms
(regardless of the weather…hungry people will still be hungry if there’s
no food to eat).
- Electronic communication is FAR from perfect. IF you
get no CSA emails or responses to your emails on any given week…come to
the CSA anyway. It could be a problem with my laptop, etc. Stuff happens.
- Anything else that might come up (these days…who
knows???)…no emails, etc., come anyway and will do our best to keep
everyone informed as best we can (look for notes on front door of Cinema
if nothing else). The CSA has always happened every week during our 20+
seasons…(lifted from the postal worker motto) - Neither snow nor rain nor
heat nor gloom stays these farmers & CSA crew from the swift
completion of their appointed rounds…to get you your CSA Shares! 😊
- If there’s an emergency
situation in progress, consider offering to help out at the CSA whether
you’re asked to or not.
7.And now, for something completely different…
Did you know this was in here? Jeesh!
https://www.cracked.com/pictofacts-1232-the-15-weirdest-things-in-normal-products-you-own
*Please keep in mind that any events or services listed do
not indicate a direct endorsement from Green Thumb Farm or Green Thumb CSA -
Huntington
Friday, June 28th
1:30pm to 2:30pm
Keep on Cooking: Sustaining Momentum as a CSA Member
Zoom event
FREE
To register…
Whether we're going on weeks of
kale bunches or tons of cucumbers, sometimes cooking with a CSA can mean we’re
eating a lot of the same ingredients over & over again. How do we sustain
our momentum? How can we keep on cooking & feel the joyful energy of
preparing seasonal foods? Tune in for tips! Even if you can’t attend the live
Zoom event, sign up because that will usually give you access to the event
afterwards for a set time period.
Tuesday, July 2nd
10am to 11am
Tai Chi class
Cinema Arts Centre
Sky Room Café
423 Park Ave
Huntington
FREE
Join teacher Roger Sencer in this free Tai Chi class that’s
been held at the Cinema Arts Centre for a number of years. All levels welcome.
7pm – Volunteers
8:15pm – Drive-thru distribution
Huntington Food Share
Community Solidarity
Fairground Ave. & 6th St.
Huntington Station
FREE
For more info…
https://communitysolidarity.org/foodshares/huntington
To volunteer…
https://communitysolidarity.org/volunteer
Or to make a donation (they REALLY need a new truck)…
https://communitysolidarity.org/donate/funds
Community Solidarity (formerly Long Island Food Not Bombs)
is an amazing group, doing much needed good works. These are the folks our CSA
donates food to (and have for the last several years). If you’d like to
volunteer, make a donation (they REALLY, REALLY need a new truck), or have need
of their services (or know people who might)…get in touch/get information via
their website (listed above).
They also need/accept donations of the following…Bicycles,
Books, Clothing, Flowers (good for general mental health…taking care of the
mind AND the body), Food, Medical Care (is there a Doctor or Dentist in the
house? 😊), Plants/Seedlings, School Supplies, Toys
and more. For details on donating items, please go to the Home Page, scroll to
Donate, and read the appropriate listing (and scroll to Material Goods to see
the topics not initially listed)…
https://communitysolidarity.org/
Here’s founder Jon Stepanian’s TED Talk (TEDxNYU) on
Community Solidarity and Hunger Relief…
https://www.ted.com/talks/jon_stepanian_community_solidarity_hunger_relief
Tuesday, July 9th
10am to 11am
Tai Chi class
Cinema Arts Centre
Sky Room Café
423 Park Ave
Huntington
FREE
Join teacher Roger Sencer in this free Tai Chi class that’s
been held at the Cinema Arts Centre for a number of years. All levels welcome.
2:30pm to 3:30pm
Book Chat: The CSA’s Role in the Future of Farming
Communities
Zoom event
FREE
To register:
Farmer & author Jerry Apps
joins the CSA Ideas Lab to share learnings from his new book "On Farms and
Rural Communities," with specific focus given to CSA farmers, CSA members,
and anyone who strives to support local food and farming. You could win a copy
of Jerry's book by attending this event!
7pm – Volunteers
8:15pm – Drive-thru distribution
Huntington Food Share
Community Solidarity
Fairground Ave. & 6th St.
Huntington Station
FREE
For more info…
https://communitysolidarity.org/foodshares/huntington
To volunteer…
https://communitysolidarity.org/volunteer
Or to make a donation (they REALLY need a new truck)…
https://communitysolidarity.org/donate/funds
Community Solidarity (formerly Long Island Food Not Bombs)
is an amazing group, doing much needed good works. These are the folks our CSA
donates food to (and have for the last several years). If you’d like to
volunteer, make a donation (they REALLY, REALLY need a new truck), or have need
of their services (or know people who might)…get in touch/get information via
their website (listed above).
They also need/accept donations of the following…Bicycles,
Books, Clothing, Flowers (good for general mental health…taking care of the
mind AND the body), Food, Medical Care (is there a Doctor or Dentist in the
house? 😊), Plants/Seedlings, School Supplies, Toys
and more. For details on donating items, please go to the Home Page, scroll to
Donate, and read the appropriate listing (and scroll to Material Goods to see
the topics not initially listed)…
https://communitysolidarity.org/
Here’s founder Jon Stepanian’s TED Talk (TEDxNYU) on
Community Solidarity and Hunger Relief…
https://www.ted.com/talks/jon_stepanian_community_solidarity_hunger_relief
Sunday, July 28th
5pm to 6:30pm
Cooking with our CSA: Let’s Cook!
Zoom event
FREE
To register:
https://www.csainnovationnetwork.org/event-details/cooking-with-our-csa-lets-cook/form
Cook along with CSA member (not
our CSA…this gal belongs to Sage Mountain Farm CSA in Anza, California) &
recipe creator, Frances Kellar, as she unpacks her weekly CSA box live &
prepares a tasty seasonal recipe using ingredients from the CSA! Let’s join
together in community to chat about CSAs, cooking seasonal meals, & how to
make CSA-friendly adaptations for recipes. Keep in mind she’s in California so
there may be things she’ll be getting that we’d never get in New York because
it doesn’t grow here (like citrus fruits, etc.). Even if you can’t attend the
live Zoom event, sign up because that will usually give you access to the event
afterwards for a set time period.
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