Every Tuesday a diverse crowd gathers around a few tables on a patio in Northern Long Island City. The tables hold an array of fresh vegetables, and as members bag their share, they chat about vegetables, cooking and their families. "I've eaten all but one carrot from last week," one member brags to another. Another member reports that the snow pea recipe from the previous week's newsletter went over well with her roommate. Every other week, a trained cooking demonstrator shows members novel or refreshed ideas for preparing the vegetables they've received that week, making the Swiss Chard or Escarole less intimidating and more likely to find its way to the dinner table.

This isn't the farmer's market, but a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) site. Members join for the 20-week season and pick up their share of the farm's bounty every Tuesday from 2pm until 7:30 pm at the HANAC Ravenswood NORC (34-35A 12th. St.). The share includes five or six different kinds of vegetables, totaling about six pounds. A share costs $200 for the season ($10 a week) plus a $15 administration fee. As the season started in mid-July, shares can easily be pro-rated. Members are invited to pay with checks, cash or food stamps.

Green Thumb farm, run by Bill Halsey, supplies the Ravenswood CSA with their weekly produce. The farm is located in Water Mill, Long Island and has been in the Halsey family since the 1640's, and when Bill and his siblings took over the farm from their father in the 70's, they returned to the organic methods that had been employed on the land for centuries before. The farm is now certified organic by the USDA. Green Thumb farm was one of the first CSA farms in New York City six years ago. CSA partnerships benefit farmers because they have season-long support and money up front. The rise of the CSA model has helped to preserve small scale farms and lessen the impact of agriculture on the environment.

CSA attempts to educate as well as feed families. In addition to the cooking demonstrations, the members hold potlucks and visits to the farm. The Ravenswood CSA is volunteer run, so ideas from any members are appreciated. The program is currently administered by Cara Fraver, an Americorp volunteer for Just Food, a nonprofit working with farmers, community gardens, and urban neighborhoods. If you would like to look for a CSA site in a different neighborhood, check out www.justfood.org

The Ravenswood CSA is excited to accept new members in order to reach their membership goal, strengthen their programs and feed more families. Also, donations can be made which would be distributed either to food pantries or to local families in the form of "Veggie Vouchers" for one week of vegetables, which would prominently display the name of the donor. We welcome help from anyone in the community.

To request information or to join, please call Cara at (718) 609-1028 or (646) 284-7762 or via the web at www.ravenswoodcsa.org or ravenswoodcsa@yahoo.com.