By Suzanne Ma
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER EAST SIDE — Head north along the Hudson River, nearly 150 miles from the streets of the Lower East Side, and you'll find farmers David and Melinda Rowley busy tending to greenhouses that will soon grow spinach, lettuce, bok choy and japanese turnips.
These vegetables will be part of the first truckload of produce the Rowleys will deliver to a new food co-op opening on East Broadway, housed by local community group Educational Alliance.
"There was a lot of dissatisfaction with healthy, affordable foods in the neighborhood," said Danny Rosenthal, associate executive director of the Educational Alliance.
"There was a lot of interest in organic food and the principles of sustainability."
And so, late last year, community members began meeting to talk about setting up a partnership with an upstate farmer.
The farmers would offer a certain number of "shares" to neighborhood residents. Typically, the share consists of a box of vegetables. Interested residents would then purchase a share, and in return, receive a box of produce each week thoughout the farming season.
Such partnerships, commonly known as community supported agriculture, have been sprouting up across the United States. Though the government does not track CSAs, organic foods Web site Local Harvest has logged over 2,500 farms that are participating in similar venture. In 2008, 557 CSAs signed up with Local Harvest and in the first two months of 2008, an additional 300 joined the site.
"I'm really excited, this is like spring for us. It's February and we're growing things in our greenhouse already," Melinda Rowley said.
"We like the idea of the community aspect and having people involved in the farm. It really helps us in the winter and early spring. We have very little income coming in and we're buying things on credit cards and taking loans out."
Rowley and her husband leased more than 80 acres of land in Stuyvesant in 2001 to start Monkshood Nursery and Gardens.
She said it will cost about $600 for a one-year membership to the food co-op. The fees would go toward purchasing seeds and farming equipment, freeing up the farm's cash flow that slows significantly during the winter months.
They participate in winter farmer's markets, but that only brings in about $1,000 a week, she said.
The Educational Alliance is trying to get a minimum of 50 shares. To sign up, visit their Web site. The Rowleys plan to make their first delivery in May.
