By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — The arrival of warmer weather signals the weekly delivery of boxes loaded with a surprise mixture of locally grown treats purchased through the Tierra Direct Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group, now in its second year of operation.
Tierra Direct members pay a farmer in advance for shares of the locally-grown vegetables and fruit they then pick up every Thursday afternoon, from June through October, at a designated site on Fort Washington Avenue and West 177th Street.
Members of Tierra Direct, created by Columbia University's Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research and local community groups, typically receive approximately 10 different vegetables each week, which change depending on what's in season.
The group plans to hold a "Farmer Meet and Greet" on Sunday, March 6, where new and former members can meet vegetable farmer Pedro Rodriguez from La Baraja Farm in Goshen, N.Y., in order to learn more about the CSAs and locally-grown, sustainable and pesticide-free farming.
"We all participate in the food system each day, but almost never have contact with the actual person who grows our eggplant, corn or spinach," Iesha Wadala, a spokeswoman for Tierra Direct, wrote in an e-mail.
Those interested in joining can e-mail tierradirectCSA@gmail.com or call 646-697-2274. The deadline for this season is April 1, 2011, and fees for membership are on a sliding scale.
"Farmer Meet and Greet," March 6, 2 to 4 p.m., Columbia Community Partnership for Health, 390 Fort Washington Avenue. Healthy snacks will provided.
