SUNNYSIDE — The Sunnyside CSA has big plans cooking for 2014.
In addition to its traditional seasonal produce shares, the group is exploring adding a number of tasty and unusual extras for the upcoming summer and fall season — including the possibility of wine, seafood, kombucha and pickles, organizers said.
The CSA will host an open house Tuesday for those interested in signing up for the upcoming season, where potential vendors will be on hand to answer questions and give out samples of their goods.
Checklists will be given out to the attendees, who will indicate the vendors and foods they're interested in, and the CSA will use that feedback to finalize what shares it will offer this summer.
"We're really trying to expand what we offer for everybody," said Memo Salazar, the CSA's in-reach coordinator.
Potential new shares include wine from Enlightenment Wine, a small-scale winery in upstate Clintondale, NY as well as kombucha and pickles from Booch Kombucha, based in Brooklyn.
Other possibilities for the summer include vendors the CSA has worked with before, like Long Island City brewery Big Alice Brewing, which started a winter beer share with the group in December; locally sourced seafood from the Village Fishmonger; or dairy and egg shares from Milk Not Jails.
The CSA will determine what extra shares it will offer based on feedback from the open house, and those interested will be able to sign up for them online at a later date once the options are finalized.
It is not clear how much they will cost.
New and old members will be able sign up in-person for the CSA's standard shares on Tuesday: vegetables from Long Island's Golden Earthworm Organic Farm (which cost $570 for 26 weeks starting in May) and fruits from Briermere Farms, also on Long Island (which runs $150 for about 16 weeks beginning in July.
The Sunnyside CSA's open house will take place Tuesday, Feb. 4 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Sunnyside Community Services, 43-31 39th St. For more information, visit www.sunnysidecsa.com.
