QUEENS — A new group offering farm fresh food is coming next month to Kew Gardens, the first such program in the neighborhood, the organizers said.
The newly formed Kew Gardens Community Supported Agriculture is teaming up with Garden of Eve Organic Farm & Market in Riverhead to distribute fresh fruit, veggies, eggs and flowers weekly in Kew Gardens Cinemas Park, on the corner of Lefferts Boulevard and Austin Street, the organizers said.
Members will also have the option to receive meat, bread, cheese and farm-brewed beer once a month.
“In addition to offering healthy food, CSAs also build community spirit,” said Kevin Burns, 66, a Kew Gardens resident, who organized the group.
CSAs consist of members who buy shares of fruits and vegetables from local farms, which then deliver the fresh foods to the neighborhood for pick-up.
There is a CSA group and a farmers market in nearby Forest Hills. There are also several health food stores in the area. But Burns said the new CSA will give local residents yet another option.
“It’s kind of expanding the choices for people,” said Burns, who in the past 10 years was a member of several CSAs and co-founded the Glendale CSA. “CSAs have really changed the way I shop and the way I eat.”
To become a member of the Kew Gardens CSA, residents have to buy into a share on the farm's website. Garden of Eve Organic Farm & Market, which works with dozens of CSA programs and green markets in New York City and Long Island, offers a variety of options, including "vegetable weekly share" ($27.30 a week) and "vegeholic weekly share" ($50 a week), with pick-ups from June through November.
Members will also be able to choose from several biweekly options.
Fruits and veggies that don't get picked up will be distributed to local food pantries, Burns said.
Food will be distributed every Sunday between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. The group is open to people who live in other neighborhoods as well. Members will also be asked to help out with distribution at least once during each season. For more information about the Kew Gardens CSA, go here.
