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CSAs are really popular in Astoria. So popular, that there is a waiting list every season. As a Core Group member of the Hellgate CSA, I’ve seen the demand rise for our CSA each year, and through chatting with the organizers of the Astoria CSA, I understand they are in the same situation.

And while we’re excited that so many people are interested in CSAs, it’s also a bummer to have to give people the news that they were not accepted by the CSA for any current season. We would love to accommodate everyone, but can’t for a number of reasons.

That’s why I’m really happy that another CSA is starting in Astoria! Their name is Harvest Astoria and can be found at harvestastoria.com. Their location is in an area that is not served by current CSAs, so they fill a need, location-wise. From their front page:

Welcome to Harvest Astoria.

We are a new CSA forming in the Astoria/Long Island City Area.

We have now officially obtained our distribution site: The Church of the Redeemer at 30-14 Crescent Street near 30th Ave (map).

We are proud to announce that our food will be supplied by Norwich Meadows Farm. Zaid Kurdieh is the farmer.

Please do not contact the church or the farmer for information.

If you are interested in joining please click on the CONTACT link and let us know!

Thanks for all the interest expressed so far!!

We are very excited about the requests for more information on membership that have come in. Please be patient with us as we get ourselves organized. All requests for information will be responded to in the next few weeks – so keep sending them in and keep checking our website for more information!

Definitely check them out if you are looking for a CSA in Astoria.

There are a number of CSAs in Western Queens. They are:

Hellgate CSA – Ditmars area
Astoria CSA – at ARROW, 35th Street near 35th Ave
Harvest Astoria CSA – 30th Ave and Crescent
Long Island City CSA – in LIC
Sunnyside CSA – 39th Street in Sunnyside
Farmspot – 82nd Street in Jackson Heights

They are all worth looking into if you are interested. It’s a good idea to get on the waiting list(s), and sometimes slots open up during the season, too. CSAs are an easy way of moving toward a more sustainable way of life.

Photo credit: (c) Meg Cotner

Ancient Food, Ancient Wisdom: Using Traditional Foods to Create Vibrant Health for Adults & Children

A workshop with Claudia Keel & Angela Davies

Sunday February 15th @ noon at the Park Slope Food Coop
782 Union St (btw 6th & 7th Av), Booklyn

Free (non-members welcome!)

In this workshop we will discuss what traditional foods are and why they are so essential to our health and well-being, as well as for pregnancy and growing children. These traditional foods include enzyme-enriched foods, mineral rich bone broths, animal fats and properly prepared whole grains. We will cover the pioneering work of Dr. Weston A. Price his study of healthy traditional communities, and the underlying factors in a variety of traditional diets that conferred beauty, strength and freedom from disease.

Claudia Keel is an Herbalist and Flower Essence Therapist with a private practice in Union Square, Manhattan. She is the co-founder and president of the Traditional Nutrition Guild, an non-profit buying club for traditional foods in metro NY and the New York City chapter leader of the Weston A price Foundation.

Angela Davies is a holistic health practitioner with a private practice in Ft. Green Brooklyn. She is a member of the Coop and the Clinton Hill CSA and the Brooklyn Chapter Leader of the Weston A price Foundation.