We have extended the registration deadline to Friday at 3pm, you can register here!
Details on shares and what’s available can be found in posts below.
Sharing a note from our farmer on:
WHY IS THE CSA PROGRAM IMPORTANT FOR OUR BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY?
Greetings Sang Lee fans!
The CSA program is really where we started to make a turn toward being more sustainable as a business. Selling our Asian vegetable products wholesale to all the Chinatown markets on the east coast in the 80s and 90s became something that was no longer sustainable for a farm on long island. Prices of the same veggies were cheaper for wholesalers to buy from California and Mexico – even with shipping it across the country!
When we transitioned to growing organic in the early 2000’s and diversified our crops in an effort to farm better for the land and our family, we also had to figure out new sales channels for our product. Wholesale was not fruitful, but what other ways were there to sell and sell consistently? The farmstand was born and grew over the years to share our veggies and prepared foods with the local community, in a DIRECT way. NO middle man. This started to feel right. But again, we still needed to have a guaranteed amount of sales to plan for labor and supplies and avoid interest fees on loans. The CSA was the missing piece.
When the CSA began in 2006 – 2009 time period, we started to be able to plan more for the people we were growing for. We had the revenue UP FRONT in the winter and spring when we desperately needed supplies and a plan for growing and to know how much to grow. The CSA has allowed us to purchase equipment we needed and invest in better cover crops and systems for the land. We no longer have to do things the easiest and cheapest way. We can do things the better way for the land, people, and community.
We continue to grow our CSA every year, as well as our farmers markets and farmstand. These three pillars of our business are why we were able to survive the pandemic. Many farms selling wholesale had to pivot.We hope to continue the CSA program for many more years. It is the bread and butter of our farm. It is so important and SO ARE YOU.
Where you spend your money, is where you are putting your energy. Your dollars are from your hard earned livelihood, and we thank you for supporting our livelihood, and that of many of our employees. It is getting harder to run a business on Long Island, especially a farm when there is so much pressure to develop the land and add houses, not to mention labor costs and supply increases. But lest we forget, the true HEART of the North Fork is the farmland and the people who work here and support it. We are a family owned farm, and we consider our staff as part of our family. Every dollar you spend with us goes back into the farm and the people, making better systems for the land, the people who work here, and the North Fork. If you live locally, or you live further west, or in Brooklyn, we hope you also consider the North Fork as the farming heart of the whole island. We see you as part of our community and we are so grateful to be able to share our veggies with you and your families in areas where there is no local farms within a few miles.
Whether you join the CSA, shop with us at the markets or farmstand, we just wanted to share how much of a difference you make for us and our staff. We appreciate you, and we can’t wait for another amazing season ahead. Growing organic veggies on the North Fork has it’s challenges, but we are committed and we love what we do. We hope you feel the love and energy we put into growing our food for you.
Brooklyn Bridge CSA 