First, a quick request! Would you please complete this 2-3 minute community survey about your interests, and experience with us so far?
We want our communications to be useful, compelling and true to who we are as farmers and humans — and most importantly, we want to share things that are relevant to you. Thank you in advance for your feedback, it’s honestly so helpful.
Next up, we have some news to share!
Every year, we ask ourselves big questions in the off-season. . . How can we make the most meaningful impact in our community? How can we exist and thrive as a small scale farm, despite the many obstacles? How can we support our crew, inside a food system that undervalues farmers and farm workers?
This year, we had the added layer of staff transition in our flower operation (as Blake heads off onto new adventures), giving us an opportunity to assess things at an even deeper level. On the other side of many thoughtful conversations, expert analysis and strategic planning, we are making a shift for the 2020 season.
We are scaling back our summer and fall flower operation this year, allowing us to re-focus on our food & social justice initiatives.
Up until now, we’ve essentially been running two farms in one. Our flower operation and veg operation have separate divisions of labor, serve different markets and are demanding in different ways. We still value the local flower movement immeasurably, and we’ll miss the colorful abundance of flowers this year! However, we’re excited to focus our efforts towards a more singular mission, which still feels complex and ambitious, reflecting our top priorities in this time.
Now more than ever, the demand for affordable, accessible, and healthy food continues to rise, especially in light of Trump’s huge cuts to food assistance programs. Our Food Access Fund is a direct response to this need, providing free produce to low-income community members, including seniors, families with young children, and people living serious health concerns (HIV/AIDS, diabetes and cancer). Our waiting list for our subsidized shares and our community partnerships continue to grow. We are currently fundraising to meet this demand!
We love growing food.
We love feeding our neighbors, nurturing our community partnerships, collaborating with our wholesale clients and getting to know our diverse CSA members.
We love being part of a growing movement of women and queer farmers, and striving to create safer spaces for LGBTQ and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) farmers.
All of those things will definitely keep us very, very busy this year!
The 2020 season is shaping up to be our best yet, with a majority of our incredible crew returning, and a sharpened focus and determination as a business. Game on.
As always, feel free to hit us up with any feedback or questions you have -- we’re grateful to be on the journey with you!
Your farmers,
Maggie & D., co-owners & veg farmers
P.S. We’ll still be growing our Spring flowers, which are already peeking up out of the ground!! We’re excited to work with local & NYC flower clients, providing specialty tulips, ranunculus and other Spring favorites this year.
P.P.S. Don’t forget to complete our 2-3 minute community survey! Click here to answer a few quick questions about your interests.
