To our readers: Welcome to our first Voices Guide to Local Community Supported Agriculture, the only printed listing of local CSAs in Centre County. We offered it free to all CSAs and our readers as a public service to people who prefer to buy fresh, local produce from farmers they know. Descriptions were written by the farmers themselves. Please thank the CSAs that advertised to help cover the cost of printing this guide. And note: Farmers are taking member sign-ups now for their summer season!

Click here for a PDF of the 2011 Central Pa CSA guide.

Click here to see the listings.

Fallywalker Farm

Contact: Mean Mr. Fallywalker (go to contact page on website)

Location: Spring Mills, PA

Website: www.fallywalkerfarm.com

Length of season: 15+ weeks

Produce: Some of the most twisted produce ever picked – featuring heirloom tomatoes, peculiar potatoes, colored carrots, magic beans, and aerial radishes - plus varieties of greens, squash, eggplant, herbs, edible flowers, cucumbers, okra & more!

Community Supported Agriculture with a Twist! A curious little farm where not all carrots are orange...where radishes grow in the air…cucumbers look like lemons, tomatoes like brains…the best tasting potatoes are blue… and even the lettuce has freckles! Fallywalker Farm is a micro eco-farm which focuses on a version of Community Supported Agriculture known as the Twisted ‘Stache Program. The farm takes its name from Director of Croperations & Seed-E-O, the elusive Mean Mr. Fallywalker, whose sinister seed collection lends itself to some of the area’s most exceptionally twisted and strangely delightful fresh produce.

Full Circle Farms

Contact: Sabine Carey

(814) 364-2885

flowers@fullcirclefarms.com

Website: www.fullcirclefarms.com  or follow us on Facebook!

Location of Farm: We are located in beautiful Penns Valley, just a 20 minute drive from State College.

Pick-up/Delivery sites: To be determined

Produce: After 11 years of offering veggie CSA shares, we are excited to be expanding our flowers for this season. Come see us at the Tuesday Boalsburg Farmers market, or sign up for weekly fresh flowers through our flexible FlowerShare Program, ranging from $75 for a 10 week of bouquets to $300 for 20 weeks of arrangements. Perfect for your kitchen table or office desk! We have been certified organic for 10 years, and are strong supporters of our local sustainable food system.

Greenmoore Gardens

Contact: (814) 237-8987

info@greenmooregardens.com

Website: www.greenmooregardens.com

Location of Farm: Just outside of State College off Route 550. Only 15 minutes from downtown!

Pick-up/Delivery Locations: Nature’s Pantry, Webster’s Cafe on Aaron Drive, Greenmoore Gardens (193 Eagle Field Road, Port Matilda, PA 16870)

Length of Season: Summer shares from May through November. Winter shares starting this year from November through April.

Produce: We grow a diverse selection of vegetables, herbs, and berries without using chemicals of any kind. Our soil is very rich, which allows high quality vegetables to flourish. We believe in farming with responsibility to the land, the people who work it, and the community who eats from it. We have applied for organic certification with PCO and hope to be certified before the first harvest of 2011.

Due to the increasing demand for vegetable shares, we encourage you to sign up early to save yourself a spot!

GroundWork Farms CSA

and Buying Club

Contact: Nell Hanssen

814-349-8915

nell@groundworkfarms.com

Website: www.groundworkfarms.com

Location: Penns and Brush Valleys

Pick-up/Delivery location(s): Delivered to your home, work, or a central location.

Length of season: Summer produce from June through October, Bread, Dairy, Egg, Coffee shares and Seasonal Produce offered year round.

Produce: A wide variety of vegetables and melons, plus raw dairy products, eggs, herbs, bread and coffee are offered as CSA shares. Meats, berries, fruits, mushrooms, canned goods, flour, honey and more are available by order.

GroundWork Farms is a network of farmers in Penns and Brush Valleys. Our CSA members have the opportunity to order pasture-raised meats, berries, fruits, mushrooms, canned goods, whole wheat flour, and more as they come available throughout the year. All of GroundWork’s producers use humane methods and no synthetic chemicals to raise their products. GroundWork Farms makes weekly deliveries to homes and businesses in State College, Bellefonte, and surrounding areas.

Howard’s End Farm

Contact: Addison Hoffman (814)571-5414

Addison Hoffman, Valerie Anderson: Partners; Lura Shopteau, Associate.

Email: howardsendfarm@gmail.com

Website: www.howardsendcsa.com 

Location: 345 Hidden Valley Lane, Howard, PA 16841. Howard’s End Farm is a 20 acre diverse organic farm nestled in the Little Nittany Valley, about a 30 minute drive from State College.

Pick-up/Delivery locations: From mid-May until early November: Pick-ups are at either the Tuesday downtown farmer’s market on Locust Lane (11:30-5:30) or on Saturdays at the North Atherton Farmer’s market at the Home Depot (10 – 2). In the off-season (mid November until mid May), the downtown State College pick-up is at the Movement Arts Studio, 140 Kelly Alley from 12-3 every other Tuesday and at Webster’s Café on Aaron Drive every other Saturday from 12-2.

Season Length: Year Round.

Produce: A broad variety of produce is available including: chickens, eggs, ducks, cheese, certified raw milk, sprouts, jams and other sweets, yogurt, butters, and herbs. We hope to add oven-fired breads, pork, and specialty plants such as ginger, water chestnuts, figs, artichokes, chickpeas and fresh peanuts in 2011. An online catalog featuring ceramics, garden pots and fountains, furniture accessories and other goods will be launched in 2011. For more information visit the website.

Current CSA membership: 75 families

Available memberships for 2011: 15

Membership enrollment: We are going to fill the 15 new member spots during the months of February and March, starting date in April.

Duration of membership: Ongoing. We are a year-round CSA.

Cost of Membership: We require an initial deposit of $400 which will put $420 into the new members’ debit account. This is an “A la Carte” CSA which means that members are not obligated to pick up produce. Instead, a weekly email goes out to members on Sundays which lists all available goods for the coming weeks. Members can then place an order in advance for the following weeks’ pickup. Recipes are often provided for each weekly pick-up.

Jade Family Farm

Contact: John and Dana Eisenstein

(717) 527-4719

jadefamilyfarm@gmail.com

Website: www.jadefamilyfarm.com

Location of Farm: Port Royal, PA

Pick-up/ Delivery Locations: Boalsburg, College Heights, Park Forest (pending)

Length of season: 24 weeks

Produce: Everything but sweet corn.

Jade Family Farm is a certified organic vegetable farm nestled at the foot of the Tuscarora Mountain near Port Royal, Pennsylvania. Our harvest share (CSA) features about 50 different vegetables, all picked ripe and delivered fresh, and in exactly the right amount, more or less! The season runs from the end of May to the beginning of November (24 weeks). Delivery is Tuesday afternoon to several convenient locations in the State College area.

We offer three share options: a family share, designed for a medium-sized family of good eaters, a regular share, which is about 60-65% of the produce in a family share, and an “a la carte” share. The a la carte option features week-to-week ordering via the miracle of internet technology, with no automatic delivery and no unasked for items—perfect for those who travel frequently or have limited or varied vegetable needs. Both the family and regular shares are customizable (within reason) and are also eligible to order off the a la carte menu. Included in your membership is a witty and informative weekly newsletter complete with recipes (some of which we’ve actually tried) and various farm events throughout the season, many of which involve a shovel. For more information or to sign up, visit our website at www.jadefamilyfarm.com, or give us a call!

Plowshare Produce

Contact: Micah and Bethany Spicher Schonberg

(814) 667-2756

Website: www.plowshareproduce.com

Location: McAlevy’s Fort, 16 miles south of State College and 16 miles north of Huntingdon on Route 26.

Pick-up/Delivery Location: University Mennonite Church, State College; Standing Stone Coffee Company, Huntingdon; Plowshare Produce, McAlevy’s Fort

Season Length: 24-week summer share, 8-week winter share

Produce: certified organic vegetables, melons and flowers

Plowshare Produce began in 2009 when Bethany and Micah Spicher Schonberg moved to Bethany’s parents’ land along Stone Creek. After years of work on other farms, we’re grateful to be growing vegetables in the fields Bethany’s great-grandfather farmed with horses in the 1940s. Our farm name comes from the Old Testament prophet Micah, who anticipated the day when his people would “beat their swords into plowshares” (4:3). With the help of our draft horses Polly and Sadie, and an amazing crew of employees and work shareholders, we supply about 75 families with vegetables in the summer and 25 in the winter. Our gardens and greenhouses are certified by Pennsylvania Certified Organic.

“Plowshareholders” come to the farm – or to a central location in State College or Huntingdon – once a week to fill their bags with the best of the day’s harvest. Our full share provides a family of four with vegetables all season long and includes a newsletter with recipes and farm news. Half shares offer the opportunity to pick up vegetables every other week. We are now accepting new members for the 2011 summer season. We’d love to be your farmers!

Want to learn more about Plowshare Produce? Join the farmers for snacks and a slideshow on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m. at University Mennonite Church, 1606 Norma St., State College.

Tait Farm

Community Harvest

Contact: Katy Cleary

(814)466-2386

Website: www.taitfarmfoods.com

Location of Farm: 2.5 miles east of Boalsburg on Rt. 322 (179 Tait Rd, Centre Hall, PA 16828)

Pick-up Location: at the farm

Length of Season: Full-Year – January through December; Half-Year – mid-May through Thanksgiving.

Produce: Seasonal vegetables and some fruits.

Here at Tait Farm local matters, as it has for over 60 years. Community Harvest, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program was founded in 2000 and thrives on helping local folks live well by eating well. Being a part of the local food revolution is very meaningful to us - we believe eating seasonally is important to a healthy lifestyle and our way of life. Our produce is certified organic and we take great pride in working in cooperation with nature to preserve the land for future generations. With our expansive dreams, we have managed to produce over 20 tons of produce on 10 acres each year, the majority of which is consumed in Centre County. Our produce is harvested at its peak of ripeness and nutrition, often on the same day of pick up–it doesn’t get any fresher than that! During the main season, we have a unique farmer’s market style distribution that gives members an opportunity to choose their favorites from the weekly harvest. Our passion is keeping the local community connected to its food and the farms that grow it!

Village Acres

Contact: Roy Brubaker, Farmer, and Dave Ruggiero, CSA Manager

(717) 436-9477

Website: www.villageacresfarm.com

Location of Farm: 229 Cuba Mills Road, Mifflintown, PA 17059.

Pick-Up/Delivery Locations: Friends Meeting House, 611 East Prospect Avenue, State College Tuesdays from 4-6:30 pm during the summer and 4-6 pm during the winter.

Length of Season: Summer shares: 28 weekly distributions, from May to Thanksgiving. Winter shares: every other week from Thanksgiving to May.

Produce: Over fifty crops, including strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, beans, sweet corn, asparagus, rhubarb, cantaloupe, beets, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, sweet potatoes, summer and winter squash, lettuce, mesclun, and cooking greens. Village Acres grows certified organic vegetables and berries along the bank of Lost Creek, in Mifflintown, PA. Our CSA has been serving State College since 1997 and offers not only fresh produce but pasture-raised poultry, eggs, and pork, as well as the opportunity to buy extra items such as organic citrus and mushrooms from our local co-op. We often have canning-size quantities of vegetables and berries for sale at our distribution, and have recently finished building a commercial kitchen that will allow us to sell sauces, soups, and jams next year. We host two festivals a year and visitors are welcome anytime – or check our website for more information!