Join a CSA in Genesee County!

This is how we got into a CSA last year! Believe me, it's a good thing.

“Genesee County - do you want to know who is growing your food?”

Flint, MI - The Flint Farmers’ Market will sponsor a second annual Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) informational meeting designed to connect local farmers with urban residents who are concerned about the types of MEAT, POULTRY, EGGS, FRUITS and VEGETABLES they consume. The CSA INFORMATIONAL MEETING will be held Tuesday, February 5, at 7:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church on Saginaw Street, downtown Flint. (Parking is in the rear of the church. Enter from 4th Street.) This is the only CSA meeting the Market will sponsor before next summer, so those interested are strongly encouraged to attend. For more information please contact Dick Ramsdell, Market Manager, 810.938.4246 or chs_ramsdell@hotmail.com .

The meeting will introduce the community to the concept of a CSA, and offer those interested, the opportunity to contract directly with a local farmer this summer. More than one dozen local produce farmers and meat producers, both traditional and organic will be at the meeting to answer questions. The Flint Farmers’ Market will serve as the delivery point for farmers and the pick up point for customers, either on a Tuesday or a Thursday market day during this summer’s growing season.

A CSA links urban customers directly with the farmers who grow their food. Once established, consumers contract with a local farmer or meat producer for a specified amount of product over the growing season. This way the consumers know the person who grows their food and where it is grown. Consumers pay for the product at the beginning of the season (money which the farmer can count on, thereby planning production accordingly). The farmer provides the contracted amount and variety of produce or meat during the summer season. Last year, over 100 citizens met with local farmers at the winter meeting, with many following through on contracts during the summer of 2007. The Flint Farmers’ Market is pleased to provide this service to the community; it encourages urban residents to eat healthy local food during the Michigan growing season, and it supports local farmers with income and a predetermined customer base.

For more information please contact Dick Ramsdell, Market Manager, 810.938.4246 or chs_ramsdell@hotmail.com .
Contact: Karianne Martus, Creative Communications Company (810) 487-1626