I blogged about the SEEDS Project (Social Entrepreneurship Environmental Design and Stewardship) back in July of 2010 so I was glad to get an update about it a couple weeks ago from Seeds Farm Manager Becca Carlson when she stopped by my corner office at GBM.
I asked her to send me a write-up about the recent changes and I’ve included it below.
The biggest developments under the SEEDS umbrella are the Seeds Farm ("A sustainable vegetable farm community project in Northfield Minnesota"), the Seeds Farm CSA, and its experiential partnership with the Northfield Area Family YMCA.
They released a new video yesterday:
Here’s Becca’s summary of the latest on the Seeds Farm:
There’s more to eating locally than just the vegetables…
To thrive and survive, humans need to eat every day. For those of us that eat three meals a day, that means each week we have 21 opportunities to make a decision on how we are going to fuel our bodies, what type of agricultural system we are going to support, and what we want our communities and the landscape of America to look like. One thing we are adding on to our locally grown vegetables is that we are offering chicken coops for sale. This will make it possible for fresh eggs to be entered into the program.
Because of this, we have the ability to make a huge impact solely with how we chose to buy and consume food. Here are some reasons why I think it’s important to use our purchasing power to support local and sustainably grown produce:
Excellent taste and freshness
Local food is fresher and tastes better than food shipped long distances from far away. Produce picked and eaten at the height of freshness tastes better.
Celebrate a healthy lifestyle!
You are what you eat-so fill your body with healthy, nutritious and wholesome.
Support our farming neighbors, local economy, & community
Buying locally helps ensure that our local farms keep in business so they can provide you with delicious and nutritious produce, keeps your dollars circulating in our community, and is an investment in healthy communities.
Help preserve the environment
One of the biggest ways we interact with our environment is through agriculture; i.e. how our food was grown. Support farmers that help nurture our resources so they are not depleted for future generations.
Pass on the environmental ethic
Practice what you preach and encourage others to do so as well! When you buy locally produced organic food you cannot help but raise the consciousness of your friends and family about how food buying decisions can make a difference in your life and the life of your community; and about how the basic act of eating is connected to larger issues.
At Seeds Farm, a four-acre diverse vegetable farm just one mile south of Northfield, we help make it possible to embody these ideas by providing a unique, experiential CSA in partnership the Northfield YMCA and Bon Appétit. This includes:
- 16-18 weeks of a box full of local and sustainable fruits and vegetables grown by Seeds Farmers. Full-shares & Half-shares are available
- Weekly recipes included written by Bon Appétit chefs
- Weekly newsletter will include stories from St. Olaf students involved at Seeds Farm.
- A media component all about “Life on the Farm”!
- “Food on the Farm” dinner at Seeds, prepared by Bon Appétit chefs with Seeds Farm ingredients.
- Free admission to other Seeds Farm events, this includes our Spring/Summer Celebration, Children’s Garden Days, cooking demonstration by Bon Appetit Chefs, workshops, and more!
- A discounted rate for the Budding Farmers program
- …and so much more!
Cost for a Full-Share is $500 (~$30/wk) and Half-Share is $275 (~$16/wk)
- Full-share is perfect for a family or group of four or more!. You will receive a large box full of seasonal fruits and vegetables each week.
- Half-share is great for an individual or couple.
You also have the option to sign up for additional CSA “add-ons.” These include:
- Flower share add-on: every other week you will receive a beautiful bouquet of flowers grown at Seeds Farm by Brad and Toni Easterson $70
- Egg share add-on: a dozen eggs weekly from Seeds Farm chicken $95 (opportunity to start receiving eggs before CSA can be discussed)
- A children’s educational program add-on: Budding Farmers, $50. *Note, this is a discounted rate only available for Seeds Farm CSA members! (regular cost is $68)
And you can purchase pasture-raised Seeds Farm hogs and naturally raised Main Street Project chickens from us too!
At Seeds Farm, we care about the health and well being of you, our community and the environment.
For more information, check out our website at seedsfarmproject.com, follow @seedsfarm on Twitter, like the Seeds Farm Facebook page, and watch our video:
