New Castle area residents will have two opportunities this summer to share in the bounty of Penn Farm.
Not only will they be able to buy fresh produce at the farm’s Tract 6 produce stand on Frenchtown Road, but up to 40 families may also sign up for the farm’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm cooperative.
Community-supported agriculture, a concept imported from Europe in the 1980s, has many variations, but all start with the premise that individuals or families, often referred to as shareholders, pledge in advance to cover the farm’s operating costs for the year and, in return, receive a share of the crops as they are harvested.
In most CSA operations, shareholders return weekly to the farm to pick up a bag or basket of fresh vegetables.
But the CAA operation at Penn Farm will employ a pick-your-own model, farm manager Mike McGrath said.
CSA participants, he said, will pay a $100 up-front fee for the privilege of picking their own vegetables from a four-acre farm plot and getting them at half the regular retail price.
Pick-your-own prices will be based on the average price at three local produce retailers, McGrath said.
For example, if the average price of tomatoes at the three local outlets is $2 a pound in a particular week, CSA participants will be able to buy tomatoes for $1 a pound, he said.
Picking hours will be 2 to 7 p.m. on Monday and Thursday, weather permitting, throughout the harvest season. Participants should bring their own containers; Penn Farm will supply cutting knives.
Vegetables being grown at the farm include salad greens, tomatoes, radishes, sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers, string beans, beets, turnips, cabbage, cooking greens, eggplant, okra, squash, sweet potatoes, onions, pumpkins and gourds.
As of Monday, the CSA program had 13 participants. Anyone interested in the remaining 27 slots should send their name, address, phone number and email address, with a check for $100 payable to William Penn High School, to agriculture teacher Jim Ryan at the school, 713 East Basin Road, New Castle, DE 19720. Participants will receive an email confirmation of their registration and crop notices throughout the growing season.
