The Hickories

THE CSA for 2009 is nearly full - We have increased to 150 shares this year in our Community Supported Agriculture Program. CSA and The Hickories were in the New York Times this winter as a potential bright spot for consumers during this economically challenging time. (Click here for New York Times link.) In our food system or in our economy, infor... mation that is hidden or shrouded in complexity has proven itself to be extremely dangerous. We are heartened by people's unfailing support for our work here: growing food and selling it to neighbors is a refreshingly simple business model. EARTH WEEK - Ridgefield has coordinated a number of festivities throughout the week and The Hickories will be involved in several of them. From local library talks on organic gardening to seed planting activities to Adopt a Chick play dates, I hope everyone can participate in some of the goings-on in our community. On Saturday, April 25th we will be celebrating at Ancona's Market (planting seeds) and the town's Arbor Day Celebration at the Rec Center. I am sad to report that NEW POND FARM, a place that we have respected and valued as both a model farm and a partner in our CSA, has changed its focus. The board and director have called for the selling of the majority of the herds and flocks and, by all counts, taken the farm out of production. New Pond will remain an educational model but no longer be able to supply food to our towns. I do not like to witness the loss of another food production partner in Fairfield County - a county fast becoming a food desert in Connecticut. Michelle Obama tilled under the White House Lawn, the Farm Bureau's recent "Grow Your Own" workshop was oversubscribed, and we have been inundated with requests from CSAers eager to adopt chicks for our laying flock: I am so glad to see the bloom of enthusiasm for sustainable farming over the past few years coming to bear real action and real food. Eliot Coleman in a workshop this winter admonished us all to live "Antaeus-like", Antaeus, being a giant of Greek ...Read More