6.2.09
Believe it or not, now is not too late to sign up for a Penn's Corner CSA membership for 2009. We are accepting more members for an 18 week CSA share that runs from July 7/8 until the first week of November. You'll receive the full bounty of the growing season--heirloom tomatoes, peppers, and sweet corn; raspberries, peaches, and pears; lettuces, herbs, and free range eggs. You can sign up right here on our website. Please note that the deadline for signing up is July 1. So don't delay!
5.13.09
Think your food choices go unnoticed? Think again. The local food movement is, as you probably know, growing is scale and scope every year. For many reasons, people like yourself are choosing to buy food from local people and places that they know. And it looks like major corporations like Frito-Lay (owned by PepsiCo.) are taking note.
The New York Times article, "When 'Local' Makes It Big", by Kim Severson on May 13 describes the co-opting of the "buy local" philosophy that is taking place in the market place these days. Turns out that large food corporations would like to play their "local" card as well. Paralleling the transformation of the term organic from the 1960's until now, the original meaning of the movement is increasingly in the hands of corporate marketing campaigns. As Michael Pollen, author of "The Omnivore's Dilemna" and "In Defense of Food", is quoted as saying, "The ingenuity of the food manufacturers and marketers never ceases to amaze me. They can turn any critique into a new way to sell food. You’ve got to hand it to them.”
Ultimately it is up to you, the consumer, to determine the difference between a box of CSA produce and a bag of potato chips.
5.8.09
We're only a month away from the beginning of the Penn's Corner 22-week Harvest Share CSA! If you haven't signed up yet, now is the time. Memberships are going fast, and it appears that we will sell out in the coming weeks. Don't miss your chance to receive weekly deliveries of the best fresh & local produce every week from June to November.
And, to get ready for the Harvest Share, we're adding some new CSA pickup locations. Even if you are picking up at a current CSA location this Spring, you may want to consider switching to a new site for the Harvest Share. To switch, simply email us, and we'll take care of the rest. The options are:
North Side, Resaca Place (Wednesday); Squirrel Hill, S Negley Ave (most likely Wednesday); Scott Township, Borland Rd (Tuesday); Churchill, Orlando Place (Tuesday); Murrysville, (tentative, but most like Wednesday).
Dont' forget to stop by the May Market at Phipps Conservatory to say hi to the farmers at the Penn's Corner booth, and have a great weekend!
4.24.09
Want to fill your freezer with local meat? We now have high-quality, grass-fed beef available by the half or quarter. A beef half or quarter allows you the freedom to choose how you want your meat butchered. You will have the chance to custom order your cuts just the way you like them. Please note, however, that you will have to pick up your meat at Hempler's Butcher Shop in Emlenton, PA 16373 in Venango County (although we can help make delivery arrangements for you). This is the same beef from Greener Pastures CSA that is also available in our Meat CSA Shares. If you have already ordered a Beef CSA and would like to switch to a half or quarter, just let us know. We will be happy to help. To find out more please follow this link for halves, or this link for quarters.
4.24.09
Are you ready to start your garden?
Two of our growers, Goose Creek Gardens and Pucker Brush Farm will be hosting the Penn's Corner Farm Alliance booth at the Mt. Lebanon Earth Day Celebration.
They will have available for sale 30+ variaties of culinary herbs as well as 20+ types of heirloom tomatoes. Hanging strawberry baskets, lettuce bowl kits, and horesradish. They will also have fresh cut greens, such as spinach, arugula, swiss chard as well as other memebers honey, apple cider vinegar, and fresh, free range brown eggs.
The event is tomorrow, April 25 from 10 until 2 at the Mt Lebanon Park off Cedar Blvd. www.mtlebanon.org
4.2.09
Penn's Corner CSA provides a way for you to know where the fruits and vegetables you eat come from. Now, we can also provide you with meats that come from sustainable farms in western PA as well. If you want to know that the meats you feed to your family are from a healthy and local source, consider purchasing a Meat CSA Share.
Penn’s Corner CSA is teaming up with Greener Pastures in Sligo and Pucker Brush Farm in Shelocta to offer you locally raised & all-natural beef, pork, and lamb this season! Now, you can add deliveries of meat to the CSA produce you’re already receiving from Penn’s Corner (although you do not have to be a CSA member to order a Meat Share). All the animals are raised on a local farm without any hormones, antibiotics, or chemicals. The healthy, tasty meat is grass-fed on organicly managed pastures. You will taste the difference!
To find out more about the different Meat CSA Shares (including the pastured chicken shares that we advertised earlier), visit the online store section of our website. All shares have a limited availability, so order early to secure yours. We have shares ranging in size from approximately 30 lbs up to 100 lbs. Please note that to secure your purchase, the farmer must receive a deposit check in the mail. More details are available upon checkout.
Also, on a different note, if you signed up for an 8-week or 30-week Penn's Corner CSA Share, you will receive an email from us shortly. It will contain details about your pickup location and other procedural matters. In addition to that, you will also receive a payment reminder email. Unless otherwise arranged with Penn's Corner, second payments are due before the CSA begins in mid April. So, please keep an eye out for both of those emails. In case you haven't heard, the CSA begins on Tuesday April 14 and Wednesday April 15. We can't wait!
Thanks!
Neil
3.23.09
Now that Spring is officially here, it's time to get excited about the upcoming season of available local foods. The mild, sunny weather of the last few weeks has been great for our farmers. Fields are plowed, plants are seeded, and plans for a great season are under way!
A great way for you to kick off this season is by attending the Farm to Table Conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Downtown Pittsburgh. It is coming up on Friday April 3 and Saturday April 4.
Penn's Corner will have a booth at the conference farmers market. We will have a variety of early season produce, plants, and other farm foods available for purchase. Plus, we will be more than happy to answer any of your questions about the CSA or just to talk farming!
The Conference will be filled with an amazing variety of speakers that have a vast knowlege about local food and farming. This conference is truly a wonderful resource for our region. Come join us and be a part of it!
For more information,
visit the conference website.
3.5.09
Do you want to know exactly where your food is coming from this year? Meet Farmer Dave. He's our one-of-a-kind chicken farmer. He'd be glad to provide you and your family with food you can trust. He runs West Liberty Farm in Dubois and returns to Penn's Corner this season to offer our CSA members high-quality, naturally raised, pastured poultry. Having raised chickens on pasture for the last six years, he is very excited to continue making his tasty chickens available to Penn's Corner CSA members.
In Dave's own words, "I am dissatisfied with the poultry industry and am offering a much better bird at a reasonable price. My chickens will have fresh air, sun, shelter, and fresh pasture inside their movable pasture shelters. All the birds will eat plenty of fresh greens as well as our own blend of grains, vitamins, and minerals.
There will be no hormones or antibiotics fed to our birds and the pasture is maintained using organic practices."
Are the chickens certified organic? No, but in many ways the pastured chicken is better than organic. Dave's chickens live in fresh grass, which is not required by organic standards. Animals need to be in the fields, eating grass and bugs to be their healthiest and have the highest levels of nutrients (Like Omega 3’s)! The pastured bird is treated more humanely, is healthier, and most importantly, it tastes better.
Each Penn's Corner Chicken Share consists of five (5) total chickens (one per month, June-October) delivered throughout the season outside the East End Food Coop in Point Breeze (arrangements can also be made to pick up the chickens in Oakdale). Each chicken weighs an average of 5 pounds and is delivered frozen. The delivery dates correspond to our regular CSA deliveries from 4-6pm on the last Wednesday of each month from June through October. The cost for the five chickens is $94.45. If you're ready to sign up, please follow this link.
As always, thanks for supporting your western PA farmers by buying local!
