CSA hosted/sponsored events
The farmers would love to meet you! From their newsletter:
Our final June Farm Tour will be held this Saturday at 2pm. Free for CSA members and their families. I’ve really enjoyed meeting many of you and showing you around the farm!
Our friends at Village Fishmonger are in the midst of Sustainable Seafood Week, with a veritable tidal wave of events, including cooking demos, culinary competitions, and cameos from some truly great chefs.
This one sounds amazing:
Essential Skills: Fish Butchering
In conjunction with Sustainable Seafood Week NYC, Haven’s Kitchen, is producing a pair of cooking lessons dedicated to the preparation and enjoyment of delicious, sustainable, seafood.
In this class, a Haven’s Kitchen instructor will demystify fish butchering and teach students fish fundamentals from selecting a fresh fish to breaking one down. In line with Haven’s Kitchen’s mission, the class will prepare simple recipes and figure out ways to use the entire fish—head to tail.
When: Thursday, May 8th, 7:00pm-9:00pm
Where: Haven’s Kitchen, 109 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011
Happy 2014 Sunnyside CSA! Tune in and get ready for the 2014 Summer/Autumn season!
Our new 2014 Open House is not your average share sign-up soiree. It’s a news, food and sign-ups happening! Plus, a great opportunity to really get to know your CSA:
News: Share your feedback about the season, hear from the core group about the work we did this year, and help determine the direction for next season.
Food: We are excited to host our special product vendors with samples of things you could sign up for this year (if the demand is there)… and… drumroll please…
Sign-Ups for 2014 Summer/Autumn season! This will be the only in-person sign-up this year- check out our 2014 Summer Share contract here. Sign-ups are on a first-come-first-serve basis, but if you can’t make it to the Open House, we will have online sign-ups soon. Plus, we have more special products coming this summer, like dairy, fish and more— those will be conducted in a separate sign-up later on.
Date: Tuesday, February 4th
Time: 7-9 pm
Location: Sunnyside Community Services
With the following vendors confirmed (and others still TBA):
Golden Earthworm Farm
No open house would be complete without our beloved veggie farmers who provide us with amazing vegetables all year round. Hear about their 2013 adventures, give them feedback, and find out what’s in store for 2014!
Enlightenment Wine
Check out wine samples for a potential wine share in 2014!
Big Alice Brewing
If you missed out on our winter beer share, here’s your chance to taste what you missed!
Village Fishmonger
Try their ceviche samples and consider a fish share for 2014!
Booch
Local kombucha and pickles in your CSA? That’s right!
Lewis Waite
Our wonderful partners will have a selection of cheese, bread, raspberry jam, hummus, brittle, ruby sauerkraut, apple bubbly and beef kielbasa, all available through the CSA.
Farmigo
Their year-round, a la carte webstore would give Sunnyside CSA’ers access to year-round veggies and more!
Milk Not Jails
Try their dairy samples and find out about their shares!
A few topics to be covered at the meeting:
– Golden Earthworm Organic Farm update
– Special products update and Lewis Waite product tasting
– Share your thoughts on the CSA and ideas for next season
– Learn about the Subsidized Share Program
– Year-end recap about the CSA’s finances, programs, and policies
We look forward to seeing you there!
The results of the 2013 survey—and the future of our CSA—will be discussed at our big Open House meeting on Tuesday, February 4, from 7-9 pm (see above).
EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT FUNDRAISING (BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK)
As you’ve probably noticed, we’ve been doing a lot of fundraising lately via raffles and bake sales—and you’re probably wondering what’s up. In an effort to stay transparent with everyone, here’s what’s up:
In order to offer subsidized summer and winter vegetable shares at half-cost, we need $5110 every year. $2192 comes from the farm in the form of free shares, and $675 comes from our admin fees, leaving us with $2243 to raise every year, in order to provide 15 families with this great deal. That’s where individual member donations and raffles come in.
So far, we’ve raised $1891 that way, including this past week’s Bake Sale (which brought in $150- a big THANK YOU to all our bakers!) We have a couple of more raffles before the season is over, such as our current pasture-raised Thanksgiving turkey raffle, so please help us reach our financial goal for the year by buying some tickets next week!
And if we happen to go over, that will mean being able to expand our subsidized share program to more families, and/or with more food plans. How would you like a subsidized Fruit Share? Or Fish Share? With enough funds, we can make it happen… and here’s where we have to send a big SPECIAL THANK YOU to Jay Radner and the Woodside-Sunnyside Runners, who raised $300 last week just by running! This money is earmarked for expanding our subsidy program in 2014, and will go 100% towards families in the area who want to eat well but can’t afford the high costs of organic food. If you’ve got a creative way to raise some bucks for subsidized food, don’t hesitate to Contact Us. Your money couldn’t go to a more direct and useful cause.
Thanks, everyone. Happy eating!
This Halloween, we’re getting into the spirit with our very own bake sale during Thursday’s pickup. Grown-ups need treats too! Bring your little trick-or-treaters and treat yourselves to some homemade goodies. Thanks to all of our CSA volunteer bakers who made this effort possible. All sales ticket sales help support our subsidy program, so more local families can afford access to fresh, organic, local produce.
We’re raffling off a pair of tickets to the NY Food Film Festival at this Thursday’s pickup (Oct. 24th)! Win tickets tickets to the Festival’s closing night event on Sunday Oct. 27th at 5:30pm, Farm to Film to Table + Matt Timms’ Green Chile Takedown, an evening of sustainable food and films followed by the Green Chile Takedown and the 2013 NYC Food Film Festival Awards Ceremony. Tickets include food, beverages and entry to film screenings, a $150 value!
Raffle ticket prices are: $5 for 1 ticket, $10 for 3 tickets, and $20 for 10 tickets. Cash only.
As always, ticket sales help support our subsidy program, so more local families can afford access to fresh, organic, local produce.
Thanks and good luck!
Check out The Chile Film Trailer, featured at the Food Film Fest this year.
Enjoy a day at the farm at this year’s Harvest Festival! Every autumn, Golden Earthworm Organic Farm hosts an afternoon of activities for adults and kids. This year promises to be very special with hayrides, live music, cooking demonstrations and plenty to keep the little ones happy!
When: Sunday, October 20th, 11am to 3pm
Where: Golden Earthworm Farm, Riverhead, Long Island
Transportation: Meet us there OR Sign Up to ride the bus
BUS DETAILS
We’re partnering with our sister CSA in Hunters Point to provide members with a bus to the Harvest Festival. The bus will pick us up at 8:45am in front of Sunnyside Community Services, then pick up the Hunters Point CSA members and head out to the farm in Riverhead, Long Island. We will be back in Sunnyside at 5pm.
The bus ride will be $5 per adult, kids in your party ride free. Please bring exact change.
If you plan on taking the bus with us, Please Sign Up! We have limited seats—first come, first ride. Questions? Contact Us!
This is a private event open to all current CSA Members and their guests only. Please wear sturdy walking shoes for touring the farm and a blanket for picnicking. There will be some food for sale, but you are encouraged to bring lunch. Strollers welcome, but no pets allowed on farm property. This event will be held rain or shine.
HARVEST FESTIVAL DETAILS
ONGOING ACTIVITIES
Hayride Farm Tours
Walking Tours
Live Music
Farm Stand Open (Produce & Organic Baked Goods for sale!)
Q&A with Farmers
COOKING DEMOS/WORKSHOPS
Stacey Ornstein, Allergic to Salad
Alexa Weitzman, Sustainable Pantry
Lauren Kretzer, La Dolce Pita
KIDS ACTIVITIES
Storytelling & Singing with Barbara Garriel
GIANT Haystack Game
Scavenger Hunt
Crafting
Kids Cooking Workshop
FOOD!
Back by popular demand – Delicious handmade tamales, soups and organic baked goods! FEEL FREE TO BRING YOUR OWN PICNIC!
Slow Food USA is a non-profit, member-supported organization founded in 2000 to counteract the culture of fast food. Slow Food stands against the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.
Their programs support alternatives to the industrial food system by promoting sustainable agriculture, supporting small-scale food producers and preserving traditional foods and knowledge. They are seeking your support in their annual membership drive.
Click Here to Find out More!
Ready, set, grill!
Join us for the CSA’s Annual Cookout on Saturday, July 13th! No rainouts this year – the weather is looking bright and sunny.
When: Saturday, July 13th, 4:30 – 7:30pm
Where: Sunnyside Gardens Park, 48-21 39th Ave
Bring your own protein/veggie to grill and a dish to share – we will provide non-alcoholic refreshments, chips and all the BBQ gear. The CSA will also cover all costs associated with using the Park for the BBQ. Feel free to bring adult beverages, but remember – NO GLASS, only non-glass containers!
Bring the whole family! This year we’re hoping to have something special just for the kids – we’ll have s’mores, dancing, and games! You can RSVP here. Please signup and let us know how many guests you will be bringing and what food item(s) you might bring. Non-members are also welcome too – the more the merrier!
Do we have any artists in the group? We are looking for a face painting volunteer to help us out with children’s face painting at the cookout. Email us asap at events@sunnysidecsa.com.
We also need volunteers to help run the event, including setup, cleaning up, and the very important role of the Grill Master, tending to the grill! If you can help out, please sign up at VolunteerSpot. This will count towards your volunteer requirement!
Any questions, contact our Events Coordinator at events@sunnysidecsa.com. We look forward to seeing you there!
Thanks to everyone who responded to our quest for qualifying subsidized share members, we are able to help 15 families eat well this year who would otherwise have no access to such fresh, organic produce. Those shares are subsidized through a combination of donations and fundraising efforts, all of which depend on you, the CSA membership, to succeed. Which brings us to our…
OPENING NIGHT RAFFLE!
To kick off our 2013 CSA season, we are raffling off a pair of tickets to this year’s 8th Annual Taste of L.I.C., held Tuesday, June 4th, 2013. That’s a $120 value! A fixture of cultural life in LIC, the event is a fundraiser for the Chocolate Factory Theater in Long Island City. It presents a smorgasbord of food and drink from over fifty Queens restaurants and vendors, including pub grub purveyors Alewife; throwback specialists The Astor Room; trendy M. Wells Dinette; traditional red sauce joint Testaccio Ristorante, gelato specialists Manducatis Rustica, Brooklyn Brewery, and many, many others.
The soiree on Tuesday takes place over lovely Gantry Plaza State Park—home to the landmark Long Island City sign—which sits right on the East River waterfront with stellar views into the city. All of the proceeds from this raffle go directly into our subsidized shares, so please support our subsidy program by purchasing tickets at tomorrow’s pickup! The winner’s name will be drawn immediately following the pickup and will be notified no later than Friday 5/31.
Ticket prices are $5 for 1, $10 for 3, or $20 for 10. Cash only, please!
