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Health & Fitness

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) – Shares Available at Willowsford Farm

Eating locally grown produce is good for you, good for farmers, and good for the community. Learn more about a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in nearby Ashburn.

What is Community Supported Agriculture?

In short, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an increasingly popular model that invites community members to invest in their local farms in the spring, and in return receive a weekly share of produce throughout the growing season.

The CSA model started on two farms in 1986 and has since become a nationwide movement bringing farmers and consumers closer together with one another and with the roots of their food. Several thousand Community Supported Agriculture farms currently feed more than 150,000 people in the United States alone. It is an exciting alternative to how food is usually purchased.

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"Share members" find adventure in eating seasonally. As they are reconnected to the land that feeds them, and regularly engage with their farmers and with other members, they find that this adventure in “eating local” leads them to fresher, better tasting, longer lasting and healthier home-cooked meals. They dine knowing that they are supporting farms that care for local land and water, and are giving their food dollars to the local economy.

Willowsford Farm, located just off of Evergreen Mills Rd and nestled into the Willowsford community in Ashburn, is deeply rooted in community and the CSA model. Founded in 2011, the farm’s first full growing season in 2012 supported a CSA community of 50 families from nearby neighborhoods. In return for their early support and seed money, those families got first pick of the crops from the fields each week.

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This year, the Willowsford CSA share availability has doubled in size alongside the acres being cultivated by Head Farmer Mike Snow and his team. Members will enjoy 8-12 items each week: a mix of salad fixings, leafy vegetables, root crops, herbs and "vegetable" fruits like tomatoes and cucumbers.

The farm is also offering egg shares, courtesy of a happy flock of free-range, pastured laying hens, fed no antibiotics or growth hormones, new to the farm for 2013, as well as flower shares courtesy of Greenstone Fields flower farm and friends Barbara Lamborne and Dennis Fuze.

All members are invited to potlucks hosted at the farm throughout the year, farm events, and to “Saturday: Meet, Greet and Sample” events that allow customers to meet the folks behind the dairy, meat and baked goods also available at the Farm Stand.

To learn more about the cost and pick-up locations for the 28-week 2013 CSA season at Willowsford Farm, visit and browse the farm website or head straight to the registration page and sign up.

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