You can find our farmers at these area markets.
Sign-up for our Community Supported Agriculture program begins in the Spring, with priority given to returning members. For additional information about our CSA, and to indicate your interest, see below.
Brookside Farmers' Market
www.farmerscommunitymarket.com
63rd & Wornall Kansas City, MO
Saturdays: 8am-1pm
Green Acres Market at Briarcliff Village
www.greenacres.com
4175 Mulberry Drive Kansas City, MO
Thursdays: 3pm-7:30 pm
Overland Park Farmers' Market
www.downtownop.org
Marty & 80th Street
Saturdays: 6:30am-1:30pm
Wednesdays: 7:30am-1:00pm
Merriam Market
5740 Merriam Drive Merriam, KS
Saturdays: 7am-1pm
KCK Greenmarket at Strawberry Hill
www.facebook.com/kckgreenmarket
6th & Tauromee Kansas City, KS
Wednesdays: 7:30am-Sellout
KCK Greenmarket at Juniper Gardens
3rd & Richmond Kansas City, KS
Mondays:
KCK Greenmarket at Catholic Charities
2220 Central Avenue Kansas City, KS
Tuesdays:
Waldo Farmers' Market
303 West 79th Street
Wednesdays: 3pm-7pm
Historic Downtown Liberty Farmers' Market
www.historicdowntownliberty.org/community/farmers-market
Courthouse Square, Kansas & Main, Liberty, MO
Saturdays: 7am-12pm
Westport Farmers' Market
Westport Rd & Wyoming St, Kansas City, MO
Wednesdays: 4:30pm-7:30pm
Independence Farmers' Market
Truman Rd & Liberty, Independence, MO
Saturdays: 5am-1pm
CSA Information
CSA Contact Information:
New Roots for Refugees
2220 Central Avenue
Kansas City, KS
66102
Farm Location:
Juniper Gardens
Training Farm
100 Richmond Avenue
Kansas City, KS
66101
Introducing Our CSA
About New Roots
There are currently
17 farmers in the New Roots for Refugees training program, each on his or his
or her own ¼ acre plot of land at the Juniper Gardens Training Farm. All of the New Roots farmers are refugees who
have been permanently and legally resettled in Kansas within the past 6 years.
Current farmers are from Somalia, Burma, Burundi, Bhutan, and Sudan.
All of our farmers
have significant agriculture experience, but face massive barriers to small
farm business ownership in the United States.
They begin the training program with significant support, each year
becoming more and more self-sufficient.
Farmers grow at the training farm for up to 5 years, at which point we
help them transition onto their own plot of land. We currently have 7 graduates successfully
growing on their own land.
Graduate farmers
have their own CSA programs. If you are
interested in learning more about a CSA with one of our graduates, we will be
happy to put you in contact with one of them.
Just ask!
Becoming a Part of Our Farm
Community Supported
Agriculture (CSA) is a relationship between our farm and our community of customers. Rather than simply purchasing food, our
customers become “members” of this CSA farm who receive a portion of the farm’s
harvest. CSA membership is not with New Roots, but with
a specific farmer that is part of the New Roots for Refugees training program.
Our CSA runs for 18
weeks, beginning the first week of June. Members pre-pay $300 for the entire
season and are responsible for showing up at their agreed upon farmers’ market
every week to pick up their share of freshly harvested produce.
Members generally
receive 5-7 different vegetables and herbs, equivalent to one full grocery bag
of produce.
Our Growing Practices
Growers at the New
Roots for Refugees training farm at Juniper Gardens grow in accordance with the
Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI).
However, due to the low literacy level of many New Roots farmers we are
NOT certified organic.
We do not use any
synthetic or chemical inputs on our farm.
We rely instead on building soil health through sustainable inputs such
as animal fertilizers, compost, and straw mulch. The insect controls we use include crop
rotation, companion planting, floating row cover, and three naturally-derived,
organically approved sprays. We source
organic, untreated, non-Genetically Modified Seeds (GMOs). The farming method we promote relies heavily on
tools powered by human energy, not petroleum.
We expect that CSA
members take an active role in understanding how their food is grown. If you have any questions, or would like
first-hand experience seeing how your food is grown please contact us for a
tour of the training farm.
The Products We Expect for 2013
When you sign up for
a New Roots CSA, you are actually signing up with an individual farmer. This farmer has his or her own plot, where
all of your CSA vegetables will be grown.
This means that there is variation among New Roots CSA shares. The chart below outlines some of the
vegetables and herbs that we hope to deliver and when you may see them in your
share. This chart is based on our best
estimate, but of course weather, pests, and other events will affect actual
production.
Spring
(June;
September - October)
|
Peas, broccoli,
beets, green onions, spinach, lettuce, arugula, kale, swiss chard, collard
greens, Asian greens (like bok choi), carrots, radishes, kohlrabi, cilantro,
dill, parsley and more...
|
Summer
(July
– August)
|
Tomatoes,
sweet & hot peppers, eggplant, okra, cucumbers, onions, green onions,
mustard greens, summer squash, basil, noodle beans, green beans, edible
gourds, Burmese sorrel and more...
|
Our Shared Commitments
Sharing in the Risk of Crop Failure
Our farmers and
staff promise to do our best to provide you with a bountiful share each
week. The quantity of produce, however,
may vary from week-to-week due to extreme weather, insects, or other production
factors despite your farmer’s best efforts.
By joining our CSA you are agreeing to share the risk of crop failure
with us and other members. In the
unlikely event of a crop failure, our procedure is as follows:
If
only a small portion of crops fail, your farmer compensates for the failed crops by
filling your share with other crops grown on their plot that are ready for
harvest at that time. If a large portion
of crops fail, your farmer may not be able to deliver any product in some weeks. If this
happens we will try to extend the CSA season into the fall, however this is not
guaranteed.
CSA makes up less
than 25% of your farmers’ entire business. In the case of a large crop failure,
your farmer will fulfill his or her CSA obligations ahead of any other outlets
(such as farmers’ markets and sales to restaurants). This arrangement makes a complete failure of
the CSA unlikely.
Sharing in the Reward of Crop
Surplus
In addition to the
CSA, your farmer sells his or her produce at farmers’ markets and sometimes to
restaurants and grocery stores. Although
production is not segregated (meaning the crops for all of these outlets are
planted and tended together), CSA receives priority. After filling CSA shares for the week, the
remaining produce is sold at farmers’ markets and other outlets.
When crops are
especially abundant, your farmer may offer you extra produce. If your household will eat what is being
offered, then feel free to accept. If you doubt it will get eaten, then you
simply say “no thanks.”
Picking up Shares
CSA membership is
not with New Roots, but with a specific farmer that is part of the New Roots
for Refugees training program. Shares
are picked up from the same farmer, at the same farmers market each week.
You are responsible
for picking up your share each week from your drop site. If you cannot pick-up your share, we suggest arranging
to have someone else to pick it up for you.
Shares that are not retrieved within the pick-up time (market hours)
will be donated to a food kitchen or needy family.
Member Fees
New Roots CSA shares are $300 for 18 weeks of fresh produce. Payment is made prior to the start of the season. By selling membership
in advance of the growing season, CSA reduces the burden of up-front costs for
the farmer. Your membership fees provide
your farmer with money to purchase seed, equipment, and fertilizer before the
season starts. We appreciate your
commitment!
CSA members are
paired with a specific farmer, and commit to one pick-up location for the
entire season.
 |
| Here are a few items that are in season during the late spring/early summer. |
What are CSA members saying about New Roots?
“I feel like I value the produce I prepare for my family more because I know and value the person that grew it. I like the idea of being connected to my food source and having a relationship with my farmer.”
“I recommend this CSA to everyone I know, because the produce
is almost as wonderful as the farmers themselves!”
“I am so used to buying whatever I want at any season of the year.
The CSA has brought me back to the sense of the rhythm of the seasons
and seasonal produce. This is the way it was when I was a kid,
and there is value in that idea."
"historically I have not eaten a lot of vegetables.
This program has introduced me to veggies that I have not had before
and it forced me to expand my ability to prepare them in different ways.
It was definitely a good thing for my diet.”
 |
| Farmers Nyakang and Peter show their CSA friends around their garden. |
Other questions? Contact mwalrafen@catholiccharitiesks.org
