CARIBOU — Community-supported agriculture (CSA) transforms relationships between community members, farmers and farms, and provides a convenient way for locals to enjoy fresh, healthy produce grown by their neighborhood farmers.
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Contributed photo/Circle B Farms In this file photo, Sam Blackstone of Circle B Farms in Caribou examines some of his crops. |
In Caribou, Sam Blackstone is the owner of Circle B Farms and heads up the CSA program that serves local businesses in northern Aroostook County. Beginning in July and running through September, CSA participants in Blackstone’s program get to enjoy locally grown produce delivered to their work over the course of 10 weeks.
Blackstone appreciates the CSA program because it benefits both members and the farmer.
“There are two delightful pros to the CSA program,” Blackstone explained. “Customers aren’t having to go hunting around for their produce, and they get 10 boxes delivered to their work.”
Members of the CSA program are not only helping themselves in the program, but also helping the farmer that runs it. “For me, I get paid up front,” Blackstone said. “It’s money that I don’t have to come up with at the start of the season.”
Although winters are long in northern Aroostook, the growing season is not the only time Blackstone and his farm are busy. Before Thanksgiving, workers regularly harvest branches of holly to be sold as decoration for customers. Adding a festive touch to a table centerpiece or holiday flair to a wreath, the branches of holly can last several months if kept away from freezing temperatures and out of direct sunlight.
Circle B Farms is widely known for its blueberries, and Blackstone now supplies them frozen to select Hannaford locations. He also works alongside Aramark in providing produce to universities in Maine and schools in Washington County.
As busy as Circle B Farms is, Blackstone is still committed to providing customers with the friendly service that Aroostook County has become known for. Shannon Kornachuk, grant outreach coordinator for the Partners In Improving Community Health (PICH) grant, worked alongside Blackstone in surveying past CSA members to discover ways that the CSA program at Cary Medical Center could improve and increase in participants.
Some of the members noted that their crates were too large for their families to consume. Others suggested providing the opportunity to go directly to the farm to pick out their produce. Blackstone actively listened to the surveys and adapted.
In a new program starting in 2016, two different-sized crates will be available for purchase; in addition, for $300, members receive 20 $15 coupons to be redeemed at the farm personally. Participants can pick and choose what produce they want from the farm’s berry shed or the “you-pick” fields.
To ensure that members are completely satisfied, Blackstone is also partnering up with other local farmers to supplement Circle B Farms’ line of produce for the CSA program. Amish farmers from Easton will be contributing a variety of vegetables, and Gro Maine in Woodland will supply a variety of organic salad greens. Stan and Gail Maynard, of Orchard Hill Farm in Woodland, will offer organic frozen beef and pork.
For more information about local CSA programs, contact Kornachuk at skornachuk@carymed.org or 492-1809. Funded by the CDC’s Partnerships to Improve Community Health, Power of Prevention and Cary Medical Center are working in collaboration with the Eastern
Maine Healthcare Systems to increase access to environments with healthy food or beverage options by supporting local farmers.
