Wednesday's Newsletter- The POD

Click HERE to read the final CSA newsletter of the season! And if you haven't done so already, please take 5-10 minutes to fill out our...

End-of-Season Survey

Take a moment to provide our staff and farmers with critical feedback about your shareholder experience so we can continue doing what we do well and work on what needs improvement next season. Thank you in advance for your time and thoughtful responses.

By the way, you did it! You supported beginning farmers! You ate seasonally and locally! You ate heaps and heaps of freshly harvested greens, unwrapped ground cherries for the first (or umpteenth) time, and can now identify 5+ types of winter squash! You, our shareholders, have played a huge role in supporting beginning farmers and the local food system this season. Our farmers' continued participation in growing food for Massachusetts eaters sometimes feels tenuous, yet hopeful. Some of them are getting ready to retire or pass on their farming operations to their children, while others are trying to balance their households' financial needs with a strong desire to be engaged in meaningful, values-driven farm work. Many are passionately committed to sustainable farming and feeding their communities nutritious, fresh, safe food. All hope to make local, sustainable agriculture a viable career path for years to come.

For the 2015 season, we estimate that 27 beginning, immigrant and refugee farmers earned approximately $133,000 in total through the CSA and other World PEAS' markets. That's a huge chunk of change for our farmers, and often a critical income stream for their small-scale farm enterprises! As the food hub's largest and most reliable customer base, the World PEAS CSA provides the foundation for our entire operations. Thank you for joining us this season, and giving us the opportunity to bring our farmers' bounty to your tables!

Through the purchase of a Fair Share or individual contributions, World PEAS shareholders generously donated almost $5,000 to our Share-a-Share Program to help support the cost of shares for low-income families! In total, we distributed approximately $89,000 worth of produce to food insecure communities in Lowell, Burlington, Arlington, Medford, Peabody and Dorchester. Due to your generous support, World PEAS was able to provide fresh, local fruits & veg at various Senior Farmer's Markets, community events, cooking demos, free meals, and school lunches, all while paying our farmers fair prices for their high quality product. Thank you!

Further, World PEAS shareholders donated 67 farm shares to the Lowell WIC program this season, an approximate value of $1,675 worth of fresh, local produce! The WIC program in Lowell serves upwards of 100 low-income mothers and children daily, many of whom struggle to access fresh, healthy, affordable food. Many deserving and gracious families walked away with heaping armfuls of World PEAS produce, so big thanks to all who donated their share(s) this season!

The World PEAS team will be releasing our 2015 Annual Report this December with even more information about World PEAS' incredible social impact in eastern Massachusetts. We look forward to sharing more details with our shareholders, community partners, funders and farmers soon!

In your share:
Please follow the links below for important information about storage and handling. Recipes are included in our newsletter (linked above), as well as on our website

And feel free to share any family/household recipes on our Facebook page, @WorldPEASCSA!

Crop	Photo
Mustard Greens
Carnival Squash
Carrot
Celeriac
S unchokes (Small shares only)
Radish
Mixed herbs	Parsley Thyme Sage
A pples
Cranberries
Honey

Also in Large Shares:

Thanks again for joining us this season, and providing invaluable support to our program and farmers. We hope to see you again next season (check out our website in January for more information about registering for the 2016 season!

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Wednesday's Newsletter- The POD