Sowing Support For Farming Program Offers Subscriptions For Fresh Produce

While it may seem a little early to be thinking about fields of green, area farmers already are sprouting some seeds of change.

A second “community-supported agriculture” produce subscription service will be available in Spokane this summer. Providence Valley Farm of Lamont, Wash., will join Tolstoy Farms of Davenport, Wash., in delivering weekly supplies of fresh, organic vegetables to members.

And both will do so through a new Spokane farmers’ market — called, appropriately enough, The New Farmers’ Market — which will operate out of a church parking lot at Second and Division.

In community-supported agriculture, or CSA for short, members pay a flat fee in the spring, when money is typically tight on the farm. They then receive weekly rations of a wide variety of vegetables throughout the growing season.

Part of the idea is to build a bond between the people who grow food and the people who consume it.

“I really like to see who’s eating our food,” says Diane Green of Greentree Naturals, one of a cooperative of Sandpoint-area farms that operate a small CSA there.

And part of the idea is increased economic stability for small farmers.

“Over the last 20 or 30 years, people have been told, `You can’t make a living farming,”’ says Maria Oliver of Providence Valley Farm. “For quite a while, that was true. There are so many abandoned places, it’s just a shame.”

Oliver and her family last year took over a farm a mile southwest of Lamont that hadn’t been worked in 20 years. They found the soil to be fertile and rich, and shared their first-year bounty with friends and relatives.

This year, they hope to serve about 30 CSA customers. “We have the resources, room and soil for more, but we want to make sure we don’t get completely overwhelmed,” Oliver says.

The membership fee is $360, which Oliver says will provide enough veggies for two to three people each week from June through October. She hopes to have a membership list finalized by the end of this month.

Tolstoy Farms, which is entering its third year of CSA operation, plans to double its clientele this season, to 60 customers. Last year’s members have until Sunday to reserve their spots, and there’s a waiting list of some 70 names after that.

“The interest is obviously there,” says Bright Spirit of Chrysalis Farm, part of the Tolstoy collective.

The basic vegetable share, geared to one or two adults, remains $300. For extra fees, Tolstoy this year is adding honey from Northport, Wash., fruit from Kettle Falls, Wash., and bread from Spokane’s Cobblestone Baking Co. (Details are available via Chrysalis Farm’s Web site, www.ior.com/bright/ cfarm1.htm.)

Another difference is the delivery point. Instead of using the Spokane MarketPlace, where it had maintained a booth for years, Tolstoy is joining Providence Valley Farm and an expected 20 to 30 other area growers at The New Farmers’ Market.

The market is scheduled to begin operating on Saturdays starting May 15 at the First Covenant Church parking lot, 212 S. Division, with Wednesday hours added beginning June 9.

Talks began last fall about establishing a market that was more focused on agriculture and “farmer-friendly,” Bright Spirit says.

That includes lower booth fees and shorter hours (8 a.m. to 1 p.m.). Only people who actually grow food can participate, as opposed to “high-stallers” who buy produce from outside the area and resell it, and crafts will only be allowed as a sideline from farmers themselves.

The Spokane MarketPlace also plans lower fees and shorter hours for farmers to address the concerns, says director Jackie Rappe.

The MarketPlace is scheduled to open May 1 at a new, yet-unannounced location near downtown. Rappe expects 20 to 30 growers to participate, including some who will appear at both markets.

“We have to proceed with what we’re doing at let this work itself out,” she says. “The whole idea is to do whatever we can to promote agriculture, small farmers.”

Sandpoint’s CSA will continue to deliver directly to members’ homes and offices. Some expansion is planned this year, Green says, although there’s again a waiting list.

Annual cost is $304, with an extra charge for delivery to Hope, Idaho. Fresh bread and pasta from area restaurants and flowers are available for an additional fee (flower service also provided separately).

How to subscribe For more information about joining a CSA, Spokane residents can contact Maria Oliver at Providence Valley Farm, 622-2929 (Spokane answering service), or Chrys or Bright Spirit at Tolstoy Farms, (509) 725-0610. In Sandpoint, call Diane Green at Greentree Naturals, (208) 263-8957.