jews d

in
the

Farm
Fresh!

ROBIN SCHWARTZ JN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Shaarey
Zedek, B’nai
Moshe and
Hazon partner
to provide
organic
produce.

Allison Gutman
of Hazon Detroit

ABOVE: A greenhouse at
Country Roots farm in Riley,
where organic produce is grown.

16

June 15 • 2017

E

very two weeks, it was a fun surprise.
All last summer, Jenny Schwartz, her
husband, Brian, and their three chil-
dren Eli, 10, Jonah, 7, and Kayla, 5, of West
Bloomfield, eagerly awaited the delivery
of fresh, organic, locally grown fruits and
vegetables they would pick up in a box at
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
Their participation in what’s known as
Community-Supported Agriculture (or
CSA) became a monthly adventure in eat-
ing. The children even discovered they love
kale chips and pesto.
“The first year we participated, I was
introduced to kohlrabi [like a cross
between a radish, jicama, broccoli and col-
lard greens] and garlic scapes [the flower
bud of a garlic plant] — two delicious veg-
etables I had never even heard of before,”
Jenny explains. “The box forced us to eat
and cook with local, in-season food. I
planned our dinner menus around the veg-
gies we got in the box.”
The Schwartz family is once again
enthusiastically taking part in the Jewish
community Hazorim CSA, a farm-to-table
program now in its fifth season, where
families and individuals purchase a “share”
from a Michigan farm. (In Hebrew, the
word hazorim means “the ones who sow or
harvest.”)

jn

A typical box of vegetables delivered to participants

SUPPORTING LOCAL FARMERS

Starting in late June and going for 18
weeks, those who’ve signed up will take
part in every-other-week pickups at
Shaarey Zedek and Congregation B’nai
Moshe in West Bloomfield Township.
Boxes are filled with two weeks’ worth of
food, including arugula, beans, beets, car-
rots, watermelon and summer squash,
corn, cucumbers and more. Eggs and other
products are also available for purchase
during the growing season.

“This is a great way to support local
farmers who are treating the Earth well,”
says Allison Gutman, associate director of
Hazon Detroit. The nonprofit organization
promotes sustainable communities and
connecting participants with nature, the
outdoors and food.
“Farmers often face trouble. From year
to year, the weather and their crop can
be unpredictable,” she continues. “With
Community-Supported Agriculture, you
commit to a fair market price even before
you see how the season is going to go,
regardless of the crop yield.”
The cost to participate is $255 for a
“starter share” or $430 for a “family share.”
All the shares have been sold for this sea-
son. Stephanie Yera is one of the farmers
at Country Roots farm in Riley, Mich., the
organic farm that supplies the food. The
farm does not use pesticides and pays fair
wages to workers.
“We love being CSA farmers,” Yera says.
“It’s great being able to share our produce
directly with people who care about where
their food comes from and how it’s grown.
There’s no middleman. The food is picked
fresh and directly packed and delivered,
not waiting on a truck, in a warehouse or
on a shelf.”
Jenny Schwartz says while the boxes of