SUMMARY: FINAL Week of Summer 2020! - EXTRA VEGGIES! - CLASSES AND TOURS - VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT- ACI DONATION UPDATE AND DONATE TODAY! - DID YOU KNOW? - LOCATIONS AND TIMES - WHAT TO EXPECT THIS WEEK - WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT WEEK
Week 14 - The FINAL Week of Summer CSA 2020!
HELLO DEAR CSA MEMBERS! It didn't look like this miserable 2020 Summer would ever end, but we actually have made it - and for the farm, it was actually a decent year! Today is the first official day of Fall and this is the very last week of the Summer 2020 CSA! The Summer of riots, fires and pandemics will never be forgotten, but one thing there was to celebrate was a great farming season! The variety and value this year were some of the best we have had since we started Ahavah Farm. This is so encouraging because it can only mean one thing: a new bar has been set and we are excited for what the future is going to bring, and we hope you are too!! We are planned for Fall, we are planted for Fall and we are ready to crush it for another awesome farming season!
We really hope you enjoyed your season and that you would tell us all about it in this year's CSA Feedback Survey.
Please, we want to improve, but we can't improve or truly know how well we are doing unless you tell us. Would you be willing to do that? CLICK HERE to take the 5 minute, 10 question survey - Thank you! Enjoy your share this week and don't forget to join the fun and share your recipes and pictures in the Facebook Community Group!
EXTRA VEGGIES FOR SALE
DON'T FORGET: SNAP MEMBERS ALWAYS RECEIVE 50% OFF!!
&
As always, all prices are
"Pay-What-You-Can-Afford."
See the weekly "What's in your Bag" e-mails that get sent on Wednesdays for your "extras" list.
For Payment: Cash or Check at the drops or the balance can be sent via PayPal to contact@ahavahfarm.com or via Venmo to 719-233-7828 or by paying with credit card over the phone.
CLASSES AND TOURS
Plenty of Room in our Upcoming Tours
We have one more tour for you to register for on 9/29, It's completely open, so register now!
Tour Schedule:
Tours: NEXT TOUR COMING UP: 9/29! Tours are always a good time and we always learn a lot too! Educational tours are centered on environmental stewardship and the pure standards we have set for our farm. We walk the entire farm and learn about biodiversity, microbiology, the benefits of no-till and our other sustainable farming methods. We talk about energy, nutritional density of our food and we even tour the wash-rooms, the nurseries, our blacksmith shop, our storage facilities and more.
Tours start at 9am on the following Tuesdays: 9/29 (OPEN).
We would like to offer more classes, specifically on food preparation etc. If you are an individual that would be interested in using our facilities to host a class we would love to encourage this. Please reach out to us with your ideas.
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
Say "hi!" to Emily! Today Emily helped harvest our potatoes, as you can see here, and last week she helped with packing bags and the week before she did some weeding and some weeks she works the harvest. Every week (sometimes multiple times per week) for about a half a day, Emily comes out to volunteer and she is always willing to help out wherever she is needed the most (and she's always smiling too!).
Emily is such a pleasure to have on the farm, and like the rest of our regular volunteers, she truly is considered part of our team.
As a Marriage and Family Therapist, you can imagine that her career choice has Emily working indoors a lot. Volunteering on the farm gives Emily the opportunity to get her exercise in the sun and it also gives her the opportunity to be around a like-minded community - a community that cares about food, people and our planet. Emily says that creating something "productive and valuable" is very important to her and she feels a sense of fulfillment by giving back to her community and being a part of all the things that Ahavah Farm and Ahavah Community Initiative is doing.
Thank you so, so, so much Emily for being a part of our lives! We all truly appreciate you and consider you a team member and friend!
Want to get involved? E-mail us to let us know. We are always looking for volunteers and we would love for you to join the party!
AHAVAH COMMUNITY INITIATIVE
Winter is coming and application numbers are continuing to rise as more and more people are struggling with income and food security in our local area. YOUR community needs YOUR help. This is what communities are all about. This is what "Bring-A-Buck" is all about. This is what Ahavah Farm is all about! We are a "COMMUNITY" supported farm - it's not about the $$, but about the ❤...and about YOU!
Ahavah Community Initiative is about perpetuating that love to as many families as we can by connecting them to regenerative agriculture and to nutritious food! Every one of the ACI volunteer board members donate, the farm staff all donate, all of our children donate and even those that are receiving the donated shares donate to the fund as well! It's a mission we firmly believe in and we all put our money where our mouths are also! So we are asking you, our community, can you help too? We aren't asking for much. All we are asking for is $1, every week from every CSA member - that's $13.00 from each of our members over the course of 13 weeks - simple, right!?
Throughout the course of the Fall season (13 weeks), if every member (300) brings $1 to donate to the "Bring-A-Buck" fund, we could feed 16 families a Medium CSA share for the entire Winter season! Imagine how many children and families we could help feed if we each gave $2, $3 or even more per week? We are talking about a real, local impact! We aren't asking for a large donation, we are asking for something that is simple for every member to fulfill, if you choose to.
Every single dollar counts. Whether you donate a single $1 or you donate $1,000, your gift is cherished and will go, 100%, directly to families who need it the most.
Please Consider a Tax-Deductible Donation to help feed struggling families.
DONATE HERE NOW
Please consider a tax deductible donation to ACI by clicking the button below, and please consider making it a monthly donation by clicking the box:
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that if only 2% of the world's current land were to convert to fully regenerative practices that we could completely offset 100% of current carbon emissions? Not many realize that while the world is arguing about ways to reverse current GHG's that there is a whole community of Regenerative farms making a concerted effort to do just that. Learn a few more cool tidbits in this week's "Did You Know" video! Enjoy!
CSA PICKUP LOCATIONS AND TIMES
NOTATE TIMES: Times are subject to change.
(photo credit: Megiddeh Goldston)
THURSDAYS:
COS North / Monument @ Beasts and Brews (7 Spectrum Loop, Ste. 140)
12pm to 1pm (Drive Thru)
NOTE: Beasts and Brews IS OPEN for business! They are doing take out orders and still offering a special discount for CSA members. Inquire inside or call ahead to pick up lunch to go! Go to www.beastsandbrews.com to learn more.
Denver @ JCC (350 S. Dahlia St.):
2:30pm to 4pm (Drive thru)
FRIDAYS:
Colorado Springs @ Ranch Foods Direct (4635 Town Center Dr.):
1pm to 2:30pm (Drive Thru)
2:30pm to 6pm (Inside store)
NOTE: The Ranch Food Direct Store IS OPEN! Please go in and support your local food producers - bread and baked goods, meats and veggies and so many other local goods and necessities. They are stocked! Go to www.ranchfoodsdirect.com to learn more!
Peyton @ Ahavah Farm (7545 Log Rd.):
10am to 11am (Drive Thru)
COMPOST
Be a part of our ZERO-WASTE mission here at Ahavah Farm and bring us your compost! PLEASE REMEMBER - NO PLASTIC BAGS. Want more information? CLICK HERE to learn about the program. Thank you everyone who has been bringing their compost! We are so excited that we can help on your mission to become Waste Free! __________________________________
BAGS! We need your bags!!!
Thank you everyone for recycling your bags with us! When we receive your bags we immediately quarantine them for 2 weeks before reusing them to ensure they are safe of any yuckies. Thank you for bringing them and any others you may have!
__________________________________ What to expect THIS week:
As always, nothing is guaranteed. These are the items that are "in season" and are anticipated to be ready this week (which may or may not be available at the CSA):
Small = 4-6 items per week
Medium = 7-9 items per week
Large = 10-12 items per week
Fennel - Oh, beautiful fennel! True, it's not the most beloved by all, but it is still highly beloved by many. A specialty crop that changes flavor when it is cooked and it has so many different uses! Here is an article with 25, yes 25! different ways to use fennel (it's a slideshow, so click the "see all" button)
Peppers - Colored peppers this week with extra sweetness! Gorgeous and firm, sweet and amazing! You can't beat these!
Radish Microgreens - The spicy variety of microgreens that we will be offering this week, though they will only be for sale and won't be included as part of the CSA this week.
Onions - Medium and small sized. Each member will receive a 1/2lb of these this week. Red, yellow and white. They are all delicious and fresh!
Cabbage Microgreens - The sweet variety of microgreens. Like the radish micros, they will only be for sale and won't be included as part of the CSA this week.
Carrots - Colorful carrots this week with beautiful greens (don't waste those greens, make pesto! There is 600% more vitamin C in the greens than the roots!).
Broccoli Microgreens - Nutritious and yummy! Just a little kick of spice to these microgreens.
Tomatoes - Tons of tomatoes. Some minor grasshopper damage on some.
Basil - Remember to dry this if you don't use it! We give you a bunch too, so it's great for pesto!
Celeriac Greens - Similar to celery, this vegetable is best if used in stews, soups, casseroles and salads.
Kale - Lot's of blue-curled kale this week. It's very pretty! Don't forget to massage it!
Radishes - Depending on the harvest this week, we may only include them for sale.
Sunshoots - Our sunshoots have been on a roll for 4 straight weeks and the feedback is continuing to roll in about how much you all love these! We have had a few people say that once they got creative with them they fell in love with them. Here are a few great ideas for your sunshoots, the most nutritious thing we grow: https://www.martinsgardenacf.com/sunflower-shoots-recipes
Pea Shoots - We love these raw as an anytime snack. We also add them to soups. Like peas? You will love these.
Leeks - The leeks are in and they are amazing! They are huge and tender and delicious! We are also including more greens than you would usually get in the store because they are fresh. Use these greens! Save them and dry them if you want or use them in a saute - they are great!
Swiss Chard - Big beautiful chard. Some minor grasshopper damage, but waxy and beautiful none the less.
Is that it? It's a lot, but I think so! I may be missing something...who knows, you might be surprised with something else too!
What to expect NEXT week:
We are excited that most of you are coming back for another season and we will miss those who decided to not continue on. Please take the survey and let us know how we can improve! Thank you so much!
That's it for this week! Love you to pieces! Yosef, Havah, Kids and Team The Camire Family
