Dear fellow parishioners:
 
We’re thrilled to announce the formation of Blessed Sacrament’s first ever CSA program. As many of you may know, a CSA—Community Supported Agriculture—is a farm share program that allows its members (that’s us!) to buy fresh, locally sourced and, in our case, organic produce directly from farmers. CSA programs cut out the so-called middlemen and allow farmers to plan for the season in advance, providing them much-needed funds to buy seeds and other equipment. Consumers, meantime, know where their food comes from, as well as those who farm it—in our case, the Dominican Sisters who till the four-acre parcel christened Harmony Farm (http://www.harmonyfarmny.com) in Blauvelt, New York. They’re committed to the principles of organic and sustainable farming—an important cause given the strain our environment continues to face. As Pope Francis himself wrote in his encyclical, Laudato Si: “... We have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”  Starting a CSA (1) connects our parish to the land, (2) reminds us of the abundant fruits of God's love and Mother Nature week after week, (3) and provides our Soup Kitchen and Pantry with healthy food.  
 
How will it work?

• Every week from April to November 2016, you can pick up your share of the harvest from the Church or a nearby location at a designated time.
   
• A full share supplies a family of four (measured as portions for two adults, two kids) with 75 percent of the produce needed in a week, and is priced at $800. This, admittedly, is a substantial amount, but the program runs for seven months and the portions are generous. (You may also elect to divide a share with a friend or purchase a small share for $600 per year.) 
   
• Every week, we will email you with a reminder, as well as a recipe for a featured vegetable. We’d love it if you shared your favorite recipe with other members! In the fall, we hope to celebrate as a CSA community with a potluck (with dishes made with CSA produce!).
   
• Equally important, the Sisters will be able to host CSA members at the farm for weekend retreats on May 14-15 and October 29-30. Your CSA fees cover the retreat as well. 
   
• To get started this year, we will need at least 20 subscribers this season.  
   
• You can sign-up in the back of the Church after mass on March 5th & 6th and March 12th & 13th. 

• If you do not wish to participate in the CSA program, but would like to contribute to the program and/or subsidize a parishioner's food costs, please sign-up!
   

We hope you consider being part of Blessed Sacrament's inaugural CSA year. We look forward to seeing you after Mass!