Lakewood Earth and Food Community (LEAF) will begin our 20 week celebration of local food and culture on June 9th.  Every Wednesday night from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m., farmers will be driving to the front porch of the Lakewood Public Library to deliver and vend their fresh picked produce. Two Community Supported Agriculture programs, multiple additional local vendors with fresh, local, naturally grown or created goodies, and music will be included at each LEAF Night this summer. In addition to the Wednesday LEAF Nights, a third CSA program will be delivered to the Root Cafe on Thursday evenings.

2010 will be the fifth year Lakewood residents have been participating in Community Supported Agriculture. Starting back in 2006, the first 15 shareholders started the Community Supported Agriculture interest with the Covered Bridge Gardens CSA program. Last year, LEAF assisted over 400 families participate in one of three CSA programs. Community Supported Agriculture or CSA is becoming more and more popular, but many still don't really know what it means. CSA is a model of food distribution where consumers develop a direct relationship with the farmer. People become "share holders", in which they pay the farmer up front and then receive delivery of "shares" (packages of fresh picked food) throughout the season when the farmers harvest them. The CSA model has many benefits for the farmer, the consumer, the environment and the local economy.

When it rains, it pours. And when it pours, stormwater flows into storm drains, causing erosion, water pollution, flooding, and diminished groundwater. The chemicals and particles picked up by rain as it finds its way over pavement and through our sewer system causes a great deal of the pollution of our lakes, streams, and rivers. And, as it turns out, creates an undue burden on that sewer system.

Lakewood Earth & Food Community (LEAF) will be holding its 2010 Open House on Sunday, March 14th from 2:00 to 5:00 at the main branch of the Lakewood Public Library in the Multipurpose Room. This is your opportunity to get information and ask questions about LEAF programs. There will be representatives from our educational series, bulk buying, community gardening and our Community Supported Agriculture programs (CSA).

 
This summer I fell in love.  It has blossomed into a colorful relationship filled with reds, greens, yellows, and blues. This partnership even has an official name, but one that I cannot adopt, because many other ladies and gentlemen are already part of its system.

It’s called my summer CSA program (community supported agriculture). While it might be a summer fling, I’m in it for the long haul.

For $260, and 16-summer weeks, I receive vegetables weekly. Fresh, crispy, mildly organic, Ohio only grown, goodness.  It feels like Christmas comes early when I pick up my fresh blueberries, strawberries, corn, basil, Napa cabbage, and tomatoes. Each week, the mix is different, gorgeous, and delicious.

I pick up a canvas bag mix every Wednesday at the Madison Library, which is the main distribution point. This ever so popular pick-up joint has been orchestrated by the LEAF Community (Lakewood Earth and Food), which is essentially a volunteer based organization of over 600 members. The LEAF Community partners with City Fresh to distribute the shares with the local farmers and other guest vendors.

I recommend these programs to anyone and any family, and most importantly, I save big time. Historically, I’d overspend by $75-$100 at my local Giant Eagle for China-based apples, Chilean grapes, New Zealand kiwis, Idaho potatoes, and who knows what else on other fruits and vegetables.  Join now and experience the summer love for local farmers.

Do you like locally produced, fresh food?  In addition to the great opportunities to buy local food in Lakewood, your chance to buy food grown even closer to home has arrived. A new urban farm has started in Lakewood, Basil and Beyond, LLC, which grows all natural culinary herbs including several types of basil, oregano, chives, sage, rosemary, cilantro and many others.  Basil and Beyond is operated as a small environmentally sustainable business that uses no synthetic pesticides, fertilizers or herbicides. 

After receiving enthusiastic support from Mayor FitzGerald, the Lakewood Earth & Food (LEAF) Community has officially broken ground at plots in Cove, Kauffman, Madison, and Webb Parks, as well as the Plover Garden in Bird Town, for its community gardening initiative in 2008.

Beginning last year with six plots in the Plover Garden, LEAF has expanded its efforts in community gardening to more than 130 plots across Lakewood, including about 20 at Cove and Kauffman Parks, 30 at Madison Park, and more than 50 at Webb Park. Plots are now available to the Lakewood community for a small fee...

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a term given to a model of food production and distribution where a group of people (us) develops a direct relationship with nearby food producers (farmers). Customers enroll in the program to support a grower, who they trust to take good care of their land, crops, and animals. A typical CSA program includes an early spring membership payment, with weekly distribution of produce and other items when they are freshly harvested...