On Monday afternoon I’m going to be appearing on the Tech Bites program on Heritage Radio to talk with Jennifer Leuizzi about our Farmigo CSA program at PRINT. and The Press Lounge. CSAs — Community Supported Agriculture programs — are an important part of the sustainable food movement, providing a direct link between farmers and consumers. With traditional CSAs you buy a share in the farm’s growing season, and each week you get a sort of mystery box of whatever has been harvested that week. What’s cool about the CSA from Farmigo, a Brooklyn-based food tech start-up, is that you can order exactly what you want to receive only on the weeks you want from a great selection of local fruits, vegetables, breads, yogurts, milk, snacks, sweets and a particularly great selection of locally raised sustainable meats and locally caught seafood.
We launched the CSA in our the rooftop garden at The Press Lounge this summer and now that the weather is cooler the pick-up spot has been re-located to the PRINT. hostess stand in the restaurant. We currently have 133 members, an interesting mix of people from the neighborhood — we are the only Farmigo pick-up site in Hell’s Kitchen — restaurant guests, and even several PRINT. employees place orders and enjoy having local meat and other products delivered. It’s been really interesting to create this little community, and also to give our staff, neighbors, and guests a way to access produce and products for their home cooking that align with how we source our food in the restaurant. The impact that eating local, fresh food will have on our health, our families, and the livelihoods of our local farmers is huge — and there’s no way we could have made this happen without the support of the community. If you would like to join our CSA group, you can get 40% off of your first order. Just go to Farmigo, and once you’ve filled your virtual basket with goodies, use coupon code Farmigo40. The ordering deadline is each Sunday at midnight and the pick-up is every Wednesday evening at the hostess stand in the restaurant. (If you want to stay on for a drink or dinner we can keep your order chilled until you leave.)