Dear Members,

Alan and Nancy are trying to take much deserved time off!   Recuperation is a full time job and affects all aspects of life especially the farm and all it’s workings.  Alan is feeling better each day but healing is HARD work.   Harder than anyone anticipated!

The weather here had as you know not been perfect unless you like ice and power outages.  We can’t really complain however since we are all equipped with woodstoves and candles.  Others in New England had it far worse so we‘re all very thankful.

Please have a safe and joyous New Year’s.

We’ll see you in 2009!

-Chris
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¡Un Centavo Más! One Penny More!

THE COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS has won better wages from Taco Bell, McDonalds & Burger King. Just this past week, Subway heard their cry!

You can meet them in New York City on the 60th Anniversary of International Human Rights Day. And learn, too, from New York farm laborers, grocery workers, restaurant workers, and food justice advocates.

COME HEAR FLORIDA TOMATO PICKERS SPEAK OUT
Wednesday, December 10, 7:30 P.M.
The Church of the Holy Trinity
316 E. 88th Street, between First & Second Avenues
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It is Sunday. Alan is brushing hogging a neighbor’s field on this overcast day in anticipation of helping it to someday be a worthy hayfield for us. He brought out the first bales of hay for the cows this morning. They are still eating grass but it is not growing back again any longer so the time had come to get out the big round hay feeders so the cows won’t trample their hay and plop the big round bales inside. We refreshed their mineral, kelp and salt feeder. They do really like the kelp supplement; it is always the first thing gone of that and the mineral salt and plain salt. We had our last calf of the season this week from his mom Gilly, we now have Gilligan! He has an older brother named Gilbert. She’s black with a white face and trimmings and he’s all tan, like the bull, with a white face. We hope the winter does not start out too cold for the little one (who weighs about 80 lbs!). It’s snowing here now and the ground is just barely covered so far.

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You’re invited! Please join us Saturday, December 13th, 3:00-6:00 PM for Astoria Community Supported Agriculture’s annual Potluck and Silent Auction at ARROW Community Center.

Astoria CSA is raising funds to help subsidize low-income shares for 2009. Bring a dish to share (organic and/or local), your checkbook and enjoy the pre-holiday cheer with us! Spread the word to other Green Do-Good-ers!

Live music by member Andy Guthrie
Great goodies up for auction– Homemade and donated! Book donations by: Haymarket Books, Soft Skull, Counterpoint, Verso, Perseus and more! Homemade preserves, breads and cookies, gourmet spice baskets, CSA Pasture gift certificate, pet gifts, organic baby clothes donated by EC Wear, Just Food gear, Nutrition Counseling Sessions, Pilates Classes, Jewelry, Private Cooking Lesson, tickets to Bodies, King Corn, and more!

Have something to donate to the auction? Email info@astoriacsa.com

Hope to see you there. Official invite is below.

December 13th, 3-6 PM
ARROW Community Center
35-30 35th St.

This Weeks Share

ROMANESCO BROCCOLI | Qty: 1 head

RADICCHIO | Qty: 1 head

CARROTS | Qty: 1 bunch

RED CABBAGE | Qty: 1 head
The red cabbage harvest was very inconsistent this year, so some heads will be big- and others, small.

BROCCOLI | Qty: 1 head

SWEET POTATOES | Qty:2 lbs
This was our first trial year growing sweet potatoes, and overall, the crop did very well. The only trouble we ran into was a disease called “scurf” which discolors the skin, and some grubs, which made those little indentation in the skin. We plan to grow a lot more next year!

POTATOES | Qty: 3 lbs
Mix of red skin /white flesh, purple, or red flesh