Community News
Thumb Farm also grows some fruits and
flowers. Hellgate CSA will invite farmers
to the church before every season to
meet CSA members. Farm Fresh
24 MAY 2018 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
Astoria residents who
are looking to stock
their kitchens with
fruits, vegetables and
other items grown lo-cally
have to look no
further than the Hellgate Community
Supported Agriculture (CSA).
The CSA, which runs out of Astoria
First Presbyterian Church’s Broom Tree
Garden at 27-20 Ditmars Blvd., has pro-vided
residents with fresh produce and
other pantry items since 2005. Previously
called the Ravenswood CSA, Americorp
volunteer Cara Fraver started the orga-nization
to give city residents access to
organic produce.
The vegetable season runs from June
5 through Dec. 11, while the fruit sea-son
runs from June through November.
Members pay in advance to receive their
shares.
According to coordinator Denise Bo-lognino,
the items come from a variety
of farms. Green Thumb Farm, which
is located in Water Mill, Long Island,
supplies the vegetables. The Raymond
Halsey family has been farming the land
since the mid-1600s. The farm is also a
leader in the organic movement, becom-ing
a certified organic farm in the 1980s.
They grow a large variety of veg-etables
including asparagus, carrots,
beans, beets, cucumbers, eggplant, let-tuces,
onions, tomatoes and more. Green
Photo courtesy of Hellgate CSA
Photos via Pixabay
BY ANGELA MATUA
/www.qns.com
