Farm fresh food coming to Valley Stream?

Local public interest organization Envision Valley Stream is gauging residents’ interest in “community-supported” agriculture, which provides direct access to high-quality, fresh produce.

This program would allow a farm to deliver food right to Valley Stream, and residents could even travel, view and help produce the fruits and vegetables themselves. “Envision Valley Stream from the very beginning was exploring ways to get fresh, local produce to Valley Streamers,” said David Sabatino, the organization’s president.

The group first tried to obtain land in the village. Sabatino said they wanted to “create a place where community members could grow vegetables, meet other people, and be part of a cooperative effort to educate kids on the nutritional and environmental value of fresh, local produce.” But, they had no luck.

The next idea was to start a local farmers’ market, but there was difficulty with reaching the right parties, Sabatino said. However, Envision member Adrian Ho had a remedy for the dilemma. Ho suggested that the organization explore community-supported agriculture, and began researching it before choosing Smyler’s Farm in Hudson, N.Y.

During a recent trip to New Orleans with Heifer International, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending world hunger and poverty, Ho learned about the idea. Heifer’s goal to “promote community-based, locally grown food systems,” was attention-grabbing, he noted. “I thought it would be interesting to take those ideas and apply them here,” he said.

When Envision started planning, several Long Island Farms’ shares were sold out. Smyler’s was the next best choice, Ho noted. “I was sold on Smyler’s Farm because it is a unique organic CSA that offers the opportunity to visit the food source, and talk and socialize with the farmers that grow the food,” he said.

CSA members can purchase “shares” of produce from Smyler’s. There are different shares, which would include weekly delivery of produce like herbs, fruits, vegetables, potted plants, vouchers for prepared foods like soup, and even invitations to the farm’s dinners.