CNA Meeting Recap
Don Tucker, Crestview Neighborhood Association Secretary, posted a recap on the Crestview website.
Here’s the clip pertaining to Urban Patchwork:
Paige Hill discussed her Community Supported Agriculture Project, the first non-profit, neighborhood-centric CSA. The movie Food, Inc. is a good summary of the state of our existing food supply (also the books Fast Food Nation, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food) – unsustainable and non-nutritious.
The idea is to lease land from residents in Crestview, have farmers raise crops on these plots, and then distribute weekly baskets of produce to share-holders. Neighbors can get to know the farmers and benefit from organically farmed, local food. Chicken coops also supported. The ideal size of the plots would be 1000-2000 sq. ft., ideal length of the leases would be 2+ years (although a 1-year lease might be possible). The price of the lease would be $0 for the first year, as the benefit to the leasor would be the added infastructure and improvement to the soil quality (including soil testing, irrigation, etc.). Afterwards, an annual dividend of $0.25-0.35/sq. ft. is estimated.
The cost of a share to receive a weekly produce basket is competitive with the cost of receiving 2-3 vegetables per day from HEB, and can either be picked up from the demo site in the neighborhood or delivered 1/week for $2/week. For the fall, the plan is to have a single plot with 25 share-holders. For the spring, the goal is to have 1/2-acre with 100 share-holders.
To participate in the fall season, leasors would need to lease their lots by October. The intention is to remain a non-profit to take advantage of grants. The goal is to eventually be able to provide employment to farmers and researchers, pay dividends to leasors annually, deliver 10% of the produce free to a “neighbor in need” each week.
Contact Paige in advance to arrange a tour of the demo lot (1115 Taulbee Ln.).
