News & Events
May Day Celebration at Peacework Farm
The GVOCSA May Day celebration is scheduled for 2 to 6 p.m., May 4, at Peacework Farm, located across from a private residence at 2232 Welcher Road in Newark. Please use parking areas around the barns or other designated areas, and not at the house. At 2 p.m., popular local fiddler Kit Fallon is slated to accompany the dance around the May Pole. Next on the agenda, Monna Rynearson, a leading organizer of the Zurich Bog Society, is scheduled to lead a wild flower walk in the woods of the Kraai Preserve, a nature preserve open to the public. Following these activities, tours of the land (the old Humbert dairy farm, now owned by the Genesee Land Trust and leased to Peacework Farm) will be offered. A potluck supper is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Please bring a dish to pass, a place setting, and folding chairs. The farm will provide drinks. All are welcome.
Keynote Address: Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA), Massachusetts Chapter
Elizabeth Henderson was the keynote speaker at a gathering of the Massachusetts chapter of NOFA in January. To read about her experience in organic farming and see the slides presented to the audience, click here. You can also find more of her work posted on her blog.
Important Dates
Sunday, May 4: May Day Party, 2 pm to 6 pm at Peacework Farm
Thursday, May 22: CSA season begins, farmwork 8 am - noon, pick-up at Abundance 6:30 - 8 pm.
Sunday, May 25: CSA season first Sunday farmwork 8 am - noon, pick-up at Abundance, 5:30 - 7 pm.
Children's Days: Children are welcome at the farm on all work mornings, but on Children's Days we have extra adults and often Roland Micklem leads them on a nature walk. These are the Children's Days for the 2007 season:
June 15, 19, 29
July 3, 13, 17, 27, 31
August 14, 17, 28, 31
September 11, 14.
Thursday, November 13: Season Ends.
Sunday, November 16: Season Ends.
Sunday, November 16: End of Season dinner, 5 pm - 8 pm.
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What is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a partnership of consumers and farmers that is open to anyone in the greater Rochester, NY, and Wayne County areas. The member shareholders provide a guaranteed market and income, as well as labor to produce and distribute the food for a growing season. The farmers provide weekly shares of fresh, seasonal, certified organically grown vegetables and herbs. Bulk quantities of whatever is plentiful at the farm are also available for canning, freezing, and storage. Both partners share in the risks and rewards of small-scale farming: weather, insect damage, and bumper crops. Read more ...
How your downpayment helps
Farm Economics
Who Is GVOCSA?
The Genesee Valley Organic Community Supported Agriculture group  (GVOCSA) began in 1989, and has expanded yearly. Elizabeth Henderson,Greg Palmer, and Ammie Chickering grow the food at Peacework Organic Farm near Newark, New York. Members pick up their food weekly in Rochester or Newark. GVOCSA also holds social events to celebrate community and the harvest. See
Farm Photos.
Who can join?
Membership is open to anyone in the Greater Rochester area or the Wayne County/Newark area. (If you are from Wayne or Ontario County, see details here). Families with children are especially welcome, and we will arrange the farm work schedule to include children to the greatest extent possible. People who live within half an hour's drive of Peacework Organic Farm may prefer to pick up their vegetables at the farm. To arrange for on-farm pick-up, contact the farm directly. Call Elizabeth at 315-331-9029 or email her at .
What does it cost?
The cost of the food varies according to the type of share you purchase. There are three types of shares available for purchase:
Full Share: Approx. 7-11 items
Sliding Scale: $14 - $17 - $20 - $25 per week plus one-time membership fee of $15.
Shared: Same size as full share. Cost, work and produce divided between two or more households
Sliding Scale: Same as full share.
Partial Share: Approx 4-5 items depending on time of season.
Set cost: $11 per week plus one-time membership fee of $15.
Every member makes a commitment, on a sliding scale, for the season. An initial partial payment is required to join. The remainder may be paid in increments. Food stamps are accepted. Bulk and special orders are paid for separately when ordered.
GVOCSA Vision
We envision the creation of a land-based community of people of diverse ages, backgrounds, and incomes, farmers and non-farmers, who are committed to love, justice, equality, democracy and cooperation, and who honor the intrinsic value of nature and food, and the dignity of labor. The members of this community will work gently together to learn and teach others to live sustainably, in the broadest sense, for the health of all living creatures and the planet. We will practice an agriculture that supports a whole, healthy, sustainable, and loving community.
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Work Requirements
Full or Shared Share:
3 Farm Shifts of 4 hours each (8 AM - Noon) plus
2 Distribution Shifts of 2.5 hours each (Starting one hour before food pick up begins)
Total of 17 hours
Partial Share:
2 Farm Shifts of 4 hours each (8 AM - Noon) plus
1 Distribution Shift of 2.5 hours (Starting one hour before food pick up begins)
Total of 10.5 hours
CORE Members work exemption:
A CORE group of members administers the group. Voluntary participation in the CORE group is open to any member. Membership in the CORE relieves the member of farm and distribution work. However, additional voluntary work is always welcomed.
How long does the season last?
Produce is typically distributed for 27 weeks: from mid-May through the end of November.
The annual Winter Shares program is not part of the regular membership season. Participating members may receive regular supplies of organically grown beets, carrots, celeriac, cabbage, daikon, garlic, kohlrabi, leeks, onions, parsnips, potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, winter squash and more. Detailed information is announced in the fall.
A typical Winter Share program might include both Full and Half shares. For example, a Full Share might provide approximately 16 pounds of vegetables per distribution; and a Half Share nets about 8 pounds per distribution. Distributions usually take place every other week beginning January 9th through March 20th.
Each share is only required to work a single 1.5 hour distribution shift. There is NO FARM SHIFT.
Plan to attend one of two annual sign-up meetings announced under News and Events (above left) in early February or March to learn more about the program and meet the farmers and many of the core members. If you miss the sign-up meetings, contact one of the membership core members by phone or e-mail.
Sharing the Harvest
The latest edition of Elizabeth Henderson's book, Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen's Guide to Community Supported Agriculture (Chelsea Green, 2007) is now available. According to Howard Zinn, an historian, author, and playwright, Sharing the Harvest is "an extraordinary book, an opening to a new world in which growing and eating food will be a sharing among humans, between farmers and surrounding communities, not a commercial venture for profit. It is both utopian and practical, inspiring and down-to-earth. It is a treasure, rich with suggestions, exciting for what possibilities it foresees for the human race." To purchase the book directly from the author, send a $35 check plus $4 postage and handling to Elizabeth Henderson, 2218 Welcher Road, Newark, NY 14513.
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