It’s National Farmworker Awareness Week! Do you know who your farmer is? This is an significant question to ask yourself as many farmworkers work in hazardous conditions, live in unsafe environments and are not paid a living wage. Know your farm, know your farmers, know how your farmers are treated, and know your food.

One great way to know your farm better and your farmers is by volunteering. Right now, we are going to need a lot help with our 22nd Annual PestoFesto Fundraiser on May 3rd. We’ll need volunteers to harvest vegetables, set-up chairs and tables, make salad, prepare the pesto, give parking directions, and then break it all down. If you are interested in volunteering for our annual end of season celebration please contact our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@sweetwater-organic.org

PestoFesto is also a great time for CSA members to get their volunteer hours in for this season. There are only two months left and there are still a lot of volunteer hours to get in! Don’t have time to volunteer this season? No worries, you can still opt out here.

Help us spread the word about Farm Camp and be our grassroots network by sharing our Indiegogo campaign via your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, smoke signal, favorite graffitied underpass, knitting circle, or email account. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sweetwater-farm-camp/x/6801035

See you at the Farm!

Save the date–our 22nd Annual PestoFesto will be held on Saturday, May 3rd! This yearly end of season celebration will have our traditional farm-fresh pesto dinner, sweet treats from Rollin Oats, live music by the Urban Gypsies, Cigar City Beer, Uncle Matt’s Juice and wine from Vintage Wine Cellars! PestoFesto is a great time to come out with your friends and family to the Farm for an entertaining evening to celebrate your community.

PestoFesto is also an incredibly important fundraiser for the Farm. Ticket prices, individual donations, and sponsorships help us continue our education programs, community outreach, and basic farm functions. We are very proud to announce our first sponsor of PestoFesto this year–Global Organic Specialty Source. Global Organics is a Sarasota based company that provides organic fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs and much across the Southeast. Global Organics has supported Sweetwater many times before and continues to demonstrate a commitment to local, sustainable, and organic agriculture.

We are still seeking additional sponsorships of PestoFesto this year. As a member of the Sweetwater community, we are asking you to help us make this fundraiser and celebration a success. If you or a friend owns a local business please consider partnering with us for our annual celebration. We have business sponsorships that range from $250-$2,500. Or we also have “Friends are Family” sponsorship tables for individuals or groups to come out and support the Farm in their own unique way. Please contact our Program Coordinator, Kaitlin, at outreach@sweetwater-organic.org with any questions about PestoFesto, sponsorships, or other ways you can help.

Thank you for helping grow community from the ground up!

Rick Martinez

Founder, Sweetwater Organic Community Farm

Hello Farm Friends and Family!

I want to take this week’s edition of the newsletter to introduce myself and to write to you about a new and exciting opportunity coming up very soon! My name is Chris, and this season I’ve been serving our community as the Education Program Director for Sweetwater Farm. I am so excited to be a greater influence in the farm’s educational programming, and boy do I have some really cool stuff planned for Tampa Bay’s students. Just next week (March 10) we will be starting a Farm Camp right here on our farm! We’ve been designing our camp with the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for Science and Project WILD, an outdoor nationwide curriculum for K-12.

Farm camp is a unique opportunity in the state of Florida, that allows campers to be a part of the great outdoors, learning about sustainable agriculture and where food comes from. Campers will be learning about plant biology, nutrition, and how to maintain an organic garden of several different foods! Kids will have a chance to explore different species of plants on the cellular level with iPad microscopes, learning what healthy plants look like on a cellular level, versus conventionally grown food. We’ll also be playing a number of educational games, working on upcycled art projects, learning about food preservation and canning, and a whole host of other activities.

Parents, it’s not too late to sign up your children! We’re still accepting applications for the Spring camp dates (March 10-14 and March 17-21), and we will also be running camp over Summer and Winter Breaks, too. I am especially excited to test out our new iPad field microscopes with the kids, I really think it will open their eyes to the world around them! This will also be a great opportunity for your children to get some exercise, make new friends, and learn about subjects covered at their school in a very concrete way!

Also, because we will be using iPads, I will be posting videos from our days lessons and adventures and posting them to our Facebook (with permission). That way, parents can keep up at home and see what their children are learning about in a very transparent way.

I am so, so very excited to get camp up and running. I hope to see you there!

Chris Hawthorne

Sweetwater Farm is all about Community.  Yet, sadly, many folks right in our own back yard don’t know about us; don’t feel welcome; or don’t think they can afford “organic” foods.  In an effort to educate and welcome our neighbors to the Farm, we have applied for and received approval to begin accepting EBT payments from users of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).  Formerly known “Food Stamps”, SNAP recipients will be able to purchase eligible food items from our Sunday Market such as fruits & vegetables, bread, honey, granola, jams, and food-producing plants.

Sweetwater will be the first Farmers Market in Tampa to also incorporate a Florida-grown incentive program that will encourage SNAP recipients to use their benefits to buy locally-grown fruits and vegetables.  The program, called “Fresh Access Bucks” was initiated by Florida Organic Growers who received a Specialty Crop Block Grant to increase the sales of Florida grown fruits and vegetables to Florida consumers, thereby increasing demand for Sweetwater’s locally-grown produce.  Making our Farmers Market foods available to needy families in our neighborhood is one way we can help ensure that nutritious “whole” foods continue to grow in popularity over the cheap processed foods so readily available at every corner store.  It’s what our Farmers Market is all about!

You can help us spread the word about this wonderful incentive program.  If you use SNAP benefits, know anyone who does, or work with SNAP recipients, please let them know they can double their SNAP benefits when they buy our local produce!

We’d like to thank Florida Organic Growers, Inc and Wholesome Wave for their support and funding assistance that enabled us to try this local farm-friendly approach to solving some of the deep-seeded problems in our Community’s food safety net.

See you at the Market!

Andrea Harms, Market Manager

market@sweetwater-organic.org

Usually a beetle that hangs out in the margins, the Yellow Margin Beetle has come to the farm to snack on our luscious Asian greens and cabbages. We are counting on some of our beneficial insect friends, such as wasps, to marginalize the destructive population. Unfortunately, we will be losing a few beds of Joi Choi to these yellow demons and will have to till in the crop to avoid further infestation. Luckily, there is a summer dormancy that may start soon as long as the weather stays hot.

A new addition to the CSA share this week that has remained unaffected by the beetles is parsley. This crop has stereotypically been slotted as largely a garnish when it really has wonderful health benefits and is a staple in many recipes. Parsley juiced with carrots is a great heart tonic that helps to lower blood pressure. It’s also delicious when ground into a paste with spices to make chimmichurri sauce! So this week is a great time to experiment with creative ways to incorporate parsley into your diet.

Some excitement has been surrounding the compost heaps as of late. The Starbucks’ of Tampa International Airport, just around the corner from the farm, have begun dropping off their used coffee grounds to add to our compost piles. This is awesome for the creation of our compost since coffee grounds are high in nitrogen as well as being PH neutral (of course prior to brewing they are very acidic). The second stellar thing about this deal is it takes the coffee grounds out of the waste stream where they would be shuffled off to a distant landfill.

The main component of what we use to make our compost is Lowry Park Zoo manure or “zoo poo.” After we receive a new batch of manure and coffee grounds, we make a new compost pile. As we use an aerobic compost method, we turn the piles regularly to reintroduce oxygen and carbon dioxide to the microbes that turn “waste” like manure and coffee grounds into beneficial compost!

Mark your calendar and bring your composting questions to our Spring Garden Workshop on Saturday, March 1st with Sweetwater’s Founder, Rick Martinez.

See you at the Farm!

There’s been a lot chatter and postulation about the purpose of fennel around the CSA barn these past couple weeks. Let go of your fennel fears because this crop is down right delightful. First, it is nutrient dense – giving us Vitamin C, Potassium, Manganese, Copper, Folate, Iron, and B3 – while having antioxidant properties. Where do you get the nutrient benefits out of the lanky, blustery piece of fennel you just picked-up? All of it!  The entire fennel plant is edible–bulb, stalks, fronds, and seeds alike. The bulb is great to have sautéed as a bed under your favorite fish, as a side with onions, carrots and savory herbs, or in a salad. The stalks can be added to soups or stews like celery or you can juice them in with your green shake. Its feathery fronds can be used as a garnish, added as an herb to your staple dishes at home, or dried and stored for later use. Fennel is also commonly used in French, Italian, and Grecian cuisine if you are ready to experiment with a new recipe.

At the farm this week, our Education Program Manager, Chris Hawthorne, is heading out to the Hillsborough County STEM Science Fair. Chris will be a volunteer judge for the elementary level contestants to see the innovative ways kids are engaging with the sciences.  For our adult learners and horticulturists, we are hosting the Organic Container Gardening Workshop with Willow LaMonte this Sunday, February 9th from 1:00-3:00pm. No matter what size your yard or patio, you can learn how to resourcefully grow your own food! Please RSVP here to reserve your space.

Potatoes are in the ground!!! Everything about growing potatoes is unique compared to most of its vegetable brethren. When your order of certified seed potatoes arrives, you must cut up each seed potato into 2 ounce pieces with at least one eye on each section. The hope is that one eye will sprout and grow into a legitimate potato crop. Next, you hop on your tractor and create furrows with a plow. Then you take your bucket of chopped up potatoes and plant each one with the skin facing skywards to help speed up the growing process. Otherwise, if the skin is facing downwards or sideways the sprout will have to wind around the circumference of the potato to find its way to the sun. Three months into the future, after hilling the potatoes and staving off blight and the bothersome Colorado Potato Beetle, we should all be enjoying some delicious purple, gold, and red skin potatoes!

Second to the potatoes, the other exciting development this week is the addition of the USF CSA pick-up location. Beginning on February 10th, we will now be offering a pick-up at the USF Botanical Gardens on Mondays from 3:00-5:00pm. If you have any questions regarding this new pick-up location please contact Kaitlin at outreach@sweetwater-organic.org.

Be sure to kick-off your Superbowl Sunday right this week with some of our healthful events. Come work on your mind-body wellness at Yoga from 11:00 am-12:00 pm or Qigong from 12:30-1:30 pm. Or you can learn something new with the family during our free Farm Tour at 1:00 pm. And just in time for Valentine’s Day, you can come learn how to make your sweetie some creative, raw treats at the I Love Raw: Healthy, Sweet Treats Workshop from 2:30-4:00pm (must RSVP at info@sweetwater-organic.org).

The colossal Napa Cabbage is in the share this week largely thanks to the cooler weather we have been experiencing. When the temperature drops so do the pest problems! Also known as Chinese Cabbage, this vegetable is great in Korean, Chinese, or Japanese food. Or if you just need a quick side dish, cabbage is delicious steamed with some lemon squeezed over it.

But if you’re in the mood to cook during these cooler Winter months like we are,  grab some shiitake mushrooms, yellow onions, garlic, and ginger from our Market Produce Stand (on Sunday) and make this belly-warming Napa Cabbage Miso Soup.  Pair it with some crusty bread from 20 Shekels Bread (one of our favorite Sunday Market vendors) and enjoy a delicious and healthy evening in.

You will also notice that there will be green tomatoes in the share this week. With the near frosts these past few weeks and the ones scheduled to occur in coming days, our tomato crop will be toasted. In anticipation of this event, we are opting to harvest the tomatoes that have not yet ripened. Once you take your green tomatoes home just put them in a brown bag or in a bowl with a ripening banana—just remember to leave them out on the counter and do not refrigerate them!

Of if you’d prefer to use the tomatoes in their current hue, check out the following site with several green tomato recipes such as Green Tomato & Lentil Stew and Curried Green Tomatoes!  http://www.thekitchn.com/what-to-do-with-green-tomatoes-66605

Remember to share your favorite Napa cabbage and green tomato recipes with us by emailing recipes@sweetwater-organic.org.

Enjoy… see you at the Farm!

The winter vegetables are embarking on their mighty comeback to the CSA share during the next few weeks! Watch out for broccoli and cauliflower to be in full production soon along with other cool weather loving Brassicas. Both of these cultivars in particular, absolutely love the chilly, blustery Florida Winter we have been experiencing the past couple weeks. This colder weather will also bring a new crispness to our kale crop, adding an even better crunch to your homemade kale chips. In the ever revolving, cyclical nature of farming we have sent in our spring seed order this week–so look forward to some new pepper and tomato varieties coming to your share in a few months!

Are you trying to pursue a healthier self this year? Perfect for the mind, body and spirit, we have some excellent Sunday programs to help you explore what a healthy self could mean. Introduction to Qigong with Bob Abbenzeller will be offered this Sunday, January 19 from 12:00-2:00 pm. The first hour of this class will be a presentation on the history and benefits of Qigong while the second part of the class will go into an hour of practice. As usual, we will also be hosting our Sweetwater Yoga session on our covered porch from 11:00-12:00. Please join us.

Although Florida has not become the massive arctic landscape seen elsewhere in the country, we’ve still had our work cut out for us trying to prepare our vegetables for the prolonged plummet in temperature. The farm team really brought the heat on Sunday and Monday covering our Bell Pepper plants and installing insulation on the greenhouse to ensure bountiful harvests for months to come. While some of the Nightshades may be wrapping up their time with us, we are excited to have new starts in the greenhouse growing for the spring.

As the kids return to school this week, it would be a great time to tell your child’s teacher about our Field Trip Program. Our educational field trips are fantastic tools to supplement science curricula as your children learn about plant life cycles, organic and inorganic materials, soil health, and the life sciences. For more information and questions, please contact our Education Program Manager, Chris, at education@sweetwater-organic.org

For life-long learners, we have the Introduction to Permaculture Workshop with Bob Abbenzeller coming up this Sunday, January 12 from 1:30-3:30. This workshop will go over the defining ethics and principles of creating Permanent-Culture. Bob, a certified Permaculture designer, will instruct participants on how to integrate the philosophy of permaculture into their own backyard gardens. Please RSVP or direct your questions to our Workshop Coordinator at events@sweetwater-organic.org, and check out more upcoming Workshops at the Farm!

See you at the Farm!

Kaitlin

Happy New Year 2014 to all of our farm supporters. It is really hard to believe that we are entering our 22nd year. From that small dream back in February 1993, the seed was planted that has nourished so many of our bodies and souls. What has made Sweetwater the special place that it is, is our common belief, our common desire to contribute to something that is making a difference in our community, in our lives and the lives of others. That belief, that dream, that desire has been nurtured by all of you. So I would like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart as we continue the cycle, the journey that was started by just a few people 21 years ago, and has touched so many.

The fields are brimming with the freshest, most beautiful veggies, waiting to arrive at your homes. This does not happen easily, but only with the hard work of our committed team, who also believe in making a difference. So our hats off to our entire team for making it happen.

As with many businesses, we continue to face challenges and struggles to make it in this economic environment. Being the pioneers of the local organic food movement, does not exempt us from much competition chipping away at the market we have worked so hard to create.

Thus, more than ever we need your help in keeping the dream alive. The following are a couple things you can do for the coming year to help keep us thriving:

Spread the word:

Encourage your friends and family to purchase a membership.

Tell them about the Sunday Market, bring them to the Sunday Market.

We now have a pickup location in St. Pete. Pass this on to your friends who live across the bay.  Ask them to pass it on.

Make a donation to Sweetwater and encourage those who have the means, to make a tax deductible charitable gift to Sweetwater. It could not go to a better cause. No amount is too small. Every little bit counts.

Again, we at Sweetwater want to give you our most heartfelt thanks for being part of our Community. Wishing you a healthy and happy 2014!  See you down on the Farm.

Sincerely,

Rick Martinez

Founder

The Tomatoes and Bell Peppers have been the wildcard this season. Who else is amazed in the abundance they are still producing? Those Nightshades had a rough go with the rains, the heat (along with it’s vicious side-kick, uber-pests), the cold surrounding Thanksgiving; however, they are still kicking it! We can only run our luck for so long with them, so I hope everyone is enjoying their harvest and perhaps preserving some for the months to come because these favorites probably won’t be back until April.

On the opposing note, we are sowing new crops to come in the Rose Garden. This week we went through the fields with the S-Tine removing weed and growth build-up and tilling. Next week we will begin direct seeding Cascadia Snap Peas. This sweet pea was a new crop we experimented with last season, so we’re hopeful that this go-around there is an abundance for the share (in about 60 days).

Reminder: the Farm is closed on Wednesday and Thursday this week.  The CSA pick-up at the Farm is scheduled for this Friday 12-6.  The Whole Foods pick-up is also on Friday from 4-7:00.

Interested in volunteering? The farm team would love you to come help harvest! Slap that coffee pot on, grab the family, and meet us at 7:30am on Friday, December 27th or Sunday, December 29th in the barn.  It’s a great way to connect to the Earth and enjoy time with loved ones.

Happy Holidays!

Move over kale chips, because Kohlrabi is back in the share this week! Not only great in stir fries or soups, Kohlrabi is a fantastic chip alternative. Just thinly slice the globe, brush on olive oil, sprinkle on some salt, and bake. This freaky cousin of Cabbage commonly mistaken as a root vegetable is actually an engorged stem and packed full of Vitamin C. So after you throw those globes in the oven, be sure to save the leaves for tomorrow’s salad mix for an added vitamin boost.

Do you know someone who lives in St. Petersburg? Does that person love organic vegetables and hates schlepping over that bridge to get to Tampa? Fantastic! We are pleased to announce our new pick-up location at The Body Electric Yoga Company in St. Petersburg on Fridays from 4:00-6:30pm. So tell your friends that they can still sign-up for a CSA membership this season and pick-up locally grown produce in St. Pete.  Contact Us for more info and to sign up!  

Happy Holidays!

Mustards are magnificent, and we are going to unleash two of these nutrient powerhouses in the share this week. Tatsoi, also know as Spinach Mustard or Spoon Mustard, as well as Mustard Greens contain Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Folate, and Fiber. In particular, Tatsoi also brings Calcium and Beta-carotene to your table while Mustard Greens provide Vitamin K and Manganese. Both of these Brassicas are great in Chinese and Japanese dishes or just added to your favorite salad.

Get ready to fire up the pressure canner and bust out your brine! The late season green beans and dill are great for preserving the harvest in your pantry. Don’t know much about preserving food? Or want to learn more? Come to the Food Fermentation Workshop on Sunday, December 29 from 1:30-3:00pm with Austin Durant! Must RSVP at outreach@sweetwater-organic.org.

As the season continues to pick-up and more items are ready to harvest, our dedicated farm team has decided to get started a little earlier on CSA share pick-up days. Moving forward, farm volunteers can meet the team at 7:30am in the barn on Thursdays and Sundays to help with the morning harvest. We love the enthusiastic volunteers that come out to the farm and provide crucial help in making this community farm function. If you would like any more information about getting involved in volunteering, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@sweetwater-organic.org.

As another way to help out the community, Sweetwater has partnered with Metropolitan Ministries to give back to those in need. Metropolitan Ministries’ program “Hope Starts with a Meal” brings hope to struggling Tampa Bay families by putting food on their tables. With your help they will serve more than 24,000 families this holiday season!

If you have some extra food in your pantry this holiday season, bring it out on your next visit to the farm and place it in the blue donation barrels. Some needed donation options are: cereal, canned fruit, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, canned vegetables, beans, bags of rice, cranberry sauce, gravy, dessert mixes, packaged cookies or pastries, or boxed pudding. We will be collecting dry goods from Thursday, December 5 through Thursday, December 19.

Another reminder for CSA Full Members and Half Members picking up on Week A schedule – we will be closed on Christmas 12/25 and the day after Christmas on 12/26.  The pick-up day for Thursday members will be on Friday, 12/27 from 12:00-6:00 for Sweetwater Farm pick-up and 4:00-7:00 for Whole Foods pick-up.  Let us know if you have any questions.

‘Tis the Season for fun and activity at the Farm.  See you at there!

Welcome back scallions to the share this week! Like onions, garlic, and shallots–scallions are a part of the Allium family. Scallions are perfect for chopping into a salad, fermenting with other winter vegetables, and of course–spicing up a stir fry. In the on going struggle that is farming, the Cabbage Loopers are back with full force. Loopers have earned their name based on the way they arch their body while crawling over and devouring plants. The best method to employ against your Looper problem is to dust the cabbage plant with ash from a fire.

A note about CSA pick-ups – in order for us to serve you better, this season we are trying to get accurate counts of actual member pick-up. As our goal is to harvest the morning of the CSA share pick-up we need to have an exact number of shares ready for pick-up. This allows everyone to get the freshest produce available and ensure the availability of each share. So moving forward, please double check your pick up date and make sure you arrive on that date. If you are unable to pick up on your regular date then please give us at least 24 hours notice prior to switching. You can do this by emailing our Program Coordinator at outreach@sweetwater-organic.org.

Finally, we hope that you will consider making a tax-deductible year-end donation to our Farm to benefit our Education and Outreach programs.  Although “Giving Tuesday” has come and gone, there’s still time to help.  Please follow this link to our Donate page and donate using a credit card, or mail or bring in a check.  Every dollar counts.

Donate Now…

Thank you and see you at the farm!

Kaitlin Hennessey

Program Coordinator

After a soggy start, our fields are dry and the crops are popping out of the ground with gusto! Has anyone else noticed the triumphant tomatoes this season? We are thrilled that the farm team decided to plant tomatoes this fall. Our favorites this season are the cherry tomatoes, Sungold & Black Cherry, which are packed with flavor and color. In addition, we sowed a few experimental beds of slicer tomato varieties–Sakura, Iron Lady, and Defiant–that are looking bountiful and luscious.

This may seem trivial to some, but we are amped about the latest addition of post harvest equipment. Yes, the glorious red monster of the salad spinner! Trying to battle against washing and waiting for the heaps of greens to dry on the racks was a frustrating process that would often end in farmers cursing their sullied crop damaged by water weight of greens on greens. Now, we have a finer quality crop to show for after washing and are seeking more spinners to add to our fleet.

CSA Members – since the Farm will be closed on Thursday, please remember to pick up your shares on Wednesday this week (if you are a normal Thursday pick-up) and Friday this week (if you normally pick up at Whole Foods).

Enjoy your Thanksgiving and sharing this beautiful nutritious food.  We hope you’ll bring your family and friends to our Sunday Market this weekend and show them how you support local farms and community.

See you at the Farm!

Kaitlin Hennessey

Program Coordinator

I hope you will take a few minutes to enjoy this amazing video submitted by our #Giving Tuesday Video Contest Winner – Meredith Bogush. We asked folks to make a short video about “What Sweetwater means to You.” We gave only about 10 days to shoot the video, edit, and get it back to us. I hope that you are as impressed and as moved as I was after watching it. Sweetwater is, after all, the embodiment of all of our efforts as a Community to create something meaningful, useful, and sustainable.

Just a little over a month ago, one of our Board Members emailed a video clip to the rest of the Board and asked us all to watch it. It was a Simon Sinek video about how to inspire great leadership. Simon’s talk centered around one major point – the idea that people often devote themselves to a specific cause or organization because they believe in WHY the organization does what it does.

And while Sweetwater “strives to be a model of a progressive, healthy and sustainable community in Tampa Bay” (taken straight from our strategic plan), I think that each of us have made some kind of personal or financial commitment to the Farm for our own special reason “WHY”. As the Program Director for the Farm for 4 years, I can tell you that I do what I do because we provide a creative environment for aspiring young farmers to learn about and grow beautiful food with the intention of healing our bodies and the earth. The whole process of mentoring and educating people; caring for the plants; and sharing the food creates an interconnection between the earth, the farmer, and our community that is unique and special. This interconnection and the strength it brings into my life is my personal “WHY”.

I’d be interested in knowing some of your “WHY’s”. If you’d like to share your story with us or provide feedback about Meredith’s video, please email me at programs@sweetwater-organic.org.

Speaking of “why”… I want to personally thank the 60 or so devoted Farm fans that called the weatherman’s bluff on Saturday evening and came out to our Planter’s Ball to enjoy this great place and some home-made food. We sure had fun.

I look forward to hearing from you. See you at the Farm.

Andrea Harms

Program Manager

programs@sweetwater-organic.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6QAMtvAUYI

There is a nip in the air and it actually feels like Fall, making it perfect weather to pick up your first CSA Membership “share” of fresh organic veggies from the Farm.  This week Full Members and “Week A” Half Members will get their first taste of the Farmer’s hard work.  You’ll see some items on Thursday and other items on Sunday (which is why the share items are sometimes listed as “Kale OR Collards”.)

This Saturday is also our annual Fall potluck dinner for Members and Non-Members, Planter’s Ball.  It’s a fun, casual event open to all.  Family, friends and community members gather to share some food, local drinks, and live music.  Looks like the weather will be nice!  This is event is a fundraiser for the Farm, so there is a $10 ticket price which may be paid at the door.  We hope you’ll join us.  And if you’d like to get in for free, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator so that she can sign you up to volunteer at the event!

We’d also like to thank a few people as we start our new season.  A big “Thanks” goes out to our faithful “Friends of the Farm”… those folks that pay above and beyond the cost of a Membership so that they can support the Farm and our Educational programs.  This Season so far, our “Friends” are Deborah Garber, Nancy Greenlees, Jaye Maddon, Virginia Overstreet, and Crystal VanMeter.  And a very special Thanks to Whole Foods Market Tampa (and especially Curtis and Maria) for their very generous sponsorship of our events, allowing us to use their store as a CSA pick-up location, and giving us a jump-start on our fundraising for the Season by choosing us for their 5% Day which brought in more than $3,000!

Most of all, we’d like to thank all the new and renewing Members who create the foundation for everything we do here at the Farm.  Without your Memberships to our Farm, none of this would be possible.

See you all at the Farm!