From Farm to Table at JBSC

Want to bring farm fresh veggies home every week? Think supporting local agriculture and building community are important? We do too!

This year, for the first time, WHC is partnering with a local farm to bring a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program to JBSC. Every Tuesday from 4:00 – 6:00 pm, June through October, a truck from One Acre Farm will be in our parking lot with bags of produce grown and selected by “Farmer Mike” Protas for those who have enrolled in the CSA. We will have a variety of share sizes to fill the needs and interests of every family, from the veteran CSA’er who is ready to plow to the newbie looking to test the soil.

More than just an opportunity to bring the freshest vegetables into your home, we hope that our CSA will expand our community’s commitment to food justice. Judaism teaches us that it is our responsibility to take care of the earth. As it states in Ecclesiastes 1:4, “One generation goes, another comes, but the earth remains the same forever.” By making ethical eating choices and educating ourselves on the environmental, health, and economic issues surrounding food, we can ensure that our world is here for the next generation – and we can start with what we put on our tables.

It was with this responsibility in mind that we teamed up with Farmer Mike, who grew up in our congregation, to launch the Motzi Fellowship last summer. Sponsored by WHC’s TOV Fund, the Motzi Fellowship is a week of farming and tikkun olam for rising 8th – 12th graders. Our first Motzi Fellows spent a week working on One Acre Farm tending crops designated for local shelters. In the evenings, they participated in social action projects designed to help them understand issues of poverty, food instability, and economic justice. You can learn more about the experience of our Fellows by clicking here.

In growing our relationship with One Acre Farm, we know that our community will get more than just delicious vegetables. Keeping the “community” in community supported agriculture, CSA participants will be asked to volunteer a minimum of twice a season to help distribute the bags to other families on pick-up nights, and we’ll be giving back locally by donating our leftover produce to a partner charitable organization. We also hope to host potluck dinners with our CSA families, create recipe sharing newsletters, plan farm field trips, and more!

Space in our CSA is limited and registration is required. Please visit One Acre Farm to register today. For more information, contact Naomi Abelson, 202-895-6328.

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