Help Feed Low Income Families!

Rock Steady Farm and Flowers believes in utilizing holistic farming practices that allow us to grow high quality vegetables, flowers and herbs for our community. Through our Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSA) program we  currently provide 70 low-income families with fresh vegetable boxes, sponsored by North East Community Center. This year we want to raise money to reach our total goal of reaching 88 families by adding a new partnership with another local non-profit, Ancramdale’s Neighbors Helping Neighbors Association (NHN)! NHN has offered to pick up our CSA boxes every Monday and distribute them directly to families in need. We are raising funds to cover the cost of 18 additional CSA boxes to feed families in Dutchess and Columbia County. Last year we donated 700 pounds of food to ANHNA. This year we are seeking your support to both feed more families AND pay our hardworking farmers so that this can be sustainable for us as well.

How your donation will be used to feed an average family of four: 

$600 - Full Season Share (22 weeks of fresh vegetables June to Nov)

$108 - Four weeks of fresh vegetables

$27 - One week of fresh vegetables

(We have lowered our price per share to help make your contribution have more impact.  Normally our CSA is $650 a season, or $30 a week)

Our primary form of outreach is to send a general appeal via email to members of the Watershed Center's mailing list, our Fiscal Sponsor, as well as to all the current members of our CSA program and community of Ancramdale through our partner organization, Neighbors Helping Neighbors.  We are asking for $20+ donations in the hopes of getting upwards of 300 people to donate.  In addition, we will be reaching out via Facebook to friends of the farm, and also personally to members of the community to either match online funds or make donations themselves. All additional funds will go towards additional low income CSA boxes, upwards of $12,000 for 2016. If we surpass this goal these funds will go towards sending more food to a local food pantry.

Rock Steady Farm and Flowers believes that everyone deserves access to fresh, healthy food.  We have partnered with Ancramdale Neighbors Helping Neighbors Association (ANHNA) to provide low-income families with a box of fresh vegetables each week.  ANHNA is a small, grassroots volunteer organization founded in 2006. They focus on providing the residents of Ancram Township and its environs with direct aid and support in times of need. Their food delivery program currently provides healthy, locally produced food to over 50 people each week and in addition, they regularly deliver fresh produce, grocery staples and other foodstuffs to the Township’s two food pantries in Pine Plains and Hillsdale, New York  In total, they are currently redistributing on average over a ½ a ton of fresh produce, dairy, meat and other groceries each week; wholesome food that in many cases would otherwise have gone to waste.  Economically, their current recipient families tend to be members of “the working poor,” with at least one family member employed.  Our partnership and campaign will enable 18 additional families to benefit from their program in the Ancram Township.