Feeding Our Neighbors

By Leanna Mulvihill, Livestock Manager

Making our food more accessible is something we’re thinking about on the farm. We’re thinking about figuring out ways to give shares to folks at prices they can afford, distributing them at the right time and place and making sure people feel confident that they can use everything in their share.
 
Part of food access, for me, has been volunteering at the Food of Life/Comida de Vida Pantry at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Amenia, NY. This is one important piece of taking care of our community. Maitri Farm donates product to the pantry and we are really happy to do so.
 
There is still a gap. Our food is still too expensive for a lot of people who don’t go to the food pantry.
 
We understand that a lot of folks in our community struggle with food access and are trying to figure out how to address this. It’s important to us to feed full-time Dutchess County residents, not just weekenders.
 
We are inspired by what some of our peers are doing – Rock Steady, Poughkeepsie Farm Project, Healthy Food For All and have been dreaming up ways to implement similar programs.

This year we are piloting our Low Cost CSA Share program. This is half off of our every-other-week vegetable and every-other-week egg shares. We're excited to see how it goes!
 
Do you know of a community group that might be interested in receiving low cost CSA shares? Let’s talk! We are happy to help with fundraising and talk through what might be the most effective way to go about it. We’re looking for groups to partner with.
 
What are your needs? What’s the most effective way to get food to you? What are your favorite vegetables? What’s your favorite thing to cook?
 
We want to listen. Please email me leanna@maitrifarmny.com