Villa Maria Farm is announcing the return of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) where area residents purchase “farm shares” to access fresh organic produce, fruit, flowers and herbs. The 16th-annual program includes full and half shares with working and non-working options.

A “farm share” involves participating in a 16-week growing season, starting around mid-June through early to mid-October, weather permitting. Selections and quantities vary throughout the growing season.

Villa Maria Farm will offer a wide variety of organic produce in each share. Optional shares of fresh cut flowers will also be available. Villa Maria will answer questions on unfamiliar items in your share and can provide recipes or ideas for preparation.

Share pickup days occur at Villa Maria Farm from noon to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information about the CSA program, contact John Moreira (director of Land Management) at 724-964-8920, ext. 3385, or by email at jm******@************ry.org.

About Villa Maria Farm

Villa Maria Farm is located on Villa Maria Road in Villa Maria, Pa. near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border, just south of U.S. Route 422.

The certified-organic farm is situated on 761 acres of land and owned by the Sisters of the Humility of Mary. It includes 251 acres of tillable ground and up to 10 acres of gardens. The sisters and/or their employees have operated the farm for over 150 years. Another 400-plus acres remain a sustainably managed forest and forested wetlands, including 95 acres designated as an Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary.

Villa Maria Farm operates a year-round greenhouse where organic produce starts are seeded. Seasonal flowers, including bedding plants, hanging baskets, fall mums, Christmas poinsettias and Easter flowers, are also started there.

As a ministry of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, Villa Maria Farm is committed to donating as much as half of its produce to food banks and shelters in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio.

What is Community Supported Agriculture?

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm where the farmers and consumers share the risks and benefits of food production. For the Sisters of the Humility of Mary and Villa Maria Farm, it means a commitment to providing fresh, seasonal organic produce, fruit, flowers and herbs. Consumers, in turn, provide support so Villa Maria can continue farming in an environmentally sustainable way.

Participants can choose what type of share best fits their needs. This year, Villa Maria will offer:

• Working Full Vegetable Share. Will feed 2-4 people over 16 weeks. Requires 20 hours of work on the farm through the course of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) growing season. $500.
• Non-Working Full Vegetable Share. Will feed 2-4 people over 16 weeks. Requires no work on the farm. However, Villa Maria says volunteers are always appreciated. $600.
• Working Half Vegetable Share. Will feed 1-2 people over 16 weeks. Requires 20 hours of work on the farm. $225.
• Non-Working Half Vegetable Share. Will feed 1-2 people over 16 weeks. Requires no work on the farm. However, Villa Maria says volunteers are always appreciated. $325.
• Flower Share. Includes a freshly cut bouquet of flowers each week for 10 weeks from early July through early September. $90, plus $5.40 tax or $95.40.

Produce and growing schedule

Examples of produce found in farm shares from June through September appear below. Items are subject to change depending on availability and weather.

• June: salad mix, green onions, summer squash (zucchini, yellow squash), cucumbers, lettuce heads, radishes, mesclun greens, Swiss chard, broccoli, snap peas, early blueberries, spinach, bok choy and kale.
• July: beets, onions, cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, summer squash, early potatoes, eggplant, green peppers, green beans, early tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, tomatillo, broccoli, kohlrabi and blueberries.
• August: sweet corn, onions, summer squash, cucumbers, delicata squash, carrots, broccoli sprigs, cauliflower, slicing tomatoes, saucing tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, salsa kit, potatoes, peppers, melons, green beans, yellow beans, blueberries and cabbage.
• September: butternut squash, acorn squash, delicata squash, buttercup squash, pie pumpkin, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, salad mix, head lettuce, late tomatoes, hot peppers, broccoli, jack-o-lantern pumpkin, chestnuts, apples, pears, bok choy and melons.

Villa Maria Farm

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