News
It's snowing and blowing outside today, but Penn's Corner is hard at work inside. We're getting ready for the 2009 CSA season, and it should be a great one.
We'll be expanding our delivery locations, adding new varieties of produce to the boxes, and expanding our services offered on the website.
If all goes well, we will make the 2009 memberships available sometime next week! For now, click on this link to view a map of our delivery locations from 2008. We are looking to expand, so please let us know if you'd like to host a CSA in your neighborhood. We look forward to hearing from you.
Have a great New Year!
A big thank you to all of our wonderful CSA members and customers who have helped to make this season a successful one for our farmers. Your commitment to buying and eating local foods makes a world of difference to us. We hope you have a great Thanksgiving holiday. We will stay in touch in the upcoming weeks. Be well!
Good day, friends of Penn's Corner CSA.
Now that our CSA season is winding down (please note that unless you signed up for the November CSA, you're CSA is now complete), we're happy to announce our November 2008 Yard Sale. Please find the order form that is attached here. Or, you can copy and paste the link:
http://sfc.smallfarmcentral.com/dynamic_content/uploadfiles/26/PCFA%20Yard%20Sale%20112108%20product%20list.xls
There are a few details to keep in mind about the Yard Sale:
1. This is an a la carte sale. As a member of the CSA you are free to order produce and local foods from the Yard Sale. As a non-2008 CSA member, you are still able to purchase, however, there is a $5.00 delivery fee. We reserve the right to require a $20 minimum order for delivery.
2. Our order deadline is 9AM next Thursday, 11/13/08 (7 days from now).
3. Please follow the link to the Exel file and fill out the attached order form (including your name, email, phone, and pickup location requested). Email the Excel file back to us at [email protected]. Feel free to make any clarifying remarks about your order either on the sheet or in your email.
4. Our Yard Sale delivery day is Friday 11/21/08 (please note that this is different than the date we first advertised. Plesae make sure you have the correct date). Most locations will be available from mid-afternoon on. Remember, if you ordered meat, it will arrive fresh, not frozen. Please be prompt to pick it up! Your order will be labeled at the pickup site. Depending on the size of your order, you may have multiple boxes and/or bags. Please be careful and accurate when picking up your order.
5. We have a nice selection of pickup locations available for the Yard Sale:
a. 7516 Meade St 15208 at the East End Food Coop in Point Breeze (pickup time from 430pm-6pm),
b. 7245 Noblestown Rd 15071 at Goose Creek Gardens in Oakdale (pickup time yet to be determined),
c. 4702 Kincaid St 15224 in Garfield (pickup starts at 3pm),
d. 90 Woodhaven Dr 15228 in Mt. Lebanon (pickup starts at 4pm),
e. 1607 King James Dr 15237 in Franklin Park (pickup starts at 330pm)
f. 108 Horizon Dr 15237 in Ross Township (pickup starts at 315pm),
g. 100 Watkins Ave 15202 in Bellevue (yet to be finalized), and
h. 1156 Gobblers Run Rd 15774 at Pucker Brush Farm in Shelocta (pickup starts at noon).
6. Once the orders are finalized, we will send you an itemized invoice via email. We will also send you a link to pay for your purchase via Google Checkout. Both of these invoices should arrive on Thursday 11/20/08, the day before the delivery. At that point, we ask that you either pay for your purchase with a credit card on Google Checkout or else send in a check to Penn's Corner. Either way, we ask that you finalize your payment before picking up your purchase. Feel free to contact us if you have concerns.
Well, I think that is it for now. I look forward to hearing from many of you. Remember, all items are limited quantity. First ordered, first served.
Thanks so much for continuing to support your local farmers. We hope you enjoy your purchases.
Have a great weekend.
Neil Stauffer
Penn's Corner manager
#412.363.1971
Many of our CSA members have been asking, "Isn't there any way I can continue getting fresh farm products from Penn's Corner after October?" Well, I am glad to announce that the answer is now, YES!
Penn's Corner announces both our 2-Week November CSA Extension and our Holiday Yard Sales!
You can now continue your CSA Share for two more weeks beyond the October season. We will be delivering CSA boxes to certain CSA pickup locations on Wednesday November 5 & 12 (unfortunately, we will not be able to service all of our Harvest Share CSA locations). Follow this link to choose your pickup location and purchase the November CSA Extension by credit card. The deadline for signing up is Thursday October 30th. So, don't delay. Sign up now.
This time it’s the Pittsburgh Business Times, with the article, A healthy harvest: Small businesses reap big benefits from combination of local, organic produce, by Kris B. Mamula. The article nicely describes the interrelationship of Penn’s Corner Farm Alliance, organic farms, and the trucking company that connects them. It appears, however, that you must be a paid subscriber of the Pgh Business Times to read the entirety of the article at this time.
In case you missed it, Penn's Corner was featured on the 5 o'clock news last night! KDKA ran a nice story about how and why to join Penn's Corner CSA. Take a look at the clip and pass it on. The piece shows where and how the CSA boxes are packed as well as one particular pickup location in Squirrel Hill. A big thanks to Mary Robb Jackson, who did a wonderful job telling our CSA story!
Penn’s Corner CSA is teaming up with Greener Pastures CSA in Sligo, PA to offer you locally raised & grass-fed beef, pork, and lamb! Plus, if you still want to purchase a pastured chicken share, they are available again too! Now, you can add bi-monthly installments of meat to the CSA fruits and vegetables that you’re already receiving from Penn's Corner.
The all-natural beef, pork, and lamb are raised on a family farm without any hormones or chemicals. The lean, tasty beef is 100% grass-fed on pasture. The pork and lamb are given full access to pasture but are also supplemented with locally raised GMO-free grains. For those of you who enjoyed the whole cow hamburger last month, this is from the fields of the same farmers. Consider sharing a Meat CSA with your family or neighbors. With deliveries in August, October, and December, it will be great to have meat for both the summer and the holidays.
Buy local chicken through Penn's Corner CSA Chicken Shares this summer. Dave Chirico of West Liberty Farm in Dubois is a new Penn's Corner member. Having raised chickens on pasture for the last five years, he is very excited to make his tasty chickens available to Penn's Corner CSA members.
In Dave's own words, "I am dissatisfied with the poultry industry and am offering a much better bird at a reasonable price. My chickens will have fresh air, sun, shelter, and fresh pasture inside their movable pasture shelters. All the birds will eat plenty of fresh greens as well as our own blend of grains, vitamins, and minerals. There will be no hormones or antibiotics fed to our birds and the pasture is maintained using organic practices."
Are the chickens certified organic? No, but in many ways the pastured chicken is better than organic. Dave's chickens live in fresh grass, which is not required by organic standards. Animals need to be in the fields, eating grass and bugs to be their healthiest and have the highest levels of nutrients (Like Omega 3’s)! The pastured bird is treated more humanely, is healthier, and most importantly, it tastes better.
Each Penn's Corner CSA Chicken Share consists of four chickens (one per month) delivered throughout the summer at the East End Food Coop in Point Breeze. Each chicken weighs an average of 5 pounds and is delivered frozen. The delivery dates correspond to our regular produce deliveries from 4-6pm on Wednesdays. The dates are: June 18, July 23, August 27, & September 24.
Don't miss out on a wonderful event this coming weekend. Rachel's Sustainable Feast will feature all kinds of fun events based around local food and environmental awareness. Penn's Corner farmers will be on hand selling plants as well. Plus, chefs from the Big Burrito group will be doing cooking demonstrations featuring foods from Penn's Corner! Check it out on Sunday May 25th from noon-5pm!
Can you taste the tomato you just picked from your garden? Isn't it wonderful. You say you don't know where to buy a really good tomato plant?
We have just the answer for you. Visit the Penn's Corner Farm Alliance Booth at the Phipps Conservatory's May Market, Eco-Friendly Fair in Mellon Park this weekend. The fair runs from Friday, May 16, 10-7, Saturday, May 17, 10-7 and Sunday, May 18, 10-5. The Penn's Corner tent is being hosted by Pucker Brush Farm and Goose Creek Gardens. They are bringing over 50 different types of heirloom tomatoes, 5 types of basils, strawberry baskets, Rosemary, Lavender, Thyme, Nasturiums, tree tomatoes, liatris, catnip, Bay laurel. To name just a few. Check out the picture gallery to see a picture of this years booth.
