Red Hook Initiative
SUPPORT URBAN AGRICULTURE, YOUTH JOBS, & GOOD EATS!
We offer a seasonal weekly produce share of vegetables grown right here in Red Hook. Supplemental shares of eggs, fruit and cheese (that we order from other local vendors) are also offered. Support our model of urban agriculture and youth empowerment while taking home fresh produce at affordable prices. We are unique among urban CSAs because the farm in which you invest is right here in your community! Please also read the Frequently Asked Questions section below before registering!
CALENDAR
- Dates: June 13/15 through November 14/16
- Duration: 22 weeks
- No pick up on August 29 or 31
- Pick up option 1: Saturdays, 10am-1pm at the Columbia Street Farm (560 Columbia Street)
- Pick up option 2: Thursdays, 4-6pm at Red Hook Initiative (767 Hicks Street) – note we’re back to the earlier hours!
FARM SHARE INFORMATION
- Full share: ~4 people
- Small share: ~2 people, pricing is 65% of full share
- Payment: cash, check, debit/credit, EBT
- NYCHA residents have a weekly payment option
- Pricing is sliding scale based on household income
Level 1:
- Full share: $363 ($16.50/week)
- Small share: $237 ($10.77/week)
- Household income: under $45,000
- Payable in full in advance, or in two equal installments
Level 2:
- Full share: $484 ($22/week)
- Small share: $315 ($14.32/week)
- Household income: $45,000-$65,000
- Payable in full in advance, or in two equal installments
Level 3:
- Full share: $605 ($27.50/week)
- Small share: $394 ($17.90/week)
- Household Income: $65,000 and higher
- Payable in full in advance, or in two equal installments
Level 4: aka Benefactor Level, supports Level 1 and 2 shares
- Full share: $726 ($33/week)
- Small share: $472 ($21.45/week)
- Household Income: any
- Payable in full in advance, or in two equal installments
SUPPLEMENTAL SHARE INFO
- Fruit share: Full, $330, Small, $214.50
- Egg share: Dozen, $126.50, Half-Dozen, $77
- Cheese share: Full, $412.50, Small, $209
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is a CSA?
A CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, is an arrangement where at the beginning of the season (late spring/early summer) a group of people buy shares of the upcoming harvest directly from a farm. Then, every week they pick up their individual share of vegetables until the end of the season. This group of people are investing in the farm! The farmer benefits from a guaranteed group of buyers and the CSA members benefit from fresh, affordable produce. As with any investment, the farmer and the CSA members share in the triumphs and struggles of growing food. A bad year for cucumbers is a tragedy for all but a great season for tomatoes means that members get pounds and pounds for salsas galore!
Why should I join?
There are so many reasons to join a CSA, especially the Red Hook CSA! First, your membership re-circulates money back through Red Hook by supporting our ability to hire local youth to run the farm. The vegetables will have traveled ZERO miles, reducing your carbon footprint and ensuring you have the freshest vegetables possible. CSA’s are also an important tool for strengthening local food systems. And finally, you get to meet more of your neighbors and hang out one of the best farms in Brooklyn!
What would I get every week?
We provide a variety of vegetables and herbs (usually 7-10) every week, based on what is ready to harvest. An example full share from a random week last summer: 5 lbs. eggplant, 2 bunches Swiss chard, 2 lbs. cucumber, 2 bunches collards, 2 lbs. sweet peppers, 3/4 lb. hot peppers, 2 bunches arugula, and 4 ears corn.
What if I miss a week?
If you know you can’t pick up your share, have a friend come get it instead. Unclaimed shares are donated to our local food pantry here in Red Hook. We don’t hold shares for pick up at a later time.
Can I pick up my share on a Thursday one week, and a Saturday another week?
No, you can only pick up on your regular day.
Can I come earlier or later than the pick-up time?
No, we are not able to accommodate early pick ups at the farm or as we are setting up. Similarly, once we’ve packed up, it’s a wrap! Please make every effort to come during the stated times – staffing and work flow is calibrated to the minute so we can have everything ready on time, and meet all the other needs of the farms and our program participants as well.
Do I have to volunteer?
In the past, we used to ask members to volunteer 6 hours of their time during the season to support the weekly CSA distributions as well as ongoing farm work. After suspending this requirement during the pandemic, we have decided to leave the volunteering as strictly optional moving forward. We have a variety of tasks across both farm sites that require varying levels of physicality that could use your support! You can sign up for a weekday or Saturday work session here!
Frequently Asked Questions
What do you grow on Red Hook Farms? What happens to the produce?
We grow a variety of annual vegetables and perennial herbs on our farms – greens, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, leeks, root vegetables, and more. The produce is either sold or given out at our farm stands, distributed to families through our farm-share programs, donated to the local food pantry, or taken home by our teen farm apprentices and adult staff. In the past, we have also sold to local restaurants and partner organizations.
Vegetables from Red Hook?! Isn’t the soil around here contaminated?
The soil at the Columbia Street Farm is actually 24 inches of compost in one massive raised bed, built on top of concrete. The compost came from NYC’s Department of Sanitation after the farm was rebuilt after Superstorm Sandy, and has been amended over the years with compost that we produce on site. We test our soil regularly for contaminants – and it’s safe for food production. Similarly, we grow in raised beds at the Wolcott Street Farm, with purchased clean soil mixed with compost.
How did the farms weather Hurricane Sandy?
The Columbia Street Farm was heavily impacted by the superstorm in 2012 – 2 feet of brackish water inundated the farm, rendering the soil no longer arable. To recover, we removed all the original soil and completely replaced it with fresh compost (see above). We also lost our bees, a lot of farm equipment and had to take down our greenhouse. Steadily, we’ve been able to rebuild post-Sandy, with support from the city, volunteers and supporters. The Wolcott Street Farm was just being built when the storm hit, and had to be rebuilt in 2013.
Can I come visit?
We welcome visitors at the Columbia farm throughout the week and in particular on Saturdays. The Wolcott farm is always open for people to walk through.
Columbia Street Farm: 560 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Wolcott Street Farm: 30 Wolcott Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Public Transit Directions: Take the G or the F train to the Smith and 9th Street station and either walk (15-20 minutes) to the farms or catch the B61 or B57 bus. You can also take the R to the 4th Ave/9th Street station, and catch the B61 bus from there. For the Columbia Street Farm, get off the bus at the Ikea stop, the farm is directly across the street. For the Wolcott Street Farm, get off the bus at the corner of Lorraine and Otsego Streets – the farm is one block away, across from the library. From lower Manhattan, you can also catch the Ikea & NYC ferries.
Can my school, camp or group come visit?
We schedule school visits in the fall and spring on weekday mornings. See the school visits page for more info or email joshua@rhicenter.org. We also work with groups who want to arrange community service days for their staff – see the volunteer section of our website for additional information.
When can I drop off compost? What do you accept?
We accept food scraps everyday, any time – stop by the Columbia/Sigourney gate (the one closest to BASIS school) or the Beard/Otsego gate (the one closest to Ikea) and you’ll see brown bins outside. Those bins are there 24/7 – please no meat, dairy, or bones. Plastic bags in the garbage please!
Do you sell compost?
We don’t sell it, we give it away! (and use a lot of it at the farm). Check our Instagram for monthly compost give-away announcements! Available for individuals, community gardens, greening groups, and the like!
Do you have bees? Chickens?
We have two beehives that are tended by a wonderful volunteer beekeeper, Tim O’Neal of Borough Bees. We mainly keep the bees for their generous pollination services, and leave the honey so the hives can sustain their own populations, especially over the winter. In 2019, our team built a chicken coop and we are now proud hosts to 7 hens. They lay green, blue, pink, and brown eggs, which our youth farmers and staff take home.
How do I sign up to volunteer? Can my child/grandchild volunteer?
We have a number of different volunteer opportunities on weekdays as well as Saturdays. All volunteers must be 14 years or older to participate. Sign up for a weekday or Saturday work session here!
Are you hiring? Taking interns?
Check our employment page for updates on internship and job opportunities. Weren’t you called Added Value before? What happened?
Added Value launched as a non-profit that built the farms and offered programming for the Red Hook community from 2001-2018. All the staff and programs from Added Value were absorbed by Red Hook Initiative in November 2018. Red Hook Farms, a project of Red Hook Initiative, relaunched in 2019. Our new home will help increase equitable access to fresh produce and provide our youth apprentices with opportunities within RHI’s long-term youth development services.
