April 9, 2010
Seton Harvest getting ready for shareholders
Farmer Joe Schalasky holds up a greenhouse-grown zucchini squash plant ready for planting in the field at Seton Harvest west of Evansville. (Message photo by Paul R. Leingang) Click for a larger version.
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
On an early Spring day at Seton Harvest, a visitor would find “Farmer Joe” Schalasky, hundreds of seedlings in a greenhouse ready for transplanting into the field, several volunteers planting cauliflower plants, one dog and 13 guineas.
Joe’s dog, Lucky, is the official greeter who comes to see every visitor at the farm across the road from the Daughters of Charity complex west of Evansville. The guineas are constantly in motion, helping control the insect population.
Lucky and the guineas are favorites among the children who come with their parents to pick up their weekly shares of organically grown produce. The new season is about to start, and shares are available.
Seton Harvest is a Community Supported Agriculture program — “a farm dividing up all its produce among a committed group of supporters who share with the farmer the risks and benefits of farming,” according to the Seton Harvest website. A full share generally is enough for a family of four.
In 2009, 146 families paying either $550 for a full share or $330 for a half share received 26 weeks of produce — lettuce, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, greens and onions, more than 50 items in all, grown to maturity in spring, summer and fall weeks. For 2010, a new “high tunnel” greenhouse has been added, providing more protected space for a more predictable outcome.
Twenty percent of the produce goes to charity. Last year, recipients included the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Evansville Christian Life Center, Ozanam Shelter, St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, St. Peter’s UCC Food pantry, St. Vincent Day Care and the Potters Wheel.
Farmer Joe runs the day-to-day operations, organizing planting, weeding and harvesting, and taking time out for news interviews and speaking engagements at educational events — “something I just never expected I would do as a farmer,” he said.
Seton Harvest was launched in the spring of 2006 on land that had long been idle as a means for the Daughters of Charity to address a number of growing ecological and societal concerns, according to Marvin Kemper, administrator of the program. “The Sisters recognized that the environmental impact associated with urban sprawl and conventional farming practices did not represent sustainable land use.”
Kemper said “the program has allowed for the responsible use of surplus land while promoting the consumption of healthy, chemically-free food among area residents, including the poor and marginalized.”
The central concept is “Knowing where your food is grown, how it is grown and who is growing it,” Kemper said. “Effectively, it is knowing everything we can about what we put into our bodies.”
Kemper says CSAs promote a healthy earth by eliminating the carbon emissions associated with the trucking and processing of conventional foods. “By employing the practices of composting, crop rotation and cover cropping CSA farms represent the very essence of sustainable agriculture.”
While it is unlikely that Seton Harvest will bring about radical change in the way area residents view local agriculture, it is hoped that the initiative will foster systemic change in the way people view their food consumption patterns.
“As a society, we have certainly gravitated away from the connectedness that existed when earlier generations relied on backyard gardens and the skills associated with preserving fruits and vegetables for year around consumption,” Kemper said. “In a world flooded with ultra-convenient, but largely unhealthy food sources, Seton Harvest provides a welcomed alternative.”
Kemper noted that “Over its first four seasons, Seton Harvest has provided an average of 35,000 pounds of locally grown vegetables and herbs to area residents. For those seeking a choice for 100 percent healthy food, it has indeed brought change.”
Information about Seton Harvest — along with applications for 2010 shareholders — is found at www.setonharvest.org or by calling (812) 963-7693. (New shareholders need to sign up by May 1.)