Farmworkers’ Rights and Preserving Small Farms: A Conversation About the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act

Our farmer, Martin Rodriguez will be participating in this panel discussion, sponsored in part by our supporting organization, The New York City Coalition Against Hunger.  This is going to be a fantastic event, so make sure to register soon!

The Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act is a New York State bill that was intended to provide fair labor protections to farmworkers who were excluded from the federal fair labor laws enacted in 1939.  The legislation’s opponents have argued that, in its current form, the bill is not fair to smaller farms, which predominate in New York State. This forum will explore how the rights of farmworkers can be ensured without endangering the livelihoods of small farmers.
 
When: May 20th, 6:30 – 8:30pm
Where: Draesel Hall, Church of the Holy Trinity, 316 East 88th St
(between 1st and 2nd Avenues), New York, NY 10128
Suggested donation:  $5-$20. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.  This is to cover the cost of panelists who traveled to speak at this event
Panelists include:
Ms. Jody Bolluyt, farmer, Roxbury Farm, policy committee member for NOFA-NY
Dr. Margaret Gray, Assistant Professor, Adelphi University, currently completing a book manuscript about Hudson Valley agriculture, food politics, and farmworkers.
Ms. Lea Kone, Assistant Director of NOFA NY
Ms. Librada Paz, former farmworker for several decades, farmworker advocate
Mr. Martin Rodriguez, farmer/owner, Mimo Mex Farm
Reverend Richard Witt, Executive Director, Rural & Migrant Ministry

Register for the event here.

Why Join? Because You Can Make A Difference!

CSA’s help you make personal changes that will likely positively affect more than just you. What a way to begin to make a difference.

A lot of the news I read and watch tells me that we all need to try harder to live within our means. Whether that means, sticking to a budget, or making more Earth-aware decisions, or even watching what we eat so that we can enjoy life and avoid costly trips to the doctor.  There is no one thing any of us can do that will improve every aspect of our lives, but for my money, joining a CSA is a great place to start.

Spend Differently

The membership fee in most CSA’s goes directly to the farmer as seed money, and Central Brooklyn CSA is no different. The reasoning is simple: by knowing whom they are planting for and how much they need to harvest, farmers are able to budget better and ultimately save money. CSA memberships can help members apply that same logic to their personal finances. By pre-paying for a season’s worth of produce, members can better plan their grocery budgets, save money week-to-week, and not have to worry about the price of carrots or lettuce going up every time they go shopping.

Buy Differently

Buying food from local farmers is literally investing in your own community. Spending money in your neighborhood keeps business in your neighborhood and encourages those businesses to provide the products and services you like. But buying food from local farmers is also an investment in our global community. Not only does buying from a local farmer reduce the gas used to ship food by as much as 90%, but often, as is the case with our farm MimoMex, CSA farmers refrain from using petroleum-based fertilizers, which also reduces the use of (and  harmful by-products) of fossil-fuels. Did you realize that 1 in every 6 gallons of oil used in America is used for agriculture? By joining a CSA and buying locally-grown foods, you can help change this.

Eat Differently

If making a change can help you live a more healthy and productive life, isn’t that a change worth making?                Sometimes the most important change we can make is within ourselves. For some folks, the hardest part of joining a CSA is committing to eat fresh vegetables and fruit. Cooking at home and eating produce everyday is different if you are not used to it, true enough. Replacing chips, crackers, and sugary snacks with fresh produce can reduce your risk of diabetes, high blood-pressure, obesity, and cancer.  What is more, the Central Brooklyn CSA is committed to helping our members find new, delicious, and healthy ways to prepare their produce!

CSA’s help you make personal changes that will likely positively affect more than just you. What a way to begin to make a difference.

Check out our shout-out on “Not Eating Out In New York”

Our good friend Cathy Erway wrote a great piece on the Central Brooklyn CSA… There is still time to sign up, but hurry!  Shares are moving fast!

Shares Only Available in Medium and High Income Categories

Hi Everyone – we still have shares available for purchase in the medium and high income categories.  All our low income shares are, however, sold out!

Thanks everyone for the great response! Don’t forget that we’ve extended the deadline to join. We are proud of the opportunity our CSA provides for members of our community to eat well for less, and want to make sure that everyone who is interested in becoming a member has a chance to.

Having said that, vegetable shares (standard memberships) and fruit and egg shares are going fast, so if you would like to become a member, we urge you to move quickly.

If you are interested but have questions or financial concerns, please contact us (no need to panic!).  If you sent in your deposit and membership agreement and want to make sure we received it, email us at CentralBrooklynCSA@gmail.com and we will get back to you right away.