Tag: community

To say our CSA member Molly puts a lot on her plate might be the under-statement of this season.

Molly’s to-do list this autumn included, among others, celebrating her Vermont barn wedding with husband River; training for and completing the New York City Marathon; and registering for the Law School Admission Test.  That’s in addition to her full-time work for a civil rights non-profit, where she learned about CBCSA from her colleague and fellow CBCSA member Elizabeth.

“I thought it was such a cool concept,” says Molly, citing the appeal of becoming a member of an organization that enables access to organic, local vegetables for Brooklynites, no matter their income. “We should all eat our veggies.”The collective “we” hints at Molly’s social justice sensibility from which her CSA commitment stems. She later refers to the Martin Luther King, Jr. thesis that injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere.

Molly has expanded her CSA enthusiasm beyond that basic of eating veggies. At the beginning of the season, Molly shared her and her mother’s scrumptious recipe for Summer Squash with Montreal Seasoning, published in the newsletter. In September, she arranged a pick-up swap so as not to risk spoiling veggies while she was away for the  wedding, and shortly afterwards she carved out time for the conversation that informs this piece. Last week, Molly contributed her cheerfulness and solid work ethic during her distribution shift.

Once at home, in Crown Heights where Molly and River have lived for two and a half years, Molly appreciates the challenge of cooking with an abundance of seasonal vegetables. “It’s been an adventure for sure,” says Molly with a smile, identifying her go-to as tomato-onion-garlic. “I had never cooked chard before, for example. The CSA has caused me to branch out a lot.”

Branching out not only in her recipe repertoire, but to meet more neighbors was another factor that motivated Molly to sign up for CBCSA.  She said she looks forward to making the acquaintance of fellow members during the remainder of this season — and hopefully next season, too.