City Fresh comes to LCCC

Posted by Gabriel Moore
Gabriel Moore
My name is Gabriel Moore and I'm a first-year from South Carolina, hoping to bec
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on August 7, 2012 in Local Foods

It may be the Southern boy in my heart, but the Collard Green festival in my hometown was always a highlight of my childhood. Everyone in the small, rural town would gather at the town hall and partake in a feast of all sorts of dishes, children would run around on the carnival rides, and it was a real town bonding experience. But the best part of it all was the fact that a majority of dishes brought were made with produce grown by local farms. This is probably why I was excited to hear that City Fresh, a local CSA (or community-supported agriculture) is continuing to push for local foods through a new partnership with Lorain County Community College (LCCC). Starting in June, weekly boxes of food from local farms is now available for subscribers to purchase at the new LCCC City Fresh stop.

City Fresh is a program of the New Agrarian Center, a non-profit organization that distributes locally grown seasonable vegetables and fruit to residents of Lorain, Cuyahoga, and Summit Counties. The majority of fruits and veggies are grown without the use of pesticides or genetic modifications, and even the vehicles that delivery produce use old vegetable oil. And you can guarantee that the supplies are fresh, as they are picked up within 24 hours of harvesting. Access to this incredible program has become even easier for residents of Lorain County with the establishment of the new pick-up location.

LCCC is not a newcomer when it comes to sustainability and local foods. David Cummings, Director of Auxiliary Services at LCCC, shared: ???Through Chef Eric Petrus??? leadership we had formulated an idea for a farmers market to be held here on the LCCC campus in 2010.  At the time we were about to open our new dining facilities in College Center and the resources to make the market happen were simply not at hand.  When the New Agrarian Center (NAC) approached us about utilizing the campus as a farm stop it made great sense to us and was a win-win.  The NAC wanted a stop that was a central meeting spot for many within the county who might not have access to locally grown, sustainable agriculture, and we wanted a farmers market on campus so it was a perfect blending of talents and resources.???

LCCC also recently hosted the Northeast Ohio Local Food Summit, sponsored by the New Agrarian Center, and has formed a partnership with them in the purchase of local produce as well as providing raw materials for composting. Their dining hall, besides actively recycling, also uses a green container program in order to give students an initiative to get rid of polystyrene carryout containers.

Though future plans are being made, in the immediate future, having good solid participation in the farm stop program is what LCCC and City Fresh are looking for most. As they continue to push to be leaders in sustainability, I believe we as a community should get behind them 100% and support our local farmers so we too can have delicious feasts of local food.

The first orders for this year???s shipment of produce began June 7th and weekly deliveries will be made June 14th until October 25th or later, depending on the harvest. Want to get in on this program? Go to http://cityfresh.org/ and sign up for your share of produce today! And if you have any favorite local food recipes you???d like to share, let us know in the comments section!

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My name is Gabriel Moore and I'm a first-year from South Carolina, hoping to become a double major in Biology and Musical Studies (Trombone performance). I have loved the Oberlin campus and people ever since being a Prospie and it's great to be able to be here in this nice, small town. I'm very excited to be able to work with the Oberlin Project as a Bonner Scholar. I believe this is an excellent organization and love being able to help with the changes and progress that we're planning to make. On the side, I am pretty involved with the Oberlin Christian Fellowship, enjoy jamming out on various instruments, going on walks and runs, and just enjoying the company of others.

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