Friday, November 16, 2012

Goodbye 'til Next Year!

This is the end of our 26th year as a CSA. As far as I know, we were the second CSA in the US.  The first year we had 20 members, and I was the only “employee”. The farm grew rapidly after that, and although we could be proud of our success, I realize that the success really is due to you, our members.
In the early years, there was nothing here but the land – lots of mud, no power equipment, no driveways, no buildings, no “luxuries” like the Honey Bucket.  Most of our members lived in Seattle (no drop sites then), and were willing to drive to this little patch of our Earth every week, and pay up front on the promise and hope that there would be food in their box.  With only 1 acre as a start, we were the pioneers of the CSA movement.
The price of a share back then, 26 years ago, was $475. The selection and quantity of vegetables was a lot more erratic too, as we learned through experimentation.  Back then, income from the farm was put back into the business to expand and build all the infrastructure.  I spent days at the farm and nights cleaning dentist offices – fortunately, a lucrative enough business that I could wait for 15 years before drawing a salary.
Some of our members have been with us since the beginning, and many more for over 15 years.  I often hear a teenage child of a member comment that they remember coming here as a toddler.  What we have developed together, farmers and members, is a take on the “I remember my Grandma’s garden”, that I so often have heard from members as a reason why they were motivated to join the CSA in the first place.  I like to think that many of you will be thinking about “your CSA” when you have gone from here.
The Root Connection has been a model for other farmers to follow and start their own CSA’s. Many have failed, but despite that, there are now over 500 farms in Washington that have some form of CSA.  The management at The Root Connection has elected to continue with the original CSA model, with most of the members coming to the farm and being able to access the farmland.  The development of the inclusion of “u-pick” items was a really good idea, I think.  It’s been encouraging to see all the people enjoying the farm, and learning about the importance of saving our local farmland.
We sell around 400 memberships each year, and with all the people involved, that’s probably over 1,000 people who eat right from this 16 acre farm – really remarkable.  It’s been a tough decision to stick with the open campus model – with pressure coming in recent years from organizations that use a box delivery system composed of not-so-fresh produce purchased from other locations.  I know we lost a considerable amount of business (coming to the farm takes time!).  But it is gratifying to see people starting to come back, realizing that they want more of a connection to the roots of our food supply and this Earth.
In addition to our wonderful group of members, another group of people who deserve the credit for our success are our workers!  From the beginning, I decided that workers should be viewed as the number one asset of the farm (well, maybe number two after the incredibly fertile land itself).  Even in the early years, we have never paid our workers minimum wage.  It takes an incredible amount of skill and dedication to work a farm like this, and they deserve more.  True “sustainability” has to include more than being organic, taking care of the land – it has to include the humans too.  Unfortunately, according to the Dept of Labor statistics, farming is one of the 10 most hazardous occupations, and is the lowest paid.  Health issues are one of the reasons – on non-organic farms, people who work those fields have bodies that are so full of toxins from the chemicals that when they end up in hospitals medical personnel have to put on Hazmat suits before they can operate on them.  Children as young as 12 years old are allowed to work in the fields.  Life expectancy for farm workers is very short, usually die to cancer.  In fact, farmers and their families are in the top percentage of occupations that have brain cancer, breast cancer, testicular cancer, and miscarriages.
 Several of our wonderful field workers (the Laotian family) came here 14 years ago looking for farm work.  Since they were already working on a farm in the Puyallup Valley, much closer to where they live, I asked Dang why he wanted to work here.  He said “they pay little  and they poison us”.  They started work the next week and are still here. This year, a woman who was getting a farm tour from Stephanie, noticed the Laotian crew and asked “so how much to they get paid?”  I assume that she was thinking that they may have been getting paid a very low wage.  Actually, Dang earns more per hour then the General Manager (that’s me), and his brother not much less then that. The average wage for all our field crew is $14 per hour, and they take home all the food they can eat, for free.  I think that’s probably at least double the average wage for farm workers in the U.S.  Many of them have worked here for over 15 years.
Another component of sustainability is using any possible resources to encourage and support people who need help, and the agencies that are set up to help them.  Healthy food is primary – since farmers grow food, figuring out a way that farmers can afford to distribute part of their harvests to these people is sustainable for the community as a whole.
In 2009, Root Connection members formed Farms for Life (FFL), which is a link from local farmers to those in need.  Our members have been very supportive of this organization – thank you!  In 2012, with 5 farms involved, FFL donated over 18,000 pounds of produce from local farms to over 12 agencies, including food banks.  This was enough food to provide the vegetables in over 50,000 meals for an adult or child.  Please think about a year-end donation to Farms for Life so we can keep up and even expand the work next season.  And if you or someone in your family is a Microsoft employee, a donation to FFL can be made through the Microsoft Matching Fund which doubles the donation.
So all the components ~ the workers, charity, and the land ~ work in this wonderful dance. This is a model of true sustainability, and no one here is dying to grow your food. Thank you so much for helping to make it all happen!  Please spread the word to others, and come back next year.
Claire