The above photograph was taken above Flats Mentor Farm this summer. It might have been in July, when persistent rains caused flooding on farms all across eastern Massachusetts. Or it might have been as a result of Hurricane Ida, when the fields flooded again. To say that this was a challenging growing season would be an understatement for these farmers.

Flats Mentor Farm, located on 70 acres in Lancaster, MA hosts 354 immigrant farmers, who grow food to feed their extended families and who collectively participate in 40 farmers markets across Massachusetts. The non-profit that supports and hosts these farmers has helped to organize a fundraiser to off-set the extreme losses many of these farmers face this year.


If you are able, a donation of any size would make a big impact.

Farmers across the state are sharing this fundraiser with their community.

Five Forks Farm in Upton donated all of the profits from their sales this past weekend to the fundraiser. This is farm you should know, they grow incredible flowers for sale at their lovely farm stand on weekends - dahlias that will make you swoon are available now, and in spring, when we are all aching for a little boost of beauty, their greenhouses are full of early blooms - plus there are hiking trails at the farm. Their location is 153 North St, Upton. Follow them on facebook for up-to-date information on their farm stand offerings.
Inspired by the folks at Five Forks, and seeing that we have extra flowers in the field after our flower CSA ended last week, we are offering mixed bouquets for a suggested donation of $20 for sale during CSA pick up until frost.

You can either pay $20 which we will then donate to the FMF Fundraiser, or make a donation and show the receipt to the CSA stand manager.

Our supply will be limited, but we will do our best to have many lovely flowers available for the next few weeks!
Well, somehow this is it, we have reached the end of the Summer CSA, our first Summer CSA at our new location. It was a steep learning curve this year - new land, new systems, new crew (mostly!).

As I've said in previous emails - I was prepared for the challenge of this year. There is room for improvement everywhere I look, and yields were lower than anything I've experienced yet, but we planned for it to be tough this year, and we hope that you, our customers were happy with the bounty we were able to provide. Our CSA members are our most important customers, and we abandoned plans to wholesale any produce when it became clear that we'd need that produce to fill our CSA shares. We'll make up that difference another way.

I track the value of your shares based on our market prices each week. Some of the heavier tomato shares of August were up to $30 in value, some earlier shares were only $22. Together, the value came to $442, just a few cents more than my goal of providing you with 20% more in value than the standard share cost of $368. In a year like this, I'm proud to have achieved that goal, and grateful to my crew for all of their help making it happen!
A little note on our sliding scale payments this year - we had ten families able to participate in our CSA because of the reduced rate provided by those who were willing and able to pay the Community Supporter rate. The remaining funds raised were used to pay for shares donated directly to food pantries. Each we we donated more than 20 shares worth of produce, sometimes triple that amount, to area food pantries. We don't have exact weight totals, but a very conservative estimate is that we have donated 2560 pounds of produce so far this year.

One great benefit of deliberately donating produce to local pantries each week, and having received some financial support for those donations, is that it made donating additional produce very, very easy. I always knew I had someone coming to pick up produce, and if I had something extra and wasn't sure I could sell it, or there was just a lot left from market or CSA I could get it into the hands of someone ready to distribute it.

Thank you to everyone for supporting this effort.
So . . . What's in the Share?


1 pound tomatoes

Choose 4 (no repeats unless stated on the signs, limited quantities all around):
• carrots
• brussels sprouts tops (these are the tops of the brussels sprout plant - they taste like brussels but cook like collards or kale - really delicious! Sorry, the sprouts themselves won't be ready for about 6 weeks for the fall share!)
• 4 ears corn - these are a little smaller ears but sweet and tender. We trimmed the tips on these so you don't have to face the reality of organic sweet corn for your last share.
beets
mini-sweet peppers pint
1/2 pound ripe peppers
fairy tale eggplant pint these are our favorites - just cut in half and coat with olive oil and roast/saute/grill until tender, usually just 10 minutes. Super creamy, sweet flesh. No need to peel.
• napa cabbage we grilled this on Sunday and it was great! we just cut it into quarters and brushed with oil, then made a little cilantro/mayo dressing to put on after it was grilled. It would work on a pan too.
• cilantro
• radish

Choose one bag greens: arugula, micros, pea tendrils

Mix and Match 3 pounds:
yellow onions
red onions
green peppers
eggplants - they are getting smaller, we have to pick them this way in fall or they over mature/get damaged in some way, but they are especially tender!
zucchini/squash - limits here
delicata squash
all blue potatoes
leeks
The Recipes this week are a special edition from CSA member, Elizabeth Schneider:

I told her we'd have kale this week, but the kale is being slow to re-grow, so consider substituting the brussels sprouts tops for kale in any of these recipes:

My name is Elizabeth Schneider, I am a Girl Scout currently at the Ambassador level and I am working on my Gold Award. My project is called “Plant Powered - Changing the World One Meal at a Time”  I have created a YouTube channel, Instagram & Twitter account called "Plant Powered Scout" to educate my community on the benefits of plant-based eating.  I use these platforms to share the knowledge I have gained and share plant-based recipes I enjoy.  My family has been a member of Upswing Farm's CSA shares for several years and we really enjoy it. When I chose my project I reached out to Brittany to see if she would be a member of my advisory team. Her support and knowledge has been amazing and I have learned so much from her.  

If you would like to learn more about my project and the benefits of plant based eating I hope you check out my Youtube channel, Instagram, Twitter, & TikTok. 

This refreshing bright green smoothie is not only delicious but a great way to use up leftover kale.

With fall right around the corner this hearty stew will warm you up as the cooler weather rolls in.  

This creamy lemon one pot pasta cooks in under 30 minutes. Serve as a main meal or as a side along with your favorite protein. Replace suggested spinach with arugula or kale.

This simple fall pasta is not only beautiful but delicious. To make this dish plant based omit the pancetta and parmesan cheese.

Chinese Chicken Salad - Carlsbad Cravings (napa cabbage, peppers, carrots, cilantro) 
This salad will quickly become one of your favorites. It has the just the right amount of crunch and flavor to bring you coming back for more. To make this dish plant based omit the shredded chicken 

With apple picking season upon us this dish has all your favorite fall flavors wrapped up into a delicious salad. Try To make this plant based omit the bacon & feta cheese

This unique side dish is a great way to use up tomatoes. These come together in minutes and are a great addition to any meal.  

Try this different spin on pesto. This sauce is delicious drizzled on pasta, roasted vegetables or you favorite protein.  


REMEMBER! IF YOU WANT TO SWITCH YOUR PICK UP DAY I PREFER 48 HOURS NOTICE WHENEVER POSSIBLE!

If you can't make it, please feel free to send someone else to pick up your share, or reach out to us and we can coordinate an alternate pick up plan.
CSA Pick Up Hours:

Holliston Community Farm
34 Rogers Rd, Holliston
Tuesday, 1pm-6pm

Weston Nurseries
93 East Main St (but don't use the main entrance. At the light in front of the Nursery, turn uphill on Legacy Farm road and make your first right. It's a back entrance and you'll see the box truck!)
Thursday, 12pm-5pm

On Farm
65 Brookline St, Pepperell (but really it's more like 60 Brookline st, just east of where the GPS will take you. There's a big sign and a parking lot.)
Thursday 4pm-7pm

Enjoy!
Brittany and the Upswing Farm Team