The Grace Brothers Nursery CSA program is bigger than ever before
By Patricia Nugent
The Crop Report is in. Despite Ohio having such a cold and snowy winter, we can expect a beautiful, bountiful, bumper harvest of fruits and vegetables come summertime.
“Though we are not completely out of the woods, and there still might be a freeze in the blossom season, I would say it’s safe to predict we can expect a better year of produce than we’ve seen the past several years,” says Don Grace, who runs Grace Brothers Nursery with his brother, Kevin.
To have your own stake in all that locally grown goodness, the nursery is taking membership orders for its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.
Begun in 2011, the program has expanded dramatically each year.
Moving Into Meats and Breads
“We have added several options to the weekly shares that our customers have taken a strong liking to, such as eggs, artisan bread, chicken and, new this year, locally raised pork,” says Don. “People enjoy spending less time waiting in a grocery store line as much as they do knowing where their food comes from.”
The CSA program is easy to be a part of. You pay one price at the beginning of the season. Starting in early June, each week you pick up your boxed assortment of fruits and veggies and whichever add-on option you choose.
Don reports the new pork selection includes locally made sausage, smoked kielbasa and chorizo sausages.
Since crops are harvested at optimum ripeness, you can expect a colorful, ever-changing variety of produce each week, including seasonal fruits (berries, melons and apples), lettuce, cucumbers, onions, root vegetables, corn, potatoes, spinach, eggplant and herbs.
Produce comes from more than 20 local farmers throughout Cuyahoga, Medina, Wayne, and Ashland counties.
“The distribution footprint is smaller because the produce is not being trucked in from California or flown in from south of the equator,” points out Don. “And we only work with Certified Organic and small sustainable family farms.”
For the record, Don reports that his personal favorite vegetable-to-season picks are peas in June and Brussels sprouts in October and November.
In addition to a Full Session Share from the CSA, Session A, June 8-November 2 (22 weeks), Grace Brother’s will offer a Session B, June 29-September 28 (14 weeks) for $17-$30/week, and Meat and Dairy Add-Ons for $9/week.
To fit with today’s families, the share comes in three sizes: Garden Basket, Traditional and Family Share.
Helping Locals Find Work
Thinking and acting local is how the folks at Grace Brothers like to operate. Don reports this year they are increasing their partnership with farms that are part of the Solutions at Work (SAW) program, which is one of the largest employers of people with developmental disabilities in the state.
“Employing these local citizens on four urban farm locations in Cuyahoga County is a key part of our mission,” he says. “They are trained in agriculture through a program that’s designed to create innovative career choices. We support this model.”
There are a limited number of CSA shares sold. Register today: by phone at 440-237-2577, online at GraceBrosNursery.com, by mail or in-store before they sell out.
Grace Brothers Nursery is located at 12905 Ridge Road in North Royalton. CSA pick-up locations are at Grace Brothers Nursery, and at the Tremont General Store, 2418 Professor Ave, Cleveland. Pick-up times are Fridays and Saturdays at either location. Visit GraceBrosNursery.com to view an interesting video about the CSA program.