Part celebration and part education, this free event brings local farmers and fishermen together with community members to share information about opportunities to enjoy local, freshly harvested foods while supporting these enterprises in a meaningful way. Farms with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs ask you to commit to purchasing a share of the coming harvest before the season begins. You provide the farm with much-needed capital in the off-season in exchange for getting your locally grown, freshly harvested food direct from the farm at a fair price. Here in the midcoast, fishermen from Port Clyde Fresh Catch, a fishermen’s cooperative, offer a weekly Community Supported “Fish Drop”.

Participants in this year’s Belfast CSA-CSF Fair (as of 2/5), taking place on Sun. 3/1 from 1-3pm at the Belfast Free Library include: Glen Libby from Port Clyde Fresh Catch, Buckle Farm (Unity), New Beat Farm (Knox), Peacemeal Farm (Dixmont), Roots And Wings Farmstead (Monroe), Singing Nettle Farm (Brooks), Springdale Farm (Waldo), Village Farm (Freedom), and Wild Miller Farm (Palermo). There will be sustainably harvested local seafood and farm products for sale and sampling.

Co-sponsors: Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), and the Belfast Co-op. For more information, contact the Co-op's education coordinator, Kate Harris <kate@belfast.coop>. For MOFGA's directory of CSA Farms, click here; for information about Maine's CSA Fairs, click here.