From Farm to Table: CSA Options Grow on the North and South Forks

The East End of Long Island is prized as a place to live and visit for its pristine beaches, lush vineyards and picturesque downtowns, as well as for the abundance of fresh produce, fruits and seafood available through fishmongers and locally owned farm stands.

The Peconic Land Trust’s Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett established New York State’s first CSA, or community supported agriculture, model in the 1980s with the goal of being able to bring home farm-fresh produce on a weekly basis, and at a set price.

Since then, the CSA model has evolved to several farms across the East End, some offering add-on options like freshly baked bread, locally produced cheese and even flowers.

Here are some of our favorites:

Amber Waves

Amber Waves, located at the former Amagansett Farmers’ Market, offers a diverse CSA program, with nine different share lengths, beginning Memorial Day and ending with Thanksgiving. Pick-ups are available several days of the week, and both small and large shares are offered as well. Large shares feature between eight and 11 items, and some extras, with small shares featuring seven to eight items, with extras. Bread, fruit, cheese, flowers and kitchen add-on items are also available with each CSA. Amberwavesfarm.org

Balsam Farms

The Amagansett-based Balsam Farms offers a variety of CSA memberships, running from 15 to 27 weeks, partial portions to full portions, with additional options available to add on like a fruit share, a flower share, a prepared foods share, Iacono egg share, fresh mozzarella share, a bread share, an organic grass-fed beef share and a local/regional cheese share. For an additional fee, Balsam will even deliver your share to your door (on the South Fork, east of the Shinnecock canal). Balsamfarms.com

Garden of Eve Organic Farm

Garden of Eve Organic Farm in Riverhead offers vegetable shares, June through November, weekly or biweekly, featuring five to 15 pounds of harvested produce. A “Vegholic” share — twice the produce — is also available at a discounted rate. Members also can add a fruit share to their membership, as well as an egg share, featuring organic eggs. Plant shares — for those looking to jumpstart an at-home garden — are also available, with pick-up and delivery options available for Suffolk County residents. Gardenofevefarm.com

Golden Earthworm Organic Farm

Golden Earthworm Organic Farm in Riverhead will continue its CSA program this season, with full shares available weekly for 22 weeks, half shares in 11 bi-weekly boxes and a fruit share available for 16 or eight weeks. Golden Earthworm also offers pick-up and over two dozen locations across Suffolk and Nassau counties. Goldenearthworm.com

Natural Earth Organic Farms

Natural Earth Organic Farms in Calverton offers a weekly, organic produce share for 20 weeks, beginning in late June and running through the end of October. Split shares are available, as well as full shares, and delivery is available throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties for an additional fee. This year, the farm expects to include organic melons, in season, and will offer an optional add-on Briermere fruit share, featuring four pounds of in-season fruit from Briermere Farms. Naturalearthorganicfarms.com

Oregon Road Organics

Organic Road Organics, in Cutchogue, offers both 20- and 12-week shares for its CSA program, including full and half share options. Full shares generally feature between 10 and 12 items per basket with half shares including five to six items per basket. The program begins in early June with pick-up locations available in Cutchogue, but also at the NYU Langone Farmers Market in Mineola, the Three Village Farmers Market in East Setauket and at the Huntington Village Farmers Market. Oregonroadorganics.com.

Sang Lee Farms

Offering a 24-week CSA program, Sang Lee Farms in Peconic offers pick-up locations across Long Island and even in Brooklyn, making the reach of its program quite large and accessible. The program runs from June 3 through November 11, with full and partial veggie shares, as well as an add-on fruit share option. Sangleefarms.com

Sylvester Manor

Sylvester Manor Educational Farm, located on 200 acres on Shelter Island, has been running its CSA program since 2009. The weekly offerings include between five to eight seasonal produce items, available to pick up mid-June through October. A portion of shares is also donated by the farm to local food pantries. CSA members also are encouraged to bring food waste to the farm for composting, with a weekly contest to see who the biggest scrap saver is. Sylvestermanor.org

Quail Hill Farm

The original CSA in New York, Quail Hill Farm offers family shares, or households of two or more, with members harvesting much of their produce themselves, twice a week, from June through Halloween. Single shares for single person households are also available, as is a box share, for those who don’t feel like getting dirt under their fingernails and would rather pick up their produce, either from the farm or from Bridge Gardens in Bridgehampton. Peconiclandtrust.org

Zilnicki Farms

Zilnicki Farms, in Riverhead, offers small, medium and large farm shares of vegetables through its CSA, as well as a box featuring Zilnicki Farms grass fed and grass finished beef, including five pounds of ground beef, two packages of premade burgers and five pounds of premium cut steaks. Zilnickifarms.com.