The PFP of 2 years ago, at least in appearance, looks a bit different from the PFP of today, for the significant reason of a global pandemic and a restructuring of the CSA! One functional result for all of us has been no more work share program and fewer CSA members working with us on harvest, weeding, and more. We have heard from some of you that the program is missed, and we understand! We also miss seeing your many faces joining us on the farm for work, rain or shine, throughout the season.

Fortunately, for those missing the important connection to the food and work of PFP from lending a hand through work share, the opportunity to work still exists! The work share program allowed CSA members to access a lower CSA share price in return for a number of labor hours on the farm during the season. By transitioning to a new tiered, sliding scale model for CSA, shares are available to all at a variety of prices. In this model we trust everyone to make the pricing choice that is appropriate for their situation, but we avoid the requirement to work, meaning the multiple pricing options are not linked directly to physical ability.

What does this mean for folks missing work share shifts? You are still VERY welcome to spend some hours helping to grow, care for, harvest, and process plants and food alongside the farm team! This year, we have approached volunteer support differently from how it was done in the past, offering volunteer orientations in which we share about PFP as an organization and lay out the various volunteer opportunities that exist here.

A volunteer shift on the farm will look very much like a work share shift! We still count on the support of our community to bring in huge harvests of nourishing Poughkeepsie-grown vegetables and to care for the land by weeding, as well as managing tarps, row cover, and mulch materials. Volunteers have helped in a major way in 2021, weeding our new raspberry and rhubarb plantings, weeding potatoes and sweet potatoes, weeding onions, garlic, and leeks, and harvesting loads of garlic. There are upcoming opportunities to provide labor support with garlic cleaning/sorting, onion harvest, all sorts of weeding, potato harvest, carrot harvest, high tunnel bed preparation, and clearing mulch materials from harvested beds to make way for fall cover crop!

Are you someone who would like to be notified of opportunities to lend a hand on the farm when it is most needed? Simply head to our volunteer page at https://www.farmproject.org/volunteer , select ‘Register’, and fill out the short form. Farm support shifts will generally occur at least once a week, and to accommodate different schedules they will occur on mornings, afternoons, weekdays, and Saturdays. Registering as an interested volunteer is also a great way to hear about other support opportunities at PFP, including guided work caring for the Meditation and Discovery Gardens and stewarding Poughkeepsie school garden sites with the PFP Education team.

We sincerely look forward to working alongside new and familiar faces in the coming months as we bring in abundant fall harvests, soak up the sun (or rain), and prepare for the winter farm season! See you soon.

-Pat