Hello PFP Community,
Here we are at the beginning of PFP’s TWENTY SIXTH year! As I enter my fourth growing season at PFP, I am still in awe of the arc of this organization, the talent and dedication of its staff, present and past, and all that we are able to accomplish together every year. To everyone on this list, whether you are brand new or have been with this organization since 1999, we appreciate you all so much!
I want to take this moment, as our greenhouse fills to the brim with seedlings and the farm team prepares the fields for future food, to catch you up on what we’ve been up to and to make an appeal to join us and become a member this season if you haven’t yet.
If you eat vegetables every week and live in or around Poughkeepsie, we invite you to source those veggies from PFP! Not only is local produce the environmentally friendly choice, fresh produce (often harvested the day of or day before distribution) tastes better, has a longer shelf life, and a higher nutrient value than store bought produce.
You can also rest assured, that all of our vegetables are grown with consideration for the long term health of the soil and surrounding ecosystem. We are Certified Naturally Grown, which means we use all organic growing methods, do not use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, and grow cover crops that build soil health and foster healthy beneficial insect communities.
Our market style CSA distribution means you get to choose which items you bring home each week. You can also sign up for a number of add-ons from partner farms, making PFP your one stop shop for delicious local veggies, fruit, berries, eggs, and dairy! Our share prices give you equal or higher value for your dollar as a farmer’s market or grocery store offering organic produce. When we have a bumper crop, you will take home much more for your money than what you would get elsewhere. If we have a major crop loss, your payment ahead of time will ensure that the farm can weather the storm. Many farming jobs are exploitative and low paid. The CSA model enables us to offer a living wage, a reasonable work week, and generous paid time off to our farmers.
Joining our CSA gets you great produce, supports environmental sustainability, good jobs for farmers, and it is in solidarity with our food access and education work! We work hard for Food Justice. Everyone deserves access to fresh and healthy produce. Here is some information about that work:
We believe that everyone deserves access to fresh, healthy produce. In 2024, PFP donated 62,953 pounds of produce to local food access partners as well as directly to low income families via free or subsidized CSA shares!
In 2024….
Over 143,612 lbs of food grown and harvested by our amazing team of farmers!
26,059 lbs of food donated to our Community Partners such as Dutchess Outreach, Fareground, Access for Living Support at PROS, Hudson River Housing, the Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie, Grace Smith House, Beulah Baptist Church, The Oakwood Community Fridge, and more! We are so grateful for these fantastic partners who make sure that fresh produce from PFP is making it into the hands of community members who may not otherwise have access.
31,740 lbs of produce donated through free or subsidized CSA shares for low income community members.
2,835 lbs of food gleaned in Community Harvest, in which we invite the community in to harvest food for themselves, their families, their communities, and local food access partners.
5,154 lbs of food grown by our friends at Titusville Farms diverted from the compost and connected to families in need by PFP.
Let’s do the math… That’s a total of 62,953 lbs of produce that PFP distributed to folks who would not otherwise be able to afford fresh, organically grown produce!
We believe that a sustainable, holistic approach to farming and land stewardship is crucial to facing the environmental challenges of our time. We commit to putting 20% of our 15 acres into cover crop rotation each year. This means resting the land from cash crop production and, instead, growing soil building crops that also provide habitat for beneficial insects and birds.
We believe that the farmers who grow our food deserve a living wage, generous paid time off, and a reasonable workweek. Over the past three years, we have raised the starting wage for farmers by $3/hour, reduced the work week in the height of the season from 45 to 43 hours/week, and brought our farm crew into our Shared Leadership and anti racism work.
We believe in community education around food, farming and culinary training. (2024 numbers to come!)
In 2023 we donated 292 recipe kits, including fresh food, recipes, and cooking supplies to local, low income families
We reached 1,666 school aged children through field trips, class visits, cooking workshops, and school garden workshops.
199 adults visited the farm for educational programming
We provided professional development to 311 educators and school staff in the city of Poughkeepsie, covering topics like including fresh produce in school meals.
We believe in cultivating local leadership in sustainable farming. Our goal is to train local youth to take over the rewarding, challenging, and well supported jobs at PFP one day. (2024 numbers to come!)
In 2023 we trained 20 new paid interns and 8 returning paid interns through our Green Jobs program. These City of Poughkeepsie school aged youth receive paid training in leadership, farming, cooking, and job readiness.
In 2023 we hired three returning Green Jobs interns as Green Jobs Crew Leaders, to keep them employed and further their leadership development.
Three former PFP interns were hired as PFP staff in 2023.
The sooner you sign up for CSA, the sooner we know that the food we are growing has a home, and that the costs associated with growing it will be covered. The level of security, comfort, and support that this provides to our non-profit organization can not be overstated. Thank you SO much to our Early Bird Supporters, who signed up in the Fall, and all who have signed up since! If you are planning to sign up for a share this season, please consider doing so today. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email Maddie, our CSA & Workshare Manager extraordinaire. She is standing by and ready to answer questions and walk you through the signup process. If you are not local, or CSA is not the right model for you, please consider supporting us by making a donation. This donation can connect a low income family in the City of Poughkeepsie with a free or subsidized share.
