A nice way to know where your food comes from

BY WENDY ELLIOTT

The Advertiser

NovaNewsNow.com

Laura Van Hattem-Contant grows fresh vegetables in Woodville for folks in town who don’t have gardens. She has become privotal in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

Through CSA, shareholders contract with farmers for a regular supply of vegetables. In the U.S., the programs have been billed as a way to save the family farm by linking farmers and customers who pay in advance to get vegetables each week during the growing season.

More than 1,200 U.S. farms participate in the programs. CSAs started in Japan in the late 1970s and arrived in North America by the mid-1980s.

Laura grew up on her family’s dairy farm and was an enthusiastic participant in 4-H. “I was always involved in agriculture and growing things,” says the young mom.

She went to the Nova Scotia Agriculture College with the idea of becoming a veterinarian. After two years, Laura said, she changed her mind and traveled to Iowa to study both sustainable agriculture and theology.

After obtaining her degree, she became an intern on a farm in Wisconsin and then she spent time working on an organic leek farm in Washington state.

“That was an experience with large scale farming,” Laura said. “I didn’t really like that.”

Hoping for 10 shareholders; found 28

Her next stop with husband Michael Contant was Australia, where they nabbed five months’ paid work on a sheep farm. “I love animals,” she said. “I really liked it there.” The couple also spent from a day to three weeks on various farms in New Zealand.

After a year, they got tired of migrant labour and came home. Laura spent two years working for the department of natural resources.

After she had daughter Maetia, Laura looked around her dad’s farm and thought she’d have time to manage gardening. Last year she conducted a survey at the Wolfville Farmers’ Market into demand for CSA.

“I was hoping for 10 (shareholders) and I found 28.” This spring they signed on for a 10-week commitment with post-dated cheques. Laura juggled motherhood and gardening three or four acres this summer.

Her customers told her how much they enjoyed meal preparation with new greens and she provided recipes for some of the less well-known ones, like Swiss chard and kale.

“They were very excited when I included raspberries and blackberries, but the gooseberries weren’t popular,” Laura laughed. She always added fresh herbs and often flowers.

“I got a lot of positive feedback. CSA is a nice way for people to know where their food comes from. That’s what’s missing from large scale agriculture.”

Laura plans to continue this form of farming next season, perhaps adding eggs and chicken. But with another baby on the way, she won’t be delivering her weekly baskets.

Laura sees support for agricultural alternatives growing and appreciates the help she has received from mentors like David Greenberg, Ted Hutten and her family.

“Big business farming is depressing and it’s not sustainable,” Laura said. “This has been a learning curve, but I’m definitely encouraged when I see people excited about food.”