New Pond Farm offers a variety of fresh produce to twenty member families for twenty weeks of the growing season. The Shared Harvest program is now entering its fifth year when from June through October, members receive a share of what is growing in the farm’s vegetable, herb and flower gardens. This program provides an education in understanding the benefits and constraints of local, organic agriculture. Members learn which vegetables are in season at certain times of the year and often incorporate new and healthy foods into their cooking rotation. 
 

Through newsletter updates and helping out in the gardens, they also gain an understanding of the impact weather conditions, insects, and disease has on crop planning and yields.  The weekly newsletter also provides interesting articles regarding local agriculture, delicious recipes, and photos and descriptions of what’s in the bin that week. Different growing methods are used to help educate and encourage the membership to take what they’ve learned with them to feel empowered and better prepared to begin gardens of their own.
 

The vegetables are picked as close as possible to the pick up date in order to provide the freshest product possible. The season’s beginning crops include spinach greens, mixed lettuces, cilantro, and garlic scapes. As the weather grows warmer, the weekly bounty grows with traditional summer garden fresh vegetables such as cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes. In addition to produce, seasonal farm bouquets are offered when flowers are abundant. In the past members have described the program as an “adventure” with food that has allowed them to try new things and have a healthier diet.
 

This year we will once again offer a dairy and meat option as part of the Shared Harvest program. Members can choose among gallons, and half gallons of milk and quarts of yogurt. The meat option will consist of beef, lamb, pork, and veal. Each type of meat is distributed in bulk at different dates throughout the year.