The Gator Community Supported Agriculture program can now offer more options for organic, fresh and local produce.
Frog Song Organics, one of Gator CSA’s participating farms, recently purchased 40 acres of farmland and plans to acquire livestock in hopes of recruiting more UF students and faculty.
Gator CSA is a program that works with a farm to provide the university community with fresh produce.
After joining the CSA program and paying a fee at the season’s start, members pick up a box of fresh produce every week on UF’s campus, according to the Office of Sustainability’s website.
The cost is $260 for 10 boxes in the Fall and $286 for 11 boxes in the Spring, both totalling $26 per week, according to the Gator CSA web page.
In turn, farmers receive immediate income for seeds and other necessities, often eliminating the need for operating loans.
The program also allows farmers to focus more on sustainable growing practices rather than marketing the produce, according to the website.
Co-owners of Frog Song Organics, Amy Van Scoik and John Bitter, both alumni of UF’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, have provided produce to UF students for four years.
Van Scoik said they started Frog Song Organics in 2011.
“The mission behind is just that we personally really love to eat and really love good quality food, and we felt the market was really wide open,” Van Scoik said.
She said the season is quickly approaching, and the CSA program will have plenty of crops for students, who currently make up a small portion of Frog Song Organics’ CSA membership.
“It’s a chance to both feed yourself, nurture a relationship and support a local farm, and that’s a win-win,” she said.
Rose Lyn Byrd, a 22-year-old UF economics senior, said she enjoys supporting local farms and eating healthy.
“This is my last year in Gainesville, and it makes me feel more a part of my community,” she said.
