St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea to host annual Community Supported Agriculture Fair in March

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Bobby Maldonado

248-858-6662

Bobby.Maldonado@stjoeshealth.org

February 27, 2019

CHELSEA, Mich. (Feb. 27, 2019) – St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea and 5 Healthy Towns will host the 3 Annual Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Fair on March 17, from noon to 3 p.m. at The Ugly Dog Distillery in Downtown Chelsea. Attendees will have an opportunity to meet and speak with local farmers, as well as sign up for summer CSA memberships, which include access to weekly boxes of in-season produce.

"The CSA membership is an opportunity for people to access affordable, sustainably grown food, and helps support local farmers," said Emily Griswold, manager of the Chelsea Farmers Market. "Engaging with vegetables that you have never seen can create excitement around food preparation and expand your nutritional intake. Putting your dollars into small-scale farms not only supports a local business, it can positively impact the surrounding watershed, build soil health and create flowers for our local pollinators."

A CSA membership is a subscription-like service to a local farm's produce, which can include vegetables, fruit, humanely raised meats, organic options, or more, depending on the farm. At the fair, potential CSA members will have the opportunity to browse tables and meet with local farmers and producers. Attendees can ask questions and learn about which CSA options are best for them, based on the food options, pickup times and locations, and the price of each farm. Once signed up, CSA members will have access to weekly boxes of fresh, locally produced food.

Memberships to CSA farms are available in the communities of Grass Lake, Stockbridge, Manchester, Chelsea, and Dexter, often with pickup locations at the town's farmers market.

A directory containing information about all CSA farms within the 5 Healthy Towns area will be made available prior to markets opening in May. Please e-mail all questions about this program to the Chelsea Farmers Market at coordinator@chelseafarmersmkt.org.

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About St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea

St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea (SJMC) is a not-for-profit joint venture hospital, whose partners are Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, a member of national Catholic health care system Trinity Health based in Livonia, Mich., and Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan. Founded in 1970, SJMC is nationally recognized for both quality of care and patient satisfaction by national ranking organization Press Ganey, and is accredited by the Joint Commission. SJMC employs more than 1,200 individuals with a medical staff of approximately 500 physicians. Key services include robust medical and surgical service lines, six operating rooms, a 24-hour emergency department and senior emergency room, a state-of-the-art cancer center, a physical medicine and rehabilitation department, a comprehensive head pain treatment unit and behavioral health services.