CSAs Go a la Carte

By Analiese Paik

What do you get when you pair up a farmer with forward-thinking restaurateurs? An a la carte CSA.

Organizer Farah Masani, a former farm manager at Millstone Farm in Wilton now responsible for local sourcing for the Barcelona Restaurant Group, said the idea was forged with the restaurant’s customers in mind, but is open to anyone.  “People are looking for the convenience of a multi-farm CSA easily tailored to their tastes and needs that can be conveniently picked up at the restaurant after work. We’re making it fun by offering seasonal cocktails and special tapas using CSA ingredients during happy hour each Tuesday. If customers like the tapas, they can find the recipes online to make them at home” she said.

This CSA is the first pilot project in Barcelona’s plan to become a local food hub. Barcelona Restaurant Group’s co-owners Andy Pforzheimer and Sasa Mahr Batuz have long sourced from local farms using sustainable growing practices and theirs is the largest restaurant group sourcing from Millstone Farm in Wilton.

Sport Hill Farm in Easton, Speckled Rooster Farm in Westport, Cherry Grove Farm in Newtown, Wave Hill Bread in Norwalk, and Cote’s Naturals in Bristol (hydroponics) are the vendors supplying vegetables, eggs and artisan bread to the program. Customers can place orders online each week via a Barcelona-branded page on the Farmigo platform, a nationwide farm-to-consumer sales network founded in 2009. “We have over 3,000 Local Food Communities around the country” said Farmigo’s Community Leader Emily Kerr, “where farms are delivering to 100,000 members weekly.”

Sport Hill Farm in Easton employs organic growing practices and has a large CSA and 4-season farm stand located in the barn.

Once you enter your contact information on Barcelona Farmigo using this link, Emily Kerr will be your concierge, personally contacting you within 24 hours to help you through the registration process and answer any questions you have about the program.  There are no membership fees, no order minimums and no ongoing commitments required. A bonus feature of this program is that your subscription stays active until you change it, essentially creating a standing order.

Barcelona Farmigo is literally an a la carte CSA that meets consumer demand for flexibility and greater choice in CSAs. And for the farmer?  “We’re finding that for many farms, participation in a Farmigo Community is complementary to their CSA, not in any way a replacement” said Kerr.

Sport Hill Farm radishes and spring greens at the farm stand.

Barcelona’s Farmigo local buying program begins distributions on July 17. Orders placed by Sunday are ready for pick up each Tuesday between 3 and 8 pm at Barcelona Fairfield.

With Farmigo Barcelona you might just fall in love with the idea of doing your weekly fresh vegetable shopping online, then enjoying seasonal tapas and socializing during pickup.

Barcelona Fairfield

Executive Chef Helton DaSilva

4180 Black Rock Turnpike

Fairfield, CT  06825

Contact: Emily Kerr emily@farmigo.com

To Place an Order: http://community.farmigo.com/barcelona-wine-bar

Order online by Sunday for pick up at the restaurant the following Tuesday from 3:00-8:00 pm.