Meet GI Acres from Grand Island, Nebraska!
“At GI Acres, our modified-market style CSA allows our members to enjoy both traditional and unusual varieties of fresh, local produce all summer. We do the work; you enjoy fresh!”
Chad and Kathy of GI Acres grow produce in their front yard, and backyard, and side yard and everywhere in between! On 3.5 acres they tend many different plots of garden space, raise laying hens, grow fruit trees and keep bees. Both were raised in families that kept large gardens and hunted. That spirit of food sovereignty and a curiosity about growing new things led Kathy and Chad, along with their family, to start up an urban farm CSA.
For the past several years people of the Grand Island area have been able to enjoy the fruits of GI Acres labors through their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program. People can purchase a share of the gardens and are provided with a selection of produce every week from June to September. Folks get a huge variety of produce – from heirloom tomatoes, to fresh herbs, to celery and winter squash.
“We sell shares in our garden. We do the work and you can enjoy the results of our efforts from June through September.”
GI Acres Offers:
- CSA Shares of homegrown herbs, fruits and vegetables
Where you can find GI Acres:
Website: http://grandislandacres.com/
308-384-3341
Grand Island, Nebraska
Urban and Suburban Farming
When you picture a farm what do you see? A large uninterrupted landscape of fields? Maybe a pasture with cows? A barn?
All of these images are indeed what a farm could look like, but there are many, many other ways of farming. People all over the world have been imagining a way of producing food to feed their neighbors and doesn’t involve owning or leasing many acres of rural land.
Urban-Ag examples:
- GI Acres in Grand Island Nebraska – 3.5 acre suburban home and gardens growing food for their CSA
- Lotus Gardens – an urban aquaponic farm in Lincoln, Nebraska.
- Big Muddy Urban Farm – a collective of growers tending their city plots with others, teaching and spreading the word about gardening and preserving.
- City Commons CSA – a cooperative of urban farms in Detroit Michigan. Each urban farm contributes produce to their cooperative CSA.
Community gardens, public orchards, urban beekeeping, hydro and aquaponic greenhouses, and indoor growing are just a few other examples of urban-ag. When you picture a farm in your town or city, what does it look like?