What do a bowling alley, rec center, homebrew supplies store, tea room, ice cream shop, juice bar, and art supplies store all have in common? Each location offers a selection of local produce, meats, cheeses and more through the Philly Foodworks farm share program. All across the Riverwards, customers can find and pick up fresh produce underneath the counters of many local businesses every week.

Philly Foodworks, a local community supported agriculture program (CSA), is creating a local distribution network for its food system. As Philly Foodworks has grown over the past few years, the CSA has expanded its network and has taken to using underutilized spaces within the community to double as pick up points so the CSA members have easier access to fresh produce every week.

“Most CSA models have trouble finding these pick up points,” Dylan Baird, one of Philly Foodworks founders, explained to Spirit News. “Traditionally, it was at someone’s house that would champion it. It would require a decent amount of work on behalf of that person.”

It’s easy to overlook that some highly trafficked and well known businesses in the Riverwards have been doubling as CSA pickup locations as well. “Specifically in the NoLibs-Fishtown area we’re at Little Baby’s Ice Cream Shop, Northern Liberties Rec Center, North Bowl, The Art Department, The Random Tea Room and Towner’s Juicery,” Baird explained.

The Philly Foodworks’ grassroots efforts do not just extend to its distribution. Its collection of food producers range from an independent wild foods forager, to an urban farm in West Philly, to a network of Amish farmers in Lancaster, to growing cooperatives in Mexico.

The CSA’s marketing efforts are also built on a network of relationships among community groups. From neighborhood associations to community businesses, Philly Foodworks is working with the communities it serves to get the word out about the importance of supporting a different food system and the benefit of heirloom varieties of plants and foods.

Many CSAs operate as traditional farm shares where a member will pay for the season in advance, but Philly Foodworks is a little different. Each week a customer can log onto the Philly Foodworks website and customize their produce box by adding or subtracting the fresh foods available that week — an option known as debit on delivery. The inability to customize one’s weekly produce was a barrier to entry that Philly Foodworks saw for new customers. Debit on delivery makes things more affordable and more approachable for CSA newbies. 

Philly Foodworks offers food from more than 30 farmers and producers within a 150-mile radius of Philadelphia. The ability to customize your share is made easier with this network of multiple producers. Baird gives an example: “If Frank the farmer has a tomato blight, you don’t get any tomatoes and you’re bummed out. But if we’re working from a number of different farms then we’re able to make sure you’ve always got access to tomatoes.” Baird paints this picture as he’s explaining the nuances to his hybrid CSA vision.

As the company continues to expand their focus will remain on farmer’s market goods like the meats, the dairy, the vegetables, as well as promoting more local one off items like tortillas made in south Philly or vegan donuts from west Philly keeping varied options for the adventurous customer that wants to explore.