Where: Coffee on Broadway on the corner of Broadway and 29^th St.

When: Sunday, September 28^th, 2008 at 1:00 p.m.

What is a C.S.A.? Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a model of food production, sales, and distribution aimed at connecting local farmers with local consumers.

CSAs can be anything from a cooperative farm to a family farm to a mixture of both or an entity of our own making.

Members of a CSA pay for a portion of the farms seasonal operating budget by purchasing a share of the season's yield in the beginning of the season. The members receive a weekly share of the farm's harvest.

Typically, CSA farms are organic or practice sustainable agriculture. They produce a variety of vegetables, fruits and flowers for members. The produce is picked up or delivered to one of several locations.

Often, a newsletter will accompany the weekly produce to provide recipes, articles of interest and updates on the farm detailing what will be coming up in the next week and long-term projects.

On some farms, the labor is hired, on others the members contribute labor through planting, weeding, and harvesting.

Please join the discussion!

Kate Daniels

Quincy Steamboat Company, in concert with University of Illinois Extension, is hosting a series of locally-grown dinners that celebrate the uniqueness of each season.

Held in the ever-popular Quincy Steamboat Company, the celebrations will highlight the culinary talents of Sondra Bartley and Clyde Nall and a seasonal menu featuring foods produced by local and regional farmers. Diners will also have the opportunity to meet some of the farmers who grow or raise the food highlighted at each dinner.

Dates of the seasonal dinners are October 2, 2008, January 29, 2009, May 14, 2009 and July 16, 2009. Each dinner will begin at 6:30 pm with appetizers followed by a three course dinner. The dinners will be accompanied by coffee and tea and diners may bring their own wine and spirits to enjoy with the meal.

A very limited number of tickets are available for each dinner and the cost is $40 per person. Tickets for each of the dinners may be purchased at University of Illinois Extension at 330 S. 36th St. in Quincy or on-line. Reservations for the first dinner must be received by Monday September 29, 2008. Checks should be made payable to University of Illinois Extension.