You can help needy families in our community and Fulton Stall Market’s local farmers by donating a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm share of seasonal vegetables through the market’s partnership with the Alfred E. Smith Houses Residents’ Association in the Two Bridges neighborhood.

If you are a parent of a public school student and received a Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) debit card in 2021-2022 that has unused value, you can use your card to purchase a CSA vegetable share valued at $24/week for donation until the card’s value is fully used.

The pre-bagged vegetable shares for donation are delivered by the farmer to FSM along with CSA members’ shares. The market then delivers the shares to the Alfred E. Smith Houses Residents’ Association which allocates them to resident families in greatest need of nutritious food.

A typical FSM Winter CSA vegetable share consists of a hefty bag of nutritious local potatoes, parsley, spinach, onions, Brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnip, turnip and kale grown and packed by Cheryl Rogowski of Rogowski Farm, Pine Island, NY (Hudson Valley), FSM’s MacArthur grant-winning vegetable farmer.

If you wish to generously donate such a CSA vegetable share to a local family in need using your P-EBT card, please follow these steps:

— Set up your P-EBT card’s PIN number if you have not done so. Call NYS for help at (833) 452-0096 from 8:30-5:30pm, Monday-Friday.
— Complete the brief online CSA donation form below. You’ll receive an email confirmation from FSM CSA Manager Zigi Lowenberg.
— Bring your P-EBT card to Fulton Stall Market at 91 South St. across from Pier 16/17 and the ship Wavertree, open Mon.–Sat. 11:30-5:00 PM. — Explain that you have signed up online to donate a CSA share using your P-EBT card. FSM’s staff will have a copy of your online CSA order.
— Use your P-EBT card to purchase a monthly CSA share donation for $96* (weekly share cost of $24 x 4 weeks). Because of USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) EBT rules, you can only pay in advance for a CSA share for a short term, not for a full CSA season (12-15 weeks).
— If your P-EBT card has a remaining balance and you wish to ensure that needy families receive its full value, please return monthly to FSM to debit another $96 until its full value is used. The impacts of your contribution may extend well into the Spring CSA season.

If you are interested in donating, please email FSM’s CSA Manager Zigi Lowenberg at zigi.fsm@gmail.com or call FSM at (212) 349-1380. You can purchase food from a grocery store using your P-EBT card and donate it to a local food pantry, but purchasing a CSA share of local produce via FSM maximizes your donation’s nutrition value, extends it for multiple weeks, and supports the nonprofit Fulton Stall Market’s farmers.

If you are interested in joining FSM’s CSA, now in its 19th season serving the Seaport community and Lower Manhattan, for your own household, information is here. You can join at any time. Thank you for your interest, and looking forward to serving your local food needs.