For the 19th season, Great Country Farms in Bluemont will partner with Our Lady of the Holy Cross Abbey in Clarke County for the Community Supported Agriculture initiative.

The CSA will connect Great Country Farms with consumers who sign up for a share of produce at the beginning of the season. They will receive produce weekly from June to October. Included in the Great Country Farms CSA is home or office delivery in Loudoun, Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria and Crystal City, a u-pick bonus share at the farm and on-farm experiences and u-pick festivals.

“As the buy-local trend gains momentum and Americans are seeking more ways to connect with their farmer and food sources, CSA and U-pick popularity is growing,” said farm co-owner, Kate Zurschmeide, “We are excited to expand our growing capacity for CSA boxes at the Abbey which will help us expand our u-pick vegetables at our home location in Bluemont.”

Holy Cross will provide land for vegetable growing and longer term fruit crops.

Holy Cross Abey is involved in the partnership through growing fruits and vegetables to be part of the distribution.

“The monks at Holy Cross Abbey are most pleased to partner with Great Country Farms in Bluemont to provide naturally grown fruits and vegetables to our local community,” said Abbot Robert Barnes. “Mark and Kate Zurschmeide have shown repeatedly these past twenty years that they understand how to coax bountiful harvests from the soil by employing environmentally sound, land stewardship practices. Finding folks that share our love for the land here in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley was an important consideration in forming this partnership together, and we feel fortunate to have met so perfect a match for us, literally just ‘over the mountain’. As spring approaches, we look forward to supporting new products on our farm, and joining with Kate and Mark as we begin another chapter in the sixty year history of Holy Cross Abbey.”

You can sign up for the CSA’s 2012 season by visiting greatcountryfarms.com.