Members of Berkeley’s Tuv Ha’Aretz learned a hard lesson in CSA farming last week. I had two Israeli cousins in tow — they were staying with me for a few days as they took their two teenaged kids on a jaunt through parts of the U.S., and incidentally, just as they looked at me in astonishment when I told them I lit candles and said kiddush every Friday night, they were equally incredulous when I told them that I picked up a box of organic veggies every Wednesday from my synagogue — as soon as I took my box, I felt it was much lighter than usual. I didn’t stop to find out why; I was in a rush to get my cousins to the car rental place.

If we were disappointed to learn that we wouldn’t be getting our gorgeous tomatoes last week, it was heartbreaking to read what is happening on our farm. A vacationer returned from Hawaii to the Dixon area (where our farm is located, right outside Davis, CA) with the dreaded Meditteranean Fruitfly. The whole area of Dixon has been quarantined, and no produce that the fruitfly likes can leave any farm.

I don’t know what’s more sad, Nigel Walker, our farmer thinking he may be out up to $8,000 to $10,000 a week for the next few weeks, or all those tomatoes with no place to go.

A letter inside our box explained, with an email follow-up that other farms were pitching in in great numbers to help them fill our boxes, and things would probably be normal because of it soon.

The article about the crisis can be read here. But let’s just say things look bleak. Very, very bleak not only for our farm, but for many others. (The link will bring you to a registration site, but the URL for the article is in the browser; simply get rid of the first part, and you will see the www. with the rest of the address at the end).

Coincidentally, our Tuv Ha’Aretz chapter is camping on the farm this weekend. Planned long in advance, two of our members went up there on Sunday to build a sukkah that we all will eat in throughout the weekend. Obviously we couldn’t have anticipated something like this happening, but it surely will give us a really interesting point of view to learn about farming up close.

On Sunday, CSA members are invited to bring their canning jars for a big canning party. We will be up there anyway, so we get to partake in this, as one way to save some tomatoes.

Stay tuned for more about our Shabbaton at Eatwell Farm, next week.