Syracuse’s Common Threads Farm vegetable delivery service is already competing with Wegmans’ same-day delivery program.

Common Threads Farm has been delivering fresh vegetables to students, faculty and staff at Syracuse University for three years. With the recent introduction of Wegmans’ same-day delivery service comes the possibility of a threat to community supported agriculture.

Wendy Burkhart-Spiegel founded Common Threads along with her husband Asher in 2012. She said she has seen a drop in membership in the past two years.

“With us, the challenge is that because members are eating seasonally, they might end up eating vegetables they’re not used to cooking with,” she said. “So people go to the grocery store to get the couple of things they are used to buying.”

Common Threads Farm began delivering fresh produce to campus through a partnership with BrainFeeders, a registered student organization at SU.

The Syracuse farm has members subscribe to and sign up for a share of the farm annually or each season. Once a person becomes a member, they receive a share of produce every week. The food they receive depends upon what is in season.

Burkhart-Spiegel said in the past she has not felt competition from grocery stores because their farm offers organically-grown fresh, seasonal food.

Evan Weissman, an assistant professor of food studies at SU, said cost can be a deciding factor in a city like Syracuse.

“People here don’t have the capital. If I don’t have the money at the beginning of the year for food I may or may not get in August, it’s a tough thing,” said Weissman, referring to Common Threads’ year-long subscription members pay for in January of each year.

There is no guarantee that fresh produce will arrive every week, which is why there is a risk involved in being a member, Weissman said.

Buyers will not get back the money paid in the beginning of the year, Weissman said, even though they are not guaranteed any produce. The subscription payment is a way to participate in the farm and allots buyers a share of what the farm produces.

But there is always a risk involved. When natural disasters hit, people wonder where their vegetables are, Weissman said.

“You are entering into a risk with the farmer. You’re sharing the risk because agriculture is such a risky endeavor,” Weissman said.

Burkhart-Spiegel said she has tried to make community supported agriculture accessible to people across the socioeconomic spectrum by having members donate money to help subsidize subscriptions for lower-income members.

Low-income subscribers can apply for a sponsored share.

“We’ve donated thousands of pounds since the beginning of this harvest season. We try to think of every route to make waves for people to be able to afford it, even if price is prohibitive,” Burkhart-Spiegel said.

She said Common Threads also accepts food stamps.

SU student Deborah Orieta of Brainfeeders said there is uncertainty about the future of the Common Threads delivery program.

While Wegmans’ delivery service brings groceries straight to a customer’s door, Common Threads’ service drops off all of the campus’ deliveries to one pickup location on campus.

“We have — if need be — a home delivery for Syracuse staff and students, but that really depends on member availability, and I’m not even sure we’re running it this semester,” Orieta said.

Burkhart-Speigel said the first community supported agriculture project started in the United States in the 1980s as a way for people to eat locally and to help buyers know where their food is coming from. She said food is more affordable when bought directly from the farmer.

“The vegetables I receive through it give me happiness and to an extent are convenient and maybe even less costly for me,” Orieta said.

Published on September 14, 2017 at 8:54 am

Contact Neha: ntandon@syr.edu