Hillside's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Hillside's community-supported agriculture (CSA) vision is for on-site food cultivation to be available to residents through a shared CSA model. 

Our CSA program has been designed to strengthen social connectedness, utilize a community-based food system, and foster a closer relationship between people and food. The CSA program intends for the majority of fresh food consumed by residents to be grown on the land they live on.

Crops are grown in the 2,000 sq ft greenhouse, garden plots, and yielded from the edible landscape. A unique component of Hillside's CSA is the produce yielded from the edible landscape. Designed with Permaculture principles, food-producing crops are embedded in the landscape throughout the entire campus; these crops not only yield food, but are intentionally designed to improve soil health, incorporate native species, and work in harmony with one another. Over time, the landscape will need less human maintenance while increasing food production.

The Hillside farm hosts bees and chickens for residents to enjoy honey and eggs. The edible landscape yields blueberries, kiwis, hazelnuts, cherries, and raspberries, among several other food-producing plants. Our garden plots grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs that will change throughout the seasons.

As buildings grow with each project phase, the edible landscape also grows. Currently, pears, chives, mint, thyme, and lavender are growing outside the residents' doorstep. These species will become more robust each coming season, and new crops will be planted in different areas of the campus as construction is completed. In the first few years of growth, you may not see a significant yield from these plants; this landscape is intended to develop slowly, produce more food, and reap environmental benefits as it matures.

For now, we are enjoying the first few ripe pears during this last week of August!