'Henry Got Crops' 2011 Season Approaching

This coming month, the 26-week growing season of the community supported agriculture partnership between Weavers Way Co-Op and will begin. "Henry Got Crops," which gives locals an opportunity to invest directly in fresh produce and students a chance to try their hand at farming, is in its fourth season.

The program, situated on a 2 1/4 acre plot of farmland on Saul's Roxborough campus, yields beets, broccoli, and squash, among other varieties of produce. The fresh vegetables and herbs are sold at Weavers Way shops in Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill, and on West Oak Lane. The remainder goes directly to shareholders who make an investment in the farm before the season.

"We grow a pretty broad selection: 30 or 40 different things," said Weavers Way communications director Jonathan McGoran, adding that what's available on the farm at any given time is contingent on weather and a host of other factors.

Saul isn't strictly the location of the site either: its students have a hand in the harvest. Though academic obligations and the fact and timing of their summer vacation limit their participation, McGoran said they are integral to the operation.

"The kids and teachers at Saul help out when they can and when they can't, [Weavers Way] picks up the slack," said McGoran. "They're involved though. We've now gotten funding to pay students who want to work on the farm in the summer. Saul is the largest agricultural high school in the country, some of these kids will be studying agricultural sciences in college, and now they get an opportunity to work on a farm as a summer job."

McGowan said Weavers Way initiated the partnership with Saul at the conclusion of the 2007 growing season. The then eight-year-old co-op had just finished a successful partnership with Martin Luther King High School and was eager to branch out.

"We'd had some minor partnerships with Saul before, and we decided to look for further ways to work together," said McGowan. They harvested their first crops together in 2008 and haven't stopped since.

Shares of the upcoming "Henry Got Crops" harvests are presently for sale. For $400, two people have access to a portion of the weekly harvest, and for $710, four people can get the same. Visit the Weavers Way website for more information.

Editor's Note: Sol Levy, who took the pictures in the accompanying gallery, passed away on April 16. Patch memorialized him .