This week find out why Ana is a lot like the coffee bean she helps get to you every other week.

Who are you? Ana and André Costa

What do you do? Teach Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art form

Where do you live? Lincoln Road between Bedford and Flatbush

Where did you grow up? Liberia, Kenya and Ithaca, NY (Ana), Brasilia, Brazil (Andre)

How long have you been a member? A few months

When you do your pickup where are you coming from? Julia’s gymnastics or playground

Where are you going to? Home! Exhausted!

What are you never without at pickup ? Our daughter, Julia

What time is it usually? 7pm ish

Who cooks your veggies/fruits? Me!

Who eats them? The whole family!

What do you think you use the most? Variety! & Collard Greens—I want more Collard Greens!

What’s your favorite fruit or veggie score? Basil and peaches

What’s the best part of the CSA? It is so close to home.

What does your community mean to you and how do you try to affect it? Community is inseparable from Capoeira and we foster a strong community amongst our students both inside and outside of the classroom.  We organize events in our back yard (Prospect Park) as a great meeting ground for our community.

Is there a fun fact about you that you would like to share? I was California’s youngest state pasteurizer at 18 years of age, pasteurizing organic goat milk and making delicious goat cheese with edible flowers and herbs for Sea Stars.

If you were a fruit or veggie what would you be?  Why?  I would be a bean—black, pinto or garbanzo.  Beans are a strong, delicious, complete and versatile food.  Or I could even be the energizing and joy-giving coffee-bean, roasted and brewed to perfection!

This week meet Nicole.  She is the liason with the police department in PLG and alerts us to the crime in the neighborhood and what is being done about it.  She also started and organizes a group of women who make (delicious) meals for new moms in the community.

Who are you? My name is Nicole. Our small family (husband Blaise and son Marius) has been living in PLG for almost two years. I grew up with a mother who made everything from scratch (including things like mayonnaise and granola bars and fruit roll-ups and yogurt), so I have a love of the kitchen and all that happens in it (on the flip side, I have a weird sensitivity about being the-kid-with-the-weird-lunch, maybe some of you can relateJ). I am always seeking more wholesome, nutritious and interesting foods, so I very much appreciate our CSA!

What do you do? I am the mother of a delightful 3 year old boy. I also own a small environmental commodities brokerage and consulting firm. We broker and consult in the wholesale energy markets for renewables, and in the carbon offset market in the US. I work from a home office.

Where do you live? Parkside Avenue.

Where did you grow up? All over the world – my father was with an international advertising firm.

How long have you been a member? Second summer and running!

What are you never without at pickup? My son usually comes with me. He loves playing with the toy kitchen in the back of the room by the fruit. I love giving him something to chew on the way home – a cucumber, a zucchini, a container of raspberries.

Who cooks your veggies/fruits? We use everything we get usually in the first 5 days or so. I make stews and jams and all kinds of concoctions. We now have a freezer in the basement so I’m busy filling it with summertime foods to get us through the dreary winter (this week was a variety of sorbets and quiches!)

For our last profile, meet Rebecca. She’s the good twin.

Who are you? Rebecca Johnson

What do you do? Director of Education at the Center for Environment, Economy, and Society at Columbia U. I develop environmental education programs for middle school teachers, journalists and business students.

Where do you live? Lenox Road (not technically in PLG—sorry!)

Where did you grow up? Glassboro, NJ (south, between Philly and Atlantic City). I was born in Bozeman Montana, though. That sounds cooler.

How long have you been a member? 3 years—since the start!

When you do your pickup ? After work, usually sneak in around 7

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There are only a few weeks left of your CSA share and your CSA newsletter.  We would like to inject a little testosterone into the profiles and feature some men.  To date there have been two single guys, two guys in a couple and a TWO YEAR OLD featured!  We know you’re out there and we know you love your CSA, so please tell us about YOU!  We love all our members!  We believe in girl power!  But we also want to represent, so please, guys, share a little about yourselves.

This week, meet the artist, Lizzie.

Who are you? Lizzie Scott

What do you do? I’m an artist.

Where do you live? Here!

 Where did you grow up? We moved a lot– I was born in Chicago, lived in North Carolina, Rhode Island, New Jersey. My father moved to NY when I was in High School, so I spent a lot of time here.

 How long have you been a member? This is our first year.

When you do your pickup where are you coming from? The playground or an adventure with the kids. Tuesday is one of my “home days.”

Where are you going to? Home for an early dinner.

What are you never without at pickup?  Nadia, my 18 month old.

What time is it usually? 5:00

Who cooks your veggies/fruits? Mostly me, sometimes my husband, Eric Eisner.

Who eats them? Everyone.

What do you think you use the most? Swiss Chard or tomatoes

What’s your favorite fruit or veggie score? Tomatoes or salad turnips.

What’s the best part of the CSA? Knowing so well where the food comes from.

Is there a fun fact about you that you would like to share? All my fingers bend backward.

 If you were a fruit or veggie what would you be?  Why? All of them sometimes.

Check out Lizzie’s work at lizziescott.net

This week get to know Mya.  And if you like Scrabble, she would like to get to know you.

Who are you? Mya Walker

What do you do? Stay at home mama

Where do you live? Rutland One

Where did you grow up? California

How long have you been a member? This is my first year.

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This week, meet Bossa Nova lovin’ Gabby.

Who are you? GABBY MERILES

What do you do? MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR WWW.GILT.COM

Where do you live? FLATBUSH

Where did you grow up? QUEENS, NY

How long have you been a member? 3 YEARS

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This week, meet Anita.  She makes rain.

Who are you? Anita Mambo Cohn

What do you do? I hang out with my one-year-old son, Joaquin and chow/lab, Lionel. I’m a psychotherapist in private practice, three days a week.

Where do you live? Sterling St. between Rogers and Nostrand

Where did you grow up? Kenya, New York City and Western Pennsylvania

How long have you been a member? Since it began!

When you do your pickup where are you coming from? It varies but Joaquin and I usually are en route from the Botanic Gardens.

Where are you going to? Usually home to feed my hungry baby.

What are you never without at pickup ? My kid!

What time is it usually? 4:30-5:30

Who cooks your veggies/fruits? My husband and I do.

Who eats them? The adults do. Joaquin is currently going through a “no slimy veggies” phase right now but he loves fruit and will eat zukes, if grilled with olive oil.

What do you think you use the most? Tomatoes

What’s your favorite fruit or veggie score? Nectarines, collards

What’s the best part of the CSA? Farm fresh food with a community-oriented focus.

Is there a fun fact about you that you would like to share? My second middle name “Nyumvula” means “comes with the rain.” When my husband and I traveled to a small desert town in Northern India, we were told it hadn’t rained for four long years. My husband, Mischa joked that because I had arrived things might change. The very next day, it poured! Our host family expressed their sheer joy and gratitude by dancing with us, on their rooftop, in the rain.

If you were a fruit or veggie what would you be? Why? A nectarine- they are sweet, refreshing, colorful and so satisfying.

Who are you?
I’m Jamie Yuenger.

What do you do?
I’m an independent documentary radio producer. www.jamieyuenger.wordpress.com

Where do you live?
179 Midwood Street, between Bedford and Rogers.

Where did you grow up?
Colorado, Louisiana, Alabama, Wisconsin, New York.

How long have you been a member?
This is my first, glorious year!

When you do your pickup where are you coming from?
My fiancé Greg, his daugher, Allyson, and I rotate. Often we walk up together after work.

What are you never without at pickup?
Canvas bags. Read the rest of this entry »

This week get to know Mr. Frank and if you see him be sure to give him a high five.

Who are you?
I’m Frank

What do you do?
Eat, play, sleep

Where do you live?
On Sterling St in PLG

Where did you grow up?
I’m still growing.

How long have you been a member?
My life and the CSA started right around the same time. I’m a lifetime member.

When you do your pickup where are you coming from?
I’m coming from home, where I have been doing my best to avoid taking a nap.

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