Antonia Colleva on CSAs and Her Grandmother’s Farm in Bulgaria

In Search of a Greener New York is an ongoing Garden Collage series of explorations about sustainability efforts in New York City and beyond– including the people, places, and ideas that are making Manhattan a healthier, happier place to live. In this column, we spotlight individuals who are making New York a “greener” place in an attempt to discover how, exactly, they are doing it. This week, GC spotlights Antonia Colleva, whose nostalgia for her grandmother’s farm brings her to the Union Square Farmers Market.

Antonia Colleva was on her day off from work when we found her wandering the Union Square Farmers Market in search of a variety of produce. “I signed up for a CSA,” she tells us, “and every Tuesday they deliver different fruits and vegetables. At least this way you insure that you’ve gotten your food directly from the producer. Here [at the market], I wouldn’t buy meat or eggs, because I’m not sure about the controls– but I buy lots of fruits and vegetables here.”

“I buy all of my apples here– that’s probably what I buy the most. They have a large variety and they’re fresh– not like those fake apples from the stores.”

“I’m from Bulgaria, but I’ve been living here in NYC for 13 years now. We planted a few tomatoes last year on our fire escape and we’ve been trying a few herbs. My grandmother was a farmer in Bulgaria, so I spent summers picking tomatoes and corn, and I’m quite used to eating different animals and animals parts– so I’m quite careful about what I eat. That’s why we signed up with the farm, because everything they deliver is organic and raised in upstate New York.”