Choctaw Indian produce initiative available in Jackson

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is expanding its fresh produce initiative to Jackson.

Choctaw Fresh Produce started enrolling members March 3 and has topped 40, said Dick Hoy, Choctaw Fresh Produce's general manager. Enrollment will stop once membership in the community-supported agriculture program reaches 100, he said.

For $396, members in the Jackson area can pick up a half-bushel box of chemical-free produce grown in high tunnels — a form of greenhouse — every week at Broad Street Baking Co. and Cafe in Banner Hall. A membership lasts for 12 weeks. Ideally, Jackson would have between 80 and 100 members; the reservation would have between 25 and 30, Hoy said.

Nonprofits like food pantries and those with a medical mission such as eliminating diabetes have already bought memberships, Hoy said.

Hoy said delivery should start April 9 "if the weather cooperates" with the produce's growing season.

The reusable boxes will have between eight and 10 items per week. Standards like tomatoes, spinach, green onions, eggplant, watermelon and sweet corn will join kale, Asian greens, bok choy and kohlrabi.

There's no financial incentive for Broad Street serving as the pick-up location, managing partner Jeff Good said. Instead, it will serve as part of Soul City Hospitality, a venture Good and a handful of other restaurateurs recently started that aims to help local farmers get their produce to market. "This is a perfect fit for that mission," Good said. "This is the first of what we hope will be a series of food access promotions and partnerships which will increase the availability of high quality, fresh produce for the people who live and work in our community."

Choctaw Fresh Produce started in 2012, with the goal of providing fresh produce to tribal members with a healthy eating bent. The initiative built a collection of high tunnels to grow the produce. Like greenhouses, high tunnels use sunlight to warm their interior faster than heat can escape but are cheaper to build. Irrigation systems are often included with the structures. Yields are generally higher and the growing season is longer for vegetables planted under a high tunnel.

That upfront investment has spurred the expansion of Choctaw Fresh Produce into Jackson, Hoy said.

"We always had intended on heading in that direction. We got to the size we felt like we could reach out to other people and expand the market and try different opportunities."

Community-supported agriculture programs first surfaced in the early 1980s, created to secure a fresh supply of fruits and vegetables from local farms. The local sourcing and fixed-price memberships eliminate costs like overseas shipping, cut down on unsafe handling practices, and offer food grown without chemicals like fertilizer and pesticides.

"This allows us to get our members our highest-quality produce in a convenient way," Hoy said.

Contact Clay Chandler at (601) 961-7264 or cchandler@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @claychand on Twitter.

Items offered by Choctaw Fresh Produce

•Vine-ripened tomatoes

•Collard greens

•Tomato berries

•Kale

•Asian greens

•Sweet corn

•Radish

•Bok choy

•Romaine lettuce

•Baby spinach

•Carrots

•Zucchini

•Green onions

•Spinach

•Kohlrabi

•Mixed greens

•Bell peppers

•Sweet peppers

•Yellow squash

•Green beans

•Cucumbers

•Artisan tomatoes

•Green tomatoes

•Eggplant

•Watermelon

•Sweet onions

For membership information, visit choctawfreshproduce.com.