NORWAY — An anonymous Norway family foundation has donated several community-supported agricultural shares to local families in need of fresh produce and other local food products.

“It came as a surprise to me,” said Claire Gelinas of the Fare Share Co-op, who was speaking to the foundation principal about other assistance when she learned the unnamed benefactor was interested in donating the shares.

“We”re trying to get folk to support the farmers,” Gelinas said of the efforts by many groups to provide locally grown food to needy families.

Gelinas said she is working with Barbara Murphy at the the Oxford County Cooperative Extension to get the local food to families who need it. Murphy was not available for comment Thursday.

Participants in community-supported agriculture give their support to a farming operation by committing in advance to purchase a regular “share” of the harvest, which is picked up or delivered on a regular schedule throughout the growing season, Gelinas said. Some farm budgets are funded entirely through CSA shares, she said.

In this case the anonymous donor has stepped up to make sure both local needy families and farmers are benefactors of the program because the families need fresh food and  farmers are less likely to waste food and money if they know what the needs are for planting in advance.

Gelinas said local families who need food usually don’t have readily available cooking facilities.

“That’s why we give them canned food,” she said of the typical food bank contribution that can be stored.

“This is fresh food. This is wonderful,” she said.

Gelinas said that the cost of a CSA share is usually competitively priced, even when compared to conventionally grown food from a supermarket, and those who purchase shares often volunteer or visit at the farm and become involved with the process.

For example, she said, LolliePapa Farm in West Paris sends out regular e-mails to members and includes news and recipes with its share pickup.

Not all CSAs are farms. The Progress Center’s Oxford Hills Food Collaborative is an example of a growing trend in CSAs internationally. The collaborative purchases products from Maine farms and makes them available to its customers in a weekly CSA package.

While many CSA farms focus primarily on vegetables, others do not. A Wrinkle in Thyme Farm in Sumner has a fiber CSA for spinners, knitters, weavers and felters. Meadow Ridge Perennial Farm grows a dazzling array of perennials, Gelinas said.

Families who want to learn more about the CSA shares are encouraged to attend this weekend’s CSA fair at the Fare Share Commons at 443 Main St. in Norway on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Sunday, Feb. 27, from noon to 3 p.m.

The fair will give people the opportunity to learn more about CSA shares and to meet with local farmers and producers, who will be available throughout the fair.

Gelinas said Cathi DiCocco, owner of Cafe DiCocoa and DiCocoa’s Marketplace in Bethel, will talk about local shares at the fair on Saturday at 11 a.m. DiCocco has worked with local food in her business enterprises since well before “local” became a catchword, including offering inexpensive and even free soup to her Bethel neighbors.

Gelinas said seven Norway Main Street businesses are offering special gifts and discounts throughout the month of March to anyone who purchases a CSA share directly from a farmer or producer at this year’s fair. Those businesses include Books ‘n’ Things, Cafe Nomad, Fare Share Co-op, Longley’s Hardware, Woodman’s and 100 Aker Wood.

For more information on purchasing shares or the CSA fair call Gelinas at Fare Share Co-op at 743-9044 or e-mail [email protected].

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NORWAY — The CSA Fair at the Fare Share Commons, 443 Main St. in Norway, will be held Saturday, Feb. 26, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 27, from noon to 3 p.m. The public is welcome to stop by to purchase a share or simply to meet their farmer.

At the fair …

Grandma’s House Bakery & Gardens is on Route 17N in Mexico. Carl and Gail Cutting grow early season greens in their high tunnel and veggies all summer and into the fall from gardens outside and in. They will offer CSA shares, herbs, salad greens, peas, carrots, beets, kohlrabi, kale, cabbage, cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes. A weekly loaf of homemade bread and occasional jar of jam, jelly or pickles made fresh are included.

Harvest Moon Produce has grown seasonal vegetables and cut flowers by sustainable farm methods since 1999. It participates in the Fox School Farmers Market and Oxford Hills Food Collaborative. Its CSA share begins with the first vegetables out of the spring garden and goes until the last of the flowers and fall crops have been harvested — all for $500. At peak season, customers will receive enough of some vegetables to preserve some fresh summer bounty for winter eating.

Kidd’s Hill Billy Farm does home deliveries and offers a variety of produce grown on the farm, including vegetables, fruits, herbs, berries and eggs. The farm’s goal is to have all its CSA participants have enough so they can can, freeze and dehydrate their extra produce for the winter. Goat and beef will be on the truck for additional purchasing, as well as goat milk soap made at the farm. Customers pick what they want, shopping with individual boxes for produce from the back of the truck. Kidd’s grows pork, chicken, turkeys and beef for its CSA members only and with strict organic methods and GMO seeds and plants. The weekly newsletter also offers recipes.

LolliePapa Farm, owned by Don and Jeanette Baldridge, is a small farm on 29 acres in West Paris that grows a large variety of mixed vegetables for sale at farmers markets and to CSA members. CSA members also receive eggs from several dozen hens and baked goods produced in the farm kitchen. A farm store is available during the season, with homemade soups, jams, jelly, pickles, relish, sauerkraut and baked goods available.

Maple Springs Farm operates on a “free range” model. Whereas some CSA programs require members to accept a predetermined mixture of products each week, its members can pick and choose among all their products. These include vegetables. Members may also choose to pick their own raspberries, cut their own flowers, and select flower, vegetable and herb plants.

Meadow Ridge Perennial Farm is the farm of Jaycee and Cindy Creps in Hebron offering hardy Maine-grown perennials, flowering shrubs, fresh-cut flower bouquets and handmade Christmas wreaths. CSA members receive weekly mixed flower bouquets from mid-June to the first frost. They may pick up their weekly bouquets from either the Norway Farmers Market or the Fox School Farmers Market. CSA members also receive a 10 percent discount on all additional cut-flower purchases throughout the season, including early daffodil and iris bunches, additional mixed bouquets, and gladiolus and sunflower stems.

The Oxford Hills Food Collaborative is a division of the Progress Center. It stocks carefully selected produce, beverage and grocery items and personal care products, many of which are locally produced; all are Maine produced. As part of its mission to invest in the local community, Oxford Hills Food Collaborative sells its products at a lower than average profit margin to keep the retail prices down while providing jobs and volunteer opportunities for the handicapped individuals served. CSA shares are offered in six-week increments — a $180 value for only $165 — using what is in season and other oddities, following a theme for each six-week box special.

Thunder Hill Farm is operated by Dottie and David Bell in Waterford. The main focus is raising quality grass-only highland beef. The beef is sold by the side during the fall harvest. Also available for fall harvest are whole hogs. Customers sign up in April with a deposit to hold their harvest.