Taichung CSA community pushes "Homecoming Vegetables," calling on families to support ecological agriculture
(Continued from the previous article) With the family at the center and mutual benefit with farmers, this beautiful cycle does not happen only in Yilan. Taichung's CSA community "Homecoming Vegetables" and the "Taiwan Food Safety Agricultural Production and Marketing Cooperative" also uphold the same philosophy, relying on 30 consumer households to support 7 BD (biodynamic) farmers.
Don't miss the Yilan case either: 58 family members support one farmer! Yilan's BD farming community thrives
One LINE group lets everyone eat with peace of mind
Homecoming Vegetables officially launched in January this year, but as early as six or seven years ago, parents at Haisheng Waldorf and a group of mothers in Wuqi, Taichung, were already buying crops directly from farmers through a collective purchasing arrangement.
Wu Shu-huang is one of the leaders. She was originally a nurse, and because her child attended a Waldorf school, she came into contact with anthroposophic medicine. Once, when the Taiwan International Postgraduate Medical Training (IPMT) held an eight-day, seven-night event, BD farmer Xu Jin-tian came to help, and as a result neglected the fruit cucumbers in his field, leaving them with poor appearance. Through Wu Shu-huang's matchmaking, all the cucumbers were sold to Waldorf parents, saving Xu Jin-tian from loss.
She had thought this was a one-time event, but unexpectedly the parents responded extremely well. Later, whenever Xu Jin-tian again had B-grade or C-grade crops with poor appearance, they were sold to Waldorf parents through Wu Shu-huang and several other leaders. As cases like this kept repeating, they simply opened a "collective purchasing" LINE group. Anyone who wanted to buy or sell could register in the group.
Today, this group already has 279 people. In addition to selling fresh fruits and vegetables, it also offers pastries and home-style dishes. The group's rules require that suppliers either provide relevant certification or have a member's endorsement and guarantee before they can sell in the group. Although the gatekeeping mechanism is strict, there is still room for personal consideration.
