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DUMBO residents came out in bunches on Tuesday to meet the husband-and-wife team that will be selling them fresh organic produce all summer long, thanks to the neighborhood’s new Community Supported Agriculture program.

Close to four dozen residents of the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood between the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges chatted with — and handed over checks to — Fred and Karen Lee of Sang Lee Farms in Peconic, N.Y.

“In my past, I never knew who ate my vegetables,” said Fred Lee, who participates in CSAs in other neighborhoods. “But with CSA, we get feedback and it’s great having the direct connection.”

DUMBO residents were quick to sign up for the service, which costs $25 per week and provides enough produce for two to four people, said CSA organizers.

In this case, the produce will include a selection of Asian greens in accord with the Lee family’s heritage.

“It’s cool to have such variety,” said Darren Karp, who attended the meeting at Phoenix House with his wife, Lizz.

Karp and other CSA signatories are not the only ones who think the weekly produce deliveries will help the neighborhood. Even the local supermarket thinks it can benefit.

“The more local produce available, the better,” said Dona Abramson of Foragers Market on Front Street. “People who do the CSA will still come to us for other products and to fill-in items they need.”

For information about the DUMBO/Vinegar Hill CSA, visit www.dumbocsa.org.

©2008 The Brooklyn Paper

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