It all started with a desire to bring our community fresh, healthy breads - and a broken ankle.
We (Nick and Britin Foster) have been participating bakers in regional farmer's markets for the past 6 years. We started out at the tiny St. James Church Tuesday market on Delaware Avenue and got invited to New Balitmore's Saturday market by some farmer friends (Sam & Chris of Otter Hook) a couple of years later. Last winter we decided we were ready to grow so we joined the Delmar Saturday Farmer's Market. We've experienced success there and are now the only bread vendors.
For a while we've been bouncing around ideas on how to continue serving our customers during the winter months when our Farmer's Market wasn't operating and how to bake with primarily local, organic ingredients on a shoestring budget. The other nearby winter markets felt too big for us, were too far away (with a '78 VW bus our only vehicle) and were cost prohibitive, not to mention the abundance of talented bakers already in place at the markets in Troy, Schenectady & Saratoga. With a young daughter, finding quiet time to meditate on life's challenges is always in short supply.
During the summer of 2010, in what we think of as a stroke of good luck, Britin broke her ankle (nothing extreme - just embarrassing, picking up a toy from the front yard). Nick moved into triple time caring for our daughter, working at the Honest Weight Food Co-op and baking for the market. Britin accumulated some quiet time and happened to be reading 3rd generation Upstate NY farmer Shannon Hayes' book "Radical Homemakers". Our family strongly feels the need to become more self sufficient, to further build relationships with our local farmers, and to contribute to our community in a positive way using the skills we have developed in life.
Our passion for baking, combined with the inspiration of others' stories about becoming more connected with their food sources, and time to talk through burgeoning ideas, yielded Albany's first Community Supported Bakery! Our mission is to bake affordable, healthy bread (with only organic, locally milled flours) and from-scratch baked goods with high-quality, primarily organic materials from local farms and businesses.
Our inaugural CSB season began November 3, 2010 and runs through April 27, 2011. Members can choose which bread and/or baked goods they want every week, beginning at $6.00 per week and we accept special orders. We have pickup locations on Wednesday nights from 5-7pm in Albany & Delmar. Our website has all the specific information.
We started renting a small kitchen on Quail St. this month. The space has a tiny retail area that we hope to open within the next several months. We've got big plans but realize they must be undertaken in small steps. Until we can open up, if you'd like to stop by the Delmar Farmer's Market (Saturdays 9-1, inside the Bethlehem Middle School cafeteria through December 18), we'd love to meet you. You can also still join our CSB. We are taking pro-rated memberships now and your support will help us bring more people in our community affordable, fresh, healthy bread.
Your bakers,
Britin & Nick
