The Fair Shares Crew photo from left to right: Sarah Trone (New Owner), Malinda Sullivan, Arianna Aerie, Jamie Choler (Founder), Lydia Powell, Seth Powell (summer help and their family are members), Grace Smith.
By Don Corrigan
Just about 20 years ago, Jamie Choler, Sara Hale and Lindy Sullivan sat at a kitchen table and wondered why that empty table couldn’t be full of safe, locally-grown food. An idea was born: Fair Shares.
That idea is as fresh now as it was in 2007. It’s an especially relevant idea now as news reports tell us we need to worry about contaminated lettuce and the berries. Produce from distant places could be making us sick.
“In our 20 years, none of our farmers have had a scare of their produce being tainted,” said Choler. “Our produce just isn’t handled at the same scale of production as industrial farming.
“Our farm suppliers harvest produce, and our staff of four weigh it, count it and pack it into bags for our Fair Share members,” added Choler. “The food is touched by only a few people. In a grocery store or market, many people touch food they aren’t going to purchase.”
Fair Shares started in late 2006 when Webster Groves sisters, Jamie Choler and Sara Choler Hale, were picking up Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) supplies at the Maplewood Farmers’ Market.
They listened to market farmers describe the stress of trying to provide and distribute an array of produce for CSA members. So, the two sisters launched Fair Shares and quickly hired another sister, Malinda Sullivan, to get the job done.
They hired more relatives and enlisted food volunteers interested in good, local produce. They also sought out new, independent, family farms within a radius of 100 miles for an expanded rainbow parade of produce.
And now is their favorite time of year. Our region’s growing season is peaking and overflowing with tomatoes, peaches, sweet corn, melons, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, herbs and more.
Pro-Choice Foodies
Fair Shares Kirkwood Delivery photo left to right: Jamie Choler, Malinda Sullivan, Arianna Aerie, Cooper, Grace Smith
Fair Shares members are pro-choice foodies! Because it is combined with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), members can receive or purchase locally-produced meat, eggs, cheeses, mushrooms, breads, grains and coffee at its online store.
According to its founders, Fair Shares offers flexibility built to meet every eater’s needs. Members are offered choices from local farms that align with shared values. It’s food produced naturally, safely and of highest quality by grower partners.
Jamie Choler explained that the key location in the Fair Shares operation is at the “mothership” on Northrup Avenue at I-44 and Kingshighway. Farmers deliver the produce, and Fair Shares bags it, for individual orders.
“Members also can customize the non-produce items for their orders and value-added items as well,” said Choler. “On Wednesdays and Thursdays we pack the personal orders for pick up.”
Pickups at the “mothership” happen on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 to 7 p.m. on Northrup Avenue. On Wednesdays, Fair Shares also has a University City pickup location at Trinity Presbyterian Church on Kingsland Avenue from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m.
Kirkwood gets in on the Fair Shares action on Thursdays. Kirkwood’s pickup location is at Kirkwood United Methodist Church on Adams and Clay from 1 to 2 p.m.
“We also offer a porch pickup in Kirkwood for those who can’t make it to the church parking lot for pickup,” said Choler. “Pickups are a cool time for connection and community. We plan to expand delivery options this fall.”
“We have more than 50 current members who live in Webster Groves and Kirkwood,” said Choler. “John Hickey and M’Evie Mead of Webster have been members with us since we started.
“Maureen LaGrand lives in Kirkwood and she has been volunteering for Fair Shares forever,” added Choler. “Her boys are off to college this year. They started as sweet babies in their strollers coming to get their share.”
Know Where It Grows
Fair Shares members sometimes want to know just where the greens in the bags, and the colorful fruits and vegetables, are grown – and they want to visit the farms. The fair ladies at Fair Shares can arrange that.
“We have done some farm tours with Marcoot Creamery, Lee Farms, Nolte Farms and more,” said Choler. “We have certified organic farms we work with – Biver Farms, Blue Heron Orchard, Earth Dance. All farms that use sustainable practices are worth a look.”
Choler says Fair Shares is an organic, sustainable, family-run business. The green sisters grew up eating home-cooked meals by a mother and grandmother who instilled a love for cooking and eating real food.
“Our parents moved to Webster Groves in 1961 with four young girls, and by 1966 there were six girls and a boy who made up our family. Some of us never left the area, and some went away and then returned.
“Lindy and I are gearing up to retire and Sarah Trone is looking forward to keeping Fair Shares alive and well,” said Choler. “Sarah was a volunteer in the Covid Era and helped us figure out how to move the operation outside and keep it going.”
Trone is now ready to take up the reins, or the plow, or whatever it takes. She said she will always be on the lookout for more ways to make good food accessible.
“Continued collaboration and support of local producers, in line with our Fair Shares’ mission, is priority number one,” said Trone. “We look forward to supporting hardworking farmers and serving communities interested in sustainable living.”
For more information on membership and the Fair Shares CCSA mission contact Choler at jamie@fairshares.org.
