'Henry Got Crops' Stand Brings Produce, Smiles, to Area

Every Wednesday afternoon on the corner of Henry Avenue and Cinnaminson Street, Oni Adekitan and Cornell Gilliland bring the flavor of the country to the city. Yesterday, it tasted like cherries and tomatoes.

"You just peel off the husk and eat it," Adekitan explained to a curious customer at the stand—where from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. each Wednesday through the summer the weekly surplus of the Weavers Way and agricultural co-op is sold to the public.

The produce Adekitan walked the prospective customer through was a "ground cherry." Covered in a thin crust, it was the size of a cherry, had the off-green color of a unripened tomato, and the sweet and sour flavor profile of a cross between the two. It was delicious.

On Aug. 24, the rest of the spread manned by Adekitan and Gilliland—both Germantown High School students who got involved with the program through their church—was equally tasty: yellow peppers ($5/lb), tomatoes (green for $1/lb, red for $2), squash ($1/lb), arugula ($4 per bag), beets ($3/lb), and the ground cherries of course, which were gratis. Each was grown at Saul High School and without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or fertilizers.

"We have a different menu of seasonal items every week," said farm manager Nina Berryman, who stopped by to check on business. Berryman explained that Henry Got Crops is a community supported agriculture (CSA) program. In a CSA, residents "invest" in the farm with upfront sums before each season begins, then get a predetermined share of the harvest. Whatever's left over goes, in Henry Got Crops' case, to the corner of Henry and Cinnaminson, where it's sold under the watchful eyes of Adekitan and Gilligan.

They get around 20 customers an afternoon—"Not so many today because we're almost in between seasons," Adekitan explained—and the three-man crew agree they all leave satisfied. So do they.

"It's a great program," said Berryman. "And it's nice to share it."