Seven years ago, she and Chris started Worden Farm in eastern Charlotte County. Hurricane Charley flooded their fields and ripped a shed roof off in 2004, but they continued transforming an abandoned orange grove into one of the state's top organic farms.

"It didn't even faze us," says Eva, a 42-year-old Miami native. "We had a passion to get this launched."

Since then, their 85-ace farm has grown and prospered, its produce selling at farmer's markets in Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Naples. The Wordens also sell fruit and vegetable boxes weekly to several hundred farm members who share a devotion to locally grown produce.

This is the heart of what is called community supported agriculture, with the emphasis on community.

Members gather at the farm weekly to pick up colorful boxes of food. Some join vegetable chop-and-chat sessions. There are also special events and yearly Thanksgiving celebrations.

"It's almost like a cult," jokes Brendan Tuckey, who worked at Worden before starting his own farm. "I've never experienced that before. They really love their product because it's so fresh. They'd go, 'Oh, your lettuce lasts three weeks,' and we'd say, 'Yeah, we picked it yesterday.'"

.....

Read more at: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20101023/ARTICLE/10231047/2416/NEWS?Title=Amid-the-organic-kale-and-squash-a-family-thrives