This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
With old favorites like Ippolito’s and Darigo’s Fish Market, South Philadelphia has long been a mecca for the city’s seafood lovers.
But the neighborhood’s latest fishmonger may be its most novel — and not simply because it’s operated out of a high school classroom.
Meet Fishadelphia, the city’s first CSF, or community supported fishery.
Perhaps you’ve heard the acronym CSA (community supported agriculture) or signed up for one of the area’s many farm-share programs. The concept is pretty simple: Subscribers pay a flat fee and receive weekly shipments of vegetables, meat, or other products from local farms.
A CSF is like a CSA except — you guessed it — clients get a weekly shipment of fish.
There are only between 75 and 100 CSFs in North America and no pre-existing ones in Pennsylvania, according to the website LocalCatch.org. Fishadelphia, which dished its first weekly shipment last Friday, also stands out because it’s co-run by students at Mastery Thomas, a K-12 charter school in South Philadelphia.