Does anyone run a CSA or is part of a CSA?

[Brunty_Farms]

We are wanting to do a CSA this year.... well we are going to do one and we already have our members signed up. Any tips from a consumer stand point that I should pay attention to? Do's or don't? I'm trying to avoid the major pit falls of CSA farming and any help would be appreciated.

 

[jerseygirl1]

I belong to one, 4th year this year
I love it, with the exception of this............
We were members the first year our local farm started doing a CSA - and we got weekly baskets STUFFED, literally OVERSTUFFED with produce
Year 2, was less, year 3 was even more less (Not sure if proper grammar here)
My wish is...............if it was going to go less and less each year, it should have started with less veggies in our baskets, rather than gradually declining. I am starting to feel cheated now that there are more and more members. This year instead of opting for a full share for two of us, we are opting for a half share.

 

[mom'sfolly]

We've belonged to two different ones. I loved the communication with the second. They told us what to expect each week and mentioned that substitutions were always possible. They had returnable grocery bags the second year; you got a produce bag each week, and returned it the next. This was really nice, because they automatically knew who was picking up. Our second CSA also had a "meet the farm/farmer" potluck twice a year. It included a farm tour and was just a nice opportunity to hang out and meet the people who grew our food. They also offered a thing where is you signed up a certain number of people, I think ten, they would arrange another pickup spot, and give you a discount on your share.

The first one just handed us one of those, two of these, etc. They didn't seem to have the whole CSA thing figured out. They were disorganized, and seemed to have someone different every week. They always seemed surprised when we came to pick up the CSA. When they disappeared after taking my check I was POed. I do understand how a CSA works, but let someone know that you lost your crop due to drought. We all live here in Texas, we could have understood. They didn't respond to e-mail, or phone calls...just very bad business.

We picked up both at local farmers markets. The one thing I would have liked would have been a closer pickup location.

 

[Q9]

Um... I thought CSA stood for Confederate States of America. What does it stand for in this context?

 

[jerseygirl1]

Community Supported Agriculture - or, food co-op for short

 

[ChixDigMe]

2010 will be my 3rd year as a member of a local CSA, and I think what I like best (after the fresh produce) is the communication. They send out an E-mail every week telling us what to expect in next weeks baskets, farm news (like the lack of tomatoes because of blight last year), and maybe even a recipe for some of the items in that weeks basket.

Another thing I really like is the availability of the farmer and farm staff. I pick up my share on farm on Saturday mornings (most everyone else goes to a drop off spot (pod) closer to their home) and almost every week the farmer or his wife is around to ask any questions. They are all so friendly. It's cool that I know the people that grow my food by their first name.

Last year, someone had the great idea of putting all of the ingredients together for salsa verde (tomatillos, peppers, shallot, garlic, cilantro, etc) in a bag with the recipe. It was great, because I would not have had the first clue of what to do with tomatillos.

One last thing that I really like is the variety. It's not all spinach and romaine. Bok choy, garlic scapes, 3 different varieties of lettuce in one box, 4 different varieties of potatoes throughout the season. They really mix it up and that is fun, because you might get something you have never had.

I love my local CSA! No farms, no food!

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
That's just it, I believe that many CSA's start great but the ones that I have seen are very small. For the price it's not worth it. I'm hopping to have the baskets overflowing with produce as it's important to make people feel like they got their monies worth.

Our second CSA also had a "meet the farm/farmer" potluck twice a year. It included a farm tour and was just a nice opportunity to hang out and meet the people who grew our food.

What a great idea... what did you guys do? Everyone just bring some food and a nice tour of the farm? I would love to offer something like that in the summer months just to get to know everyone a little bit better and to get all of the people together so they can meet each other.

2010 will be my 3rd year as a member of a local CSA, and I think what I like best (after the fresh produce) is the communication. They send out an E-mail every week telling us what to expect in next weeks baskets, farm news (like the lack of tomatoes because of blight last year), and maybe even a recipe for some of the items in that weeks basket.

Another thing I really like is the availability of the farmer and farm staff. I pick up my share on farm on Saturday mornings (most everyone else goes to a drop off spot (pod) closer to their home) and almost every week the farmer or his wife is around to ask any questions. They are all so friendly. It's cool that I know the people that grow my food by their first name.

Last year, someone had the great idea of putting all of the ingredients together for salsa verde (tomatillos, peppers, shallot, garlic, cilantro, etc) in a bag with the recipe. It was great, because I would not have had the first clue of what to do with tomatillos.

One last thing that I really like is the variety. It's not all spinach and romaine. Bok choy, garlic scapes, 3 different varieties of lettuce in one box, 4 different varieties of potatoes throughout the season. They really mix it up and that is fun, because you might get something you have never had.

I love my local CSA! No farms, no food!

That's awesome, I love the Salsa Verde idea and we would like to do something similar to that is well. I agree 100% that communication is key to success, people want to feel like they are in the loop... after all they do share the expenses of the farm... the least the farmer can do is at least let them know what is going on.

Variety is important too.... along with the being unique.​

 

[Davaroo]

CSA? I thought the Civil War was over?

 

[mom'sfolly]

I just remembered that our CSA also posted recipes. This is especially nice with unfamiliar veggies. What to do with tatsoy, or however you spell that, was good. They also did some unusual things. They added broccoli and cauliflower leaves to their braising mix, added pea stems to salad mix (very tasty), and grew some unusual varieties of veggies (purple carrots, watermelon radishes). I like using collard greens for "cabbage" rolls, a suggestion from my farmer. The collards actually are easier to use than cabbage, because they are flat already.

So my recommendations:

Communication
Organization
Recipes
New or fun veggies

 

[PeepsInc]

I know some one that's running one. He had to take out a second mortgage on his farm, & he's still loosing money. If he has a bad crop he gets stuck buying from another farmer to please his customers. It can make money,but it can also be a money trap. You have to be extremely well organized. It also helps to involve several farmers. The guy that sells his produce at a food stand on weekends, will make more than a CSA farmer will. You also have to consider the liability of having strangers visiting your farm.