CSA FAQ's:
What is a CSA?
CSA stands for “Community Supported Agriculture.” In a CSA, the members of the community commit to supporting their local farmer for a given season.
One of my farmer mentors once told me to ask myself before putting a seed in the ground: Where is this food going? In a CSA, the farmer knows where his food is going before he plants the seed. It also helps the farmer offset some of the production costs for the season since the CSA is paid for at the beginning of the season. Both of these allow for the farmer to prepare beforehand and then concentrate on producing the most nutritious produce during the growing season.
There are lots of versions of a CSA but the main idea is that the community supports the farmer by committing to receive a share of the produce from the farm for a given season at the beginning of the season. Why not shop at a farmer’s market? Farmers markets offer a unique experience but anyone who has ever arrived to the market late knows that oftentimes produce sells out quickly! A CSA avoids you having to arrive early to the farmer’s market in order to secure your share of local fresh produce for the week. It’s also a great way to try new things and help yourself make the commitment to eating a healthier diet.
If the idea of knowing where your food is coming from and not having to worry about missing out each week resonates with you then you’re a good candidate for our CSA. There are still a few questions that I’m sure you have so I’ll go through a couple common ones.
How do I become one of your CSA members?
By signing up for one of our 4 CSA shares, you become a CSA member of our farm for a given season. We offer 4 options for our CSA shares. The most "full" option is the Farm Share. We also have smaller CSA shares for those who would prefer only greens: the Salad Greens Share, the Super Greens Share, and the Microgreens Share.
All of the produce in our 3 CSA Shares is grown entirely on our farm, and can be picked up each week of the CSA season either at the farm or at one of our other weekly delivery locations.
We also offer support to our CSA members by sending weekly emails with videos about what is in their share that week and recipes and other tips on how to cook the produce.
What if I don’t like what’s in the share?
We offer a “Farmer’s Choice” bag so we give you a combination of the various salad greens, super greens, veggies, herbs, and microgreens growing on our farm (Depending on which CSA share you choose). We don’t generally allow for weekly substitutions of individual items. One benefit of committing to a CSA is being given the opportunity to try new things and add to your repertoire of cooking skills, and we offer advice and tips to help.
That being said, we send out an optional survey where we do ask for your preference on the greens and vegetables we grow and we try our best to accommodate if we can. If there are certain items that you cannot eat we also ask about that in our survey and make sure to accommodate.
Can I buy additional items to add to my CSA share?
Absolutely! Our online store is available during the CSA season for CSA members to add items a la carte to their CSA share each week if they would like any additional items.
What if I am out of town or am not able to pick up one of my produce shares?
We deliver the CSA shares around Jacksonville on Thursdays each week (except some major holiday weeks it will be changed to Tuesday). If you can't make it on Thursday or our farm is closer to you then we offer on farm pickup all day Friday and after hours as needed. If you need to entirely skip a week you can have a friend pick it up or we can either donate your share or give you that week's credit to be used either in the current season or towards the next CSA season.
*Please note: We can only offer that credit one time each season and need to be notified at least one week prior to the delivery date. The discount code can be used either during the current CSA season or can be applied to payment for the following CSA season. At the end of the current CSA season if it has not been used for either of those options it will expire.
How do I get my produce share each week?
You can choose your preferred location at checkout for our CSA signup or Online Ordering. Click here for our current Pickup Locations.
How do I sign up for one of your CSA Shares?
Our CSA Sign up is OPEN NOW. Sign-up HERE.
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