CSA Info

CSA FAQ's:

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What is a CSA? 

For many people a CSA is a concept they haven’t heard of. 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 3 CSA shares, you become a CSA member of our farm for a given season. We offer 3 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 our greens: the Salad Greens Share and the Super Greens 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, veggies, herbs, and microgreens growing on our farm (Depending on which CSA share you choose). We don’t 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.

How many items are in the share each week? 

The Salad CSA share and the Super Greens CSA share generally each have 1 - 3 items. The Salad share contains some sort of salad green and may include microgreens or an herb. The Super Greens share contains either one or a combinations of various super greens such as arugula, spinach, kale, swiss chard, broccoli greens, dandelion greens, etc. and may also include a microgreen or herb. 

The Farm CSA share has about 5-6 items depending on the week. Generally we include something for a salad (salad mix or head lettuce), cooking/ super green (kale, spinach, arugula, bok choy, etc.), microgreens, herb, and 1-2 seasonal veggies. The Seasonal Veggies we add will vary, but to give you an idea, some possibilities of what we could be growing are: carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, okra, peppers, broccolini, cauliflower, green beans, kohlrabi, sugar snap peas, and zucchini. 

This is an outline which can change from week to week depending on availability of our crops, but we try to include as much variety as we can each week and throughout each season.

How many people does it feed for a week?

For how many people it feeds, it depends on how you use it, like how many greens and veggies you use each meal/day. So it could feed 1-2 people for a week if you eat a fair amount or 4 people for a week if you eat less. If you have a large family or eat a lot of produce then you could also sign up for two or more shares. During the growing season we also sometimes offer a la carte ordering on our online store so CSA members also have that option to add on extra 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. 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 will open for sign up in May for the Fall, but get on the CSA waitlist to be first to get exclusive offers to join the CSA. Join the waitlist here: CSA Waitlist

In the meantime try a weekly sample of one of our CSA shares HERE