New flexibility for 2013: Up to 3 ‘Vacation Weeks’ and 3 make-up CSA shares so you can be away without missing out!! Please see details below.

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What is CSA?

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a mutually beneficial relationship between a local farm and the community of people who receive the food the farm produces. Members purchase a share of the harvest at the beginning of the season and in return receive a basket of fresh certified organic vegetables during the growing season.  CSA provides a model that enables small farms to compete in a market dominated by industrial agriculture. Shareholders agree to share the inherent benefits and risks of the growing season.

Because you are committing to a share of the harvest at the beginning of the season and to picking up on time and at your chosen pick-up location you are rewarded with approximately 20% savings off our farmer’s market prices.

NEW: MARKET SHARES (save 10-20% off your veggies at our  Carp Farmer’s Market stall). CLICK HERE for details.

Why CSA?

People are increasingly separated from the source of their food.  CSA is a creative response to this crisis.  It is a model that emphasizes locally grown, which promotes a local economy, and a safe food system.  Participation in a CSA leads to a deeper understanding of our interdependence on one another and the land.  The farm supplies not only fresh, nutritious food, but an opportunity for a community to to reconnect with one another and the rhythms of the seasons.

Advantages of CSA:

For You :

• Eat veggies packed full of nutrients & vitamins
• Get exposed to new vegetables and ways of cooking
• Get to visit the farm to see the food being grown
• Kids typically favour food from ‘their’ farm- even veggies they’ve never been known to eat!
• Develop a relationship with the farmer that grows your food and learn more about how food is grown
• Lighten your carbon footprint by eating food from our off-grid farm
• Save approximately 20% off our market prices (due to the streamlined nature of the CSA model)

For Your Community :

• Strengthens your local economy
• Protects your environment; water ways, soil fertility, bird and animal habitat & genetic diversity
• Fosters a healthy culture of food and eating
• Encourages young people to enter into farming
• Food from a known source is safer for your health

For Your Farmer :

• Get to spend time marketing food in down season before 12+ hour days in the field begin
• Receive payment early in the season when most expenses are incurred
• Have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow

What is a share and how does it work? 

Shareholders receive an assortment of 7-11 freshly harvested, seasonal Certified Organic vegetables, including familiar varieties and flavourful heirlooms. The share size is the same whether you pick-up weekly or bi-weekly. A base share contains 5-7 items selected by the farmer (ones we know are most everyones faves), the remainder is made up of several choice items (with the exception of the beginning of the season when crops are just starting to produce).

Due to the number of shareholders involved pick-up times are not flexible.

Our weekly CSA runs for 16 weeks from June 26 – Oct 9, 2013. We strongly suggest pre-marking your calendar with these dates (see below for bi-weekly share start & stop dates).

All weekly baskets begin June 26 and end Oct. 9

Bi-Weekly basket schedule:

Pembroke 4-6 pm (377 Maple Street at the home of Tara & Jason DeRuiter)           

Pembroke Bi-Weekly Shares: First pick-up date Wednesday, July 3 & Last pick-up date Wednesday, Oct. 9

Petawawa  4 – 5:30 pm (Glenergy at 2669 Petawawa Blvd.)         

Petawawa Bi-Weekly Shares: First pick-up date Wednesday, June 26 & Last pick-up date Wednesday, Oct. 2

On the Farm at 81 Stafford 2nd Line 3:30 – 5:30 pm

On Farm Bi-Weekly Shares: First pick-up date Wednesday June 26 & Last pick-up date Wednesday, Oct. 2

Renfrew (Pura Vida Nutrition at 267 Stewart Street) 4 – 5 pm

Renfrew Bi-Weekly Shares: First pick-up date Wednesday, July 3 & Last pick-up date Wednesday, Oct. 9

*** You are required to show up on time and bring a box, bag or basket to transfer your veggies into. ***

Cost & Payment:

• Bi-Weekly $300 – 8 weeks
• Weekly $560 (save $40) – 16 weeks
• Weekly Double Share $1000 (save $120) – 16 weeks
• Restaurant CSA (an extra large CSA share for chefs who want to incorporate fresh, local organic ingredients into their menus – please inquire for details)
• Fall CSA Share $250 – 5 deliveries over 10 weeks

This amounts to approximately $35/week for your share of fresh certified organic veggies grown locally on our family farm.

You can pay by cash OR cheque. When paying by cheque you may pay in up to four instalments (see SIGN UP for details). Please submit all post dated cheques at the beginning of the season. If paying with cash you must pay in full.

Vacation Weeks

CSA members are entitled to up to 3 ‘vacation weeks’ by registering a ‘delivery hold’ in our system. For each ‘delivery hold’ you register on your account will show a $ credit. This credit may ONLY be used towards a make-up share during the CSA program during which it is registered – in other words, a delivery hold registered during our Summer CSA may only be used towards a make-up share during our Summer CSA (same goes for Fall and Winter CSA). The $ credit has no actual $ value. The credit will come off your account when we register your make-up share.

How to put  your share on hold:

You must register your delivery hold at least one week in advance.

1. Log back into your account (see top of this page).

2. Click on the delivery hold tab.

3. Select the week during which you will be unable to pick up your share (please select Sunday – Monday to denote the week you will be away)

4. Click SAVE.

Email us at [email protected] with the date you would like to make up your share (again at least one week in advance please). Weekly members can double up on a week they are already picking up a share. Bi-weekly members can either double up or pick up on one of their unscheduled weeks.

What’s in season when?

Early Season: salad mix, spinach, arugula, peas, radishes, sweet turnips, green onions, kale, chard, fresh herbs; cilantro, parsley, basil etc.

Mid Season: the above plus tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, broccoli, string beans, garlic, onions, summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, beets, potatoes

Late Season: the above plus apples, elderberries, watermelons, leeks, winter squash, cabbage, brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes

How Many People Does a Share Feed?

A weekly share can feed one voracious vegetable eater, two veggie lovers, three healthy eaters or even a family of four. It is dependent on your households weekly fresh vegetable consumption, how much you eat out, if you are growing your own garden etc. Past CSA members find that they begin eating more veggies when they participate in CSA because the flavours are so fresh and delicious. We recommend a weekly share or a double share for those who want to incorporate a good amount of veggies into their diet.

The size of a share may vary slightly throughout the year with the season, weather, and other variables.

Example shares:

July
1 bunch of radishes
1 bunch of salad turnips
1 pint of peas
1  150 bag of salad mix
1 150 bag of spinach
1 head of broccoli
1 bunch of beets
1 bunch of green onions
1 bunch of garlic scapes

August

1 bunch of kale
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
1 pint of peppers
3-4 summer squash/zucchini
1 bunch of carrots
1 quart of string beans
1 bunch of basil
1 head of lettuce
1 bunch of red onions

October

1 bulb of garlic
1-2 winter squash
1 bunch of beets
1 150g bag of arugula
1 quart of potatoes
1 head of cabbage
1 bunch of carrots
1 bunch of swiss chard
1 bunch of leeks

Who can pick up my share?

Anyone!  However, we recommend you come to at least the first pick-up to meet us and familiarize yourself with the pick-up system. If you are sending someone who has never picked up a CSA share before please brief them on how the pick-up works.

What do you mean by sharing the benefits?

This means that in high yield years your boxes will be filled with more veggies than a year of average yields.

What do you mean by sharing the risks?

This means that if there is a drought, floods, crazy insect infestations or unforeseen catastrophes then we do our best to provide you with what is available from our farm. In these unfortunate cases we all make do with less.

How do I know what will be in my share each week?

On Sunday we do a walk about of the farm to visually assess which crops are ready for harvest. On Monday we send out a newsletter listing the contents of that week’s share. Sometimes what you receive may be slightly different from what is listed in the newsletter as when we do the actual harvest on Wednesday AM we may find yields are slightly more or less than anticipated. Please see above for the lists of what we grow, and example baskets.

What if I’m away or forget to pick up my share?

If you’re away consider having a friend, family member, co-worker, or neighbour pick-up for you.  No need to give us any advance notice. If you forget to pick up your share we will donate your veggies to a local family in need, give them to the pick-up host, or compost them. We do not keep shares beyond the designated pick-up times. 

Do you refund or credit missed shares?

In short, no. When we harvest your share you have effectively spent your share of the harvest that week and if we offered a credit we’d be harvesting twice as much for the price of one share. We donate or compost missed baskets at the end of the day.  We do not keep shares beyond the designated pick-up times. 

Why can’t I pick-up my share late/early/the next day/substitute one veggie for another etc.?

The CSA model of food distribution is extremely streamlined – every CSA shareholder receives the same share of the harvest each week, and should be prepared to pick-up their share on time at their designated pick-up location – this is the reason we are able to offer a 20% discount off our market prices. Due to the number of shareholders involved (almost 200) we are not able to make any exceptions. Thank you for your cooperation so that we can continue to offer this service. If you would like more choice and more flexibility but would still like to eat our fresh Certified Organic veggies please consider visiting our booth at the Carp Farmer’s Market. Thank you for your support & cooperation!

Can I cancel my share?

When you sign up for a CSA share you enter into an agreement with us for the season. We have already purchased the seed, prepped the land and factored your share into our growing plan for the season.  There are no refunds but you may make arrangements with someone to take over your share.

Are your veggies pre-washed?

Most of the soil is removed from the vegetables. We recommend that you treat our produce like you pulled it out of your own garden – wash it before consumption.

How do we decide what goes to market and what goes to CSA?

There is actually really very little decision making that goes on in this area.  In fact, in the dead of winter we make a separate plan and do separate plantings for each venue. The plantings may be right beside one another but we have some nifty programs that allow us to estimate the number of ‘row feet’ we need to plant of each crop, like carrots.  From there, we always plant about 10-20% MORE than we think we’ll need to account for poor germination, pests or disease etc.   Sometimes, if we have a really good crop of something intended for CSA we will bring the surplus to market but if something else doesn’t do well we will harvest what was intended for market and give it to CSA.

Can I purchase additional shares from time to time?

What if I am not familiar with some of the veggies you grow?

Have no fear.  We will hold your hand throughout your CSA experience.  Each week we send a newsletter with our CSA harvest list, storage tips & lots of recipe ideas (especially for less familiar veggies).  We’ll also be on hand at the pick-ups to answer any questions you might have.