Is this a good deal on CSA produce?

[jewelsJZ]

We've never done a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) weekly share before but know lots of people who do and love this particular farm (details below). We are a family of 5, although my 3 kids don't eat a ton of veggies or much variety, so mainly it would be me and hubby on the veggies. Our kids eat any kind of fruit, however. We both love to cook so we would use the fresh herbs.

I know families who share the full-share as there is plenty of food. I am just not sure if budget wise, this would be good. I normally buy fruit and veggies at a farm stand that is about 12 or 15 miles away. The prices seem good compared to the grocery store but I can't really think offhand how much they charge for stuff. It's certainly better quality than the grocery store. We container-grow our own basil and hot peppers but don't have sunny space for much more.

Going to the farm to pick up: It is 28 miles one way from our house. We drive a three year old mini van, Toyota. So would it be worth it to do the pick up option? The kids would love going out there, they have animals, you get to ride out to the fields in a tractor-pulled wagon. Just want to make sure that would make financial sense. I guess if we split a full share with another family, we could take turns going out to get it so it would be every other week.


Half share Pick up $425+$15 box fee + tx
Full share Pick up $799+$30 box fee +tx
NOTE: if you choose to pack your own bag at the farm we will waive this new box fee.
Half Share Delivery $575+$15 box fee +tx
Full share Delivery $949+$30 box fee +tx
Plus:
Unlimited farm visits for u-pick and family fun March 27-Nov. 7, 2010 for your immediate family up to 6 members.
Unlimited Festival Admission including Fall Harvest, Strawberry Jubilee, The Big Dig Potato Harvest and Blackberry Bonanza
10% discount on all farm produce
10% discount on Birthday and Laser Tag Parties
2 Free one-time use tickets to bring guests on a visit to the farm.

What do you think, mommas?

[lakeruby]

How many weeks is it?

[laohaire]

I'm assuming it's March - November?

Also, what part of the world are you in? COL is different in California vs Kentucky.

The prices look pretty good to me. CSA's aren't meant to be a "steal" and I'd actually beware of any offering any "bargain basement" prices. The point is high quality local food at decent prices. The prices look decent and standard to me.

DH and I joined a CSA in 2009 and in our case we were able to keep the same food budget (that is grocery bills 2008 = CSA+grocery bills 2009, roughly at least) but much higher quality food. We didn't save money but it was a good deal.

[carfreemama]

It does depend on how many weeks. In Nova Scotia, dh and I pay $20/week plus $3/wk "delivery" to the local co-op (which works, since we're members so do hours there anyway). So multiply that by 52 weeks. It's the only one we know of that's a full year, which I love.

Dd is 5 and she didn't start out eating a lot of veggies, either (or rather, she was pretty good in comparison to lots of kids, but not gobbling them all up the way I'd like). Even if she never ate one of the veggies from the box, I'd say the exposure and the chance to educate her about our farm-friendly values is worth it. She sees and knows where her food comes from and why we don't just shop at a grocery store. She's getting a sense of what's really in season locally. One of my favourite moments was when dd had a friend over who I've seen eat lots of processed food and not much else. She asked for a snack and I offered her an apple. She didn't want one, but she was really hungry. She bit into it and her eyes lit up and she exclaimed "hey, this tastes really fresh!" She asked for another.

I think the setup of the farm sounds wonderful. If you can afford to factor in all the great quality-of-life stuff it sounds like this farm offers, rather than strictly the financial cost, I'd say go for it. It's been fabulous for our family. For me, it's saved TONS of money because a) we don't have a car and can't get to the farms often and b) I used to go to the farmers' market and impulse-buy like CRAZY. I don't think, dollar-for-dollar, we're saving money with the CSA on the actual produce, but now I'm learning to eat what's put in front of me. Turnip puff, anyone?

The vibe of the farm you describe just sounds wonderful. I love that they offer discounts on farm produce. That alone could really save you money if you freeze/can/dry (all of which I've learned to do since the CSA).

[jewelsJZ]

Originally Posted by lakeruby

How many weeks is it?

20 weeks

Originally Posted by carfreemama

I'd say the exposure and the chance to educate her about our farm-friendly values is worth it. She sees and knows where her food comes from and why we don't just shop at a grocery store. She's getting a sense of what's really in season locally.
I think the setup of the farm sounds wonderful. If you can afford to factor in all the great quality-of-life stuff it sounds like this farm offers, rather than strictly the financial cost

Yes, this. And also, a friend that did it last year just mentioned that it was also factored in as part of their entertainment budget, since there were so many fun things to do at the farm every time they went.

[shayinme]

Originally Posted by laohaire

I'm assuming it's March - November?

Also, what part of the world are you in? COL is different in California vs Kentucky.

The prices look pretty good to me. CSA's aren't meant to be a "steal" and I'd actually beware of any offering any "bargain basement" prices. The point is high quality local food at decent prices. The prices look decent and standard to me.

DH and I joined a CSA in 2009 and in our case we were able to keep the same food budget (that is grocery bills 2008 = CSA+grocery bills 2009, roughly at least) but much higher quality food. We didn't save money but it was a good deal.

I agree with this, though I will say prices seem a smidge higher than what CSA's cost in my area but the thing is CSA's are not always going to be cost efficient. I was a member of one for 6 years and last year decided to just do away with it. It was a PITA to get to the farm and my farmers market (5 mins walk from house) has grown so much that I can get my produce for the same price.

It sounds like a nice farm set up though.

[jewelsJZ]

Forgot to say we are in the metro Washington, D.C. area

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by jewelsJZ

Forgot to say we are in the metro Washington, D.C. area

So what it the 28 mile drive like as far as traffic?
And is the delivery a home delivery right to your door?

If the answer to that question if bad and yes $150 of delivery ($75 for your share) might be a heck of a deal.

I like Shay am a CSA drop out, but for different reasons. My CSA changed the rules and format substantially. You really had to buy lots of dairy or meat to make a membership worthwhile and during the time we belonged we had found other sources of high quality meat that we liked better than the CSA. We also became better gardeners ourselves. We still consider the farmer's that run our CSA dear friends/mentors and still buy from them at the farmer's market too.

[maryeliz]

Just for comparison, One Straw Farm near Baltimore offers a 20 week full share for $490. Shares are delivered to pickup points in the city for no extra charge. I think yours sounds pricey and I would be annoyed by the high fees for boxing. Beyond that it sound like the CSA might not fit with your families eating habits. If your kids only want cucumbers and carrots there is no point having a big box of beets and summer squash. It would be sad to pay all that money and then not eat all the food.

[shayinme]

Originally Posted by maryeliz

Just for comparison, One Straw Farm near Baltimore offers a 20 week full share for $490. Shares are delivered to pickup points in the city for no extra charge. I think yours sounds pricey and I would be annoyed by the high fees for boxing. Beyond that it sound like the CSA might not fit with your families eating habits. If your kids only want cucumbers and carrots there is no point having a big box of beets and summer squash. It would be sad to pay all that money and then not eat all the food.

I just re-read the OP, if your kids are not big veggie eaters than no it really may not be worth the $$$. That was an issue I had with mine, I liked the veggies but there were too many times I was tossing out stuff because we never got to it also we never got a lot of fruit which is what my kid does eat. I'd rather try different veggies at the farmers market without being saddled with food we aren't going to use.

IMO folks who have the most luck with CSA's are folks who are willing to plan their meals around what's in their share. One of my friends does that and it works for her family, I tried it and it just did not work. For the kind of money you are talking about you definitely would want to know food is not going to be wasted.

[prairiebird]

My CSA share is 36 weeks for fruit, vegetables, and bi-weekly eggs, and it costs $1700 (for a 4-6 person share), but mine is delivered either to the door or to a central pickup location in town that's within 5 miles. I am in the Chicago area.

So for me, it's not the prices that would seem too high, but I think having to go out and pick it up weekly would get old after a while. It'd be neat for a while, but then kind of annoying. I do like the option of boxing my own though, because it would mean that I'm seeing the condition of the produce before it goes into the box.


Hmmmm. Hard to say. I only have three that eat the vegetables heavily, but my younger ones have started trying them bit by bit.

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by shayinme

IMO folks who have the most luck with CSA's are folks who are willing to plan their meals around what's in their share.

I am NOT being sarcastic and just can't figure out a better way to ask this - but how else would you do it? Honest question.

[laohaire]

I do have to agree 28 miles seems far. We're 8 or 10 miles from ours and it's a trip. I might go for the delivery if I were in that situation. I'm happy with our 8 or 10 mile trip but it's the furthest I'd be happiest with, personally. There's a farm 12 miles away (different direction) that we pick up meat from occasionally and it just always seems too far.

[MamaMelis]

We are a family of 4, but our kids are only almost 3 and almost 2. We pay $690 for a full share, which in our area is weekly pick up from may-november (7 months). They do have a delivery option that is slightly more expensive, but honestly I would not do a CSA to have it delivered. I feel that you miss out too much on what (to us!!!) is one of the main benefits of the CSA.....my kids having a sense of where their food is from, how it grows, how to pick it, what it is like to pop a green bean into their mouth warm and sunny straight from the vine. Watching the farm change with the seasons was a treat. I also like the way that we could tailor our weekly pick up to our actual needs ~ In other words, the week that I was making a giant vat of pesto to freeze, I picked a ton of basil. We don't like the mild peppers, we like em really hot so we load up on those and pass the others by. etc etc.

We also have the option for raw milk products, organic grass fed meats and pastured eggs, which was huge to us. They are not from our farm, but through a cooperative marketing agreement with other local organic farmers we can place ur order and pick it all up at our farm weekly.

If your kids really don't eat veggies, I would probably not do a full share. We got a TON Of stuff every week, if I didn't love to cook I really think that it would have gone to waste, and my kids eat tons of veggies.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[tinuviel_k]

Going to the farm to pick up: It is 28 miles one way from our house. We drive a three year old mini van, Toyota. So would it be worth it to do the pick up option? The kids would love going out there, they have animals, you get to ride out to the fields in a tractor-pulled wagon. Just want to make sure that would make financial sense. I guess if we split a full share with another family, we could take turns going out to get it so it would be every other week.

The difference in price per week between a delivered and pick-up share is about $7.50.
The round trip drive would be 56 miles. What kind of MPG does your car get? Since it is an older minivan I'm going to guess 20 MPG. That is about 2.8 gallons of gas. I don't know what your DC gas prices are, but I'll guess about $2.75.

That would put your round trip gas cost at $7.70 per trip. If you were driving out every week you would save NO money by picking it up yourself. If you and another family would be splitting the pick-ups you'd be saving about $75.00 by picking it up yourself.


As for the cost of the CSA itself... I don't know exactly what you are getting in each box, but almost $50 a week seems really high to me. In my area the price-per-week for a CSA ranges from $21- $37.

[Owen'nZoe]

Here the CSAs average around $30/week, so it sounds high to me, too, but I know DC is expensive. Also, we drove 10 miles each way to our CSA, and some weeks that felt like a huge hassle. I'd be inclined to either share driving with another family (or 2 or three - you could each buy your own share, even, and take turns picking up), or pay for delivery. If you decide to pick up, make sure you check out their window for pickups, and know that you can make it there in time. Our CSA pickup window was for 3 hours once a week (4-7 pm) - and because of other things in our schedule (work, swim lessons), I really had to push it to get there within the window. There was one week I missed out on our share, because I couldn't get there in time. It was donated to the local food bank, which is great, but then I had to buy veggies that week.

We're also a CSA drop-out. We found that a lot of the veggies we really love in summer - tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn, and (believe it or not) summer squash (I still can't believe we only got one zucchini all summer) were lacking, so we ended up buying veggies at the farmer's market on top of our share. Some veggies were wasted, because they just weren't thinkgs any of us liked. I should have given them away immediately, but I kept telling myself that I just needed to be creative and find a way to make them that would make everyone happy....and before I found that magical recipe, they went bad. Instead of the CSA, I've expanded our garden and supplement with farm stands in the area. It works better for us and costs less.

[rhiandmoi]

My CSA is more of a co-op. The people that run the CSA are growers, but they also work with other growers in the area, and in other parts of the state. Each week we get an order form, and can choose however many items we sign up for. We sign up for 6 items per week for 2 adults. I like doing it this way because I can plan ahead for what is going to be in the box instead of getting a surprise each week and for the weeks that I'm not really into any of the veggie offerings, I can always order onions or garlic or something that lasts.

ETA: Our 6 items is $17 per week and includes delivery to a pickup spot close to home.

[tinuviel_k]

Originally Posted by Owen'nZoe

We're also a CSA drop-out. We found that a lot of the veggies we really love in summer - tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn, and (believe it or not) summer squash (I still can't believe we only got one zucchini all summer) were lacking, so we ended up buying veggies at the farmer's market on top of our share. Some veggies were wasted, because they just weren't thinkgs any of us liked. I should have given them away immediately, but I kept telling myself that I just needed to be creative and find a way to make them that would make everyone happy....and before I found that magical recipe, they went bad. Instead of the CSA, I've expanded our garden and supplement with farm stands in the area. It works better for us and costs less.

This is our situation, too. I discovered that summer CSA's don't really work for us.
Often times I'd want other local veggies that were available at the farmers market but felt bad for not using up what we had. It was hard to spend extra money on those pretty tomatoes or Italian zucchini knowing that I had so many veggies I "needed" to use up at home.
And I also felt guilty for every week we went on vacation and had to give up our share (3 weeks missed is almost $100!). it got donated to the food bank, so at least it wasn't wasted, but I felt bad for not using what we'd already spent money on.

And the most important reason the CSA wasn't working for me... I just have so much darned fun shopping at the farmers market a couple times a week... I really, really missed shopping at the farmers market when I already had CSA veggies to use. I missed getting a little something at each different farm stand: my favorite Japanese turnips at Pigmans, the chantrelle mushrooms at Boistfort, cylindrical beets at Wobbly Cart, the most amazing carrots in the universe at Kirsop, that neat purple-and-green cabbage at Rising River... I just can't commit to one farm! (I'm a veggie hussy, LOL!)

I decided this yar I am forgoing a summer CSA, which is a little sad because I really believe in the CSA model.

BUT, I'm going to do a fall/winter, and spring CSA! It will run once a week from November-December, with extra "holiday" shares right before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then in January-May it runs once a month, and includes offerings from a local dairy (goat cheese), eggs, baked goods, fresh coffee, as well as local produce.

This will free me up for prime market season when I prefer the variety offered at the farmer's market. And it will help support the farm in it's slowest season, and will provide me with locally grown food when it is harder to find.

[shayinme]

Originally Posted by laohaire

I am NOT being sarcastic and just can't figure out a better way to ask this - but how else would you do it? Honest question.

I can't speak for others but I have a hard time planning a week of meals around foods I don't care for (beets, kohlrabi, etc) but I know people who are totally cool with that. I tend to plan desires, and overall what's in my pantry. I found when I planned for the veggies alone, I was spending more $$ going out and getting something to make recipes with, just not the way I cook.

Originally Posted by tinuviel_k

This is our situation, too. I discovered that summer CSA's don't really work for us.
Often times I'd want other local veggies that were available at the farmers market but felt bad for not using up what we had. It was hard to spend extra money on those pretty tomatoes or Italian zucchini knowing that I had so many veggies I "needed" to use up at home.
And I also felt guilty for every week we went on vacation and had to give up our share (3 weeks missed is almost $100!). it got donated to the food bank, so at least it wasn't wasted, but I felt bad for not using what we'd already spent money on.

And the most important reason the CSA wasn't working for me... I just have so much darned fun shopping at the farmers market a couple times a week... I really, really missed shopping at the farmers market when I already had CSA veggies to use. I missed getting a little something at each different farm stand: my favorite Japanese turnips at Pigmans, the chantrelle mushrooms at Boistfort, cylindrical beets at Wobbly Cart, the most amazing carrots in the universe at Kirsop, that neat purple-and-green cabbage at Rising River... I just can't commit to one farm! (I'm a veggie hussy, LOL!)

I decided this yar I am forgoing a summer CSA, which is a little sad because I really believe in the CSA model.

BUT, I'm going to do a fall/winter, and spring CSA! It will run once a week from November-December, with extra "holiday" shares right before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then in January-May it runs once a month, and includes offerings from a local dairy (goat cheese), eggs, baked goods, fresh coffee, as well as local produce.

This will free me up for prime market season when I prefer the variety offered at the farmer's market. And it will help support the farm in it's slowest season, and will provide me with locally grown food when it is harder to find.

You sound like me, I totally love the farmers market and often times would end up picking up stuff at the market so combined with CSA it was wasteful. In my area more winter CSA's are coming on line which I like we did one last winter. This winter one of our local farms is open 2 weekends a month so I just go then and get stuff.

[rhiandmoi]

Shopping at the farmer's market is one reason that we only get the 6 items per week. I really believe in the CSA model, as well as the grower's coop so I want to support them. But I also want to be able to go crazy at the farmer's market and get whatever looks good. I did another CSA before that did the normal surprise box each week and it was a lot harder. First I do groceries on the weekend, but the box comes mid week, so it is hard to know what is going to go with the box. But second, I always ended up with something I just didn't like.