CSA Questions

[pastrygirl]

I tried out a CSA a couple of years ago shortly after Toby was born. It was just a one-time trial, and I hated it. I had to pick most of the stuff, it took forever, was raining, and everything was so full of bugs that it took a long time to wash, rinse, and dry everything for the fridge. It was an ordeal!

I'm rethinking it again, because I've read on here and heard from friends that there are places where you don't have to pick anything. But, you're stuck with what they pick for you.

Are you currently in a CSA?
If so, how many years have you done it?
Do you plan to continue?
If you were in a CSA but stopped, why did you stop?
Does your CSA have a "u-pick" portion?
If not, have you been happy with the selection?
How long does it take from start to finish when you pick up?
Do you have to work any hours there?

If you would recommend your CSA, please do! Either post here or PM me. Thanks!!! (I'm willing to go to the metrowest or Worcester area.)

[earthmama369]

Are you currently in a CSA? Yes.

If so, how many years have you done it? This is our third year.

Do you plan to continue? Absolutely.

If you were in a CSA but stopped, why did you stop? We did change CSAs after the first year, but simply because the first one we went to was about 45 minutes away -- it worked when it was on the way to visiting my parents, but our schedule changed and it became an extra trip instead.

Does your CSA have a "u-pick" portion? Neither of the CSAs we've belonged to has been a "U-pick." Occasionally we'd pick some extra herbs for ourselves at the first one, and the one we're in now lets the kids explore and pick some things to learn about them, but that's the extent of it. They pick, sort, and bundle everything for us.

If not, have you been happy with the selection? Yes. It's the nature of a CSA that you get what's in season and what succeeded. As far as I see it, that's the point, so in buying into the system, I've also bought into the "way" of it and learned how to work with it. It's definitely not like going to the grocery store.

Sometimes we get an overabundance of one thing, but there's always a good variety nonetheless, and I process the extra for use during the winter. I chop it, cook it, freeze it, etc.

How long does it take from start to finish when you pick up? If I'm in a hurry, I get there with my bags, read the list, toss everything in, and I'm gone in under 5 minutes. More often than not, I plan to take half an hour so the kids can run around and play, I can talk with the farmers, and we can enjoy the experience.

Do you have to work any hours there? No. Both CSAs I've been in have been paid shares only.

If you would recommend your CSA, please do! I'm guessing you're not in CT, but we have a share in the Long Lane Farm at Wesleyan University and we love it. Previously, we had a share at High Hope Farm in East Haddam, and that was great, too.[/QUOTE]

[hipmummy]

Are you currently in a CSA? yes
If so, how many years have you done it? 3
Do you plan to continue? yes
If you were in a CSA but stopped, why did you stop? n/a
Does your CSA have a "u-pick" portion? no
If not, have you been happy with the selection? yes
How long does it take from start to finish when you pick up? 5 min or less
Do you have to work any hours there? yes at least two hours

I would reccomend mine but it is in the northshore and there is a 148 person waiting list.
If you would recommend your CSA, please do! Either post here or PM me.
Thanks!!! (I'm willing to go to the metrowest or Worcester area.)

ours is the www.farmdirectcoop.org (http://www.farmdirectcoop.org)

[hikingmommy]

Are you currently in a CSA? Yes
If so, how many years have you done it? This is year 3
Do you plan to continue? Yes
If you were in a CSA but stopped, why did you stop?
Does your CSA have a "u-pick" portion? Yes - herbs, berries, string beans, other small stuff
If not, have you been happy with the selection?
How long does it take from start to finish when you pick up? w/o DD I could do it w/ the PYO in half an hour most days. The PYO can be done any day, so DH could stop off on his way home from work and get just the already picked share if I couldn't go. That would only take 10 min. or so.
Do you have to work any hours there? No. There is a work for share option that a handful of people do.

It's Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton, probably out of your driving range. It's been great for us. We aren't huge veggie eaters. We have a small share and blanch/freeze and can enough to keep us stocked all winter long.

[Katho]

Are you currently in a CSA?
If so, how many years have you done it?
We are in our sixth season at Vanguarden in Dover. Before that we did Lindentree Farm in Lincoln for several seasons (switched because we moved).

Do you plan to continue?
But of course!

Does your CSA have a "u-pick" portion?
Lindentree did, Vanguarden doesn't.

If not, have you been happy with the selection?
Yes! I love not having to go to the supermarket and pay for produce from California!

How long does it take from start to finish when you pick up?
At Vanguarden, maybe 5-10 minutes to pick the produce from bins. Lindentree did take longer because of the pick-your-own.

Do you have to work any hours there?
Lindentree had a work requirement - I think 4 hours.
No work at Vanguarden, although there is a workshare option (work a set number of hours per week and get your share for free).

We love both CSAs. Lindentree is more community-oriented, Vanguarden is more informal.

Vanguarden does a winter share that is separate from the summer (one pickup each month November through February) - if interested PM me and I will give you the farmer's phone number.

For next summer you should probably start inquiring around February or March, as many CSAs fill up.

[Qestia]

Are you currently in a CSA? Yes
If so, how many years have you done it? This is the 2nd year
Do you plan to continue? not sure
If you were in a CSA but stopped, why did you stop? If we stop it will be because I feel the quantity of produce we receive is much smaller this year than last
Does your CSA have a "u-pick" portion? no
If not, have you been happy with the selection? yes, I like that the food is in season, and I like that it challenges me to cook more creatively
How long does it take from start to finish when you pick up? 10 min, they have a local drop off
Do you have to work any hours there? no

If you would recommend your CSA, please do! Either post here or PM me. Thanks!!! (I'm willing to go to the metrowest or Worcester area.)

it's stillman farms in lunenberg, but they drop off boxes in metro boston, maybe elsewhere too.

[pastrygirl]

Thanks, everyone! Stillman farms was one of the ones I was going to look into. They have a couple of pick-up locations that would be convenient for me.

On the other hand, I just found out that a local in-town farm has a TON more stuff than I'd previously thought! Every time I've gone there before, they've had only one or two things. But now they have lettuce, squash, melons, corn, asparagus, etc. (well, at different times during the summer, when things are in-season). I might just try them out next year. I'd love to support my own town! :)

[Golden]

C, what is the name of the farm you found locally?

[pastrygirl]

http://www.indianheadfarm.com :)

It's not a CSA, though. The Crops & Seasons page has a photo and list of their offerings. It looks great!

[Golden]

thank you! :thumb

[Sierra]

Are you currently in a CSA? Yes

If so, how many years have you done it? I'm not sure if it is the exact same thing as a CSA, but we did an organic delivery service back when we lived in WA state. Then we moved to a town where they didn't have such a thing, and the CSAs made us nervous because we were afraid we'd pay and then forget to pick it up. A friend of ours used to ask us to pick his up when he was on vacation, but he stopped asking us the time we forgot.

Then we moved to MA, and we were having such a hard time finding a store in our city that regularly had a wide selection of organic produce, so we joined one this summer.

Do you plan to continue? I'm not sure. dw says "no" because we suck at finding time to store things away, and often our produce goes bad. I want to continue on some level because (1) I feel committed to it as a concept, and (2) it does encourage us toward eating a much wider variety of produce.

If you were in a CSA but stopped, why did you stop? If we stop it will be because I couldn't think fast enough how to use stuff (Our old produce service included a list of what was in the box and loads of recipes that included those ingrediants plus basic stuff we'd already have around. Our new CSA has a list of included produce online, but the items aren't marked in the box, and the list doesn't help if I don't know how to tell the difference between two things (like two different bitter leafy greens...also the recipes are limited in number and usually call for ingrediants I don't have on hand.) As I said, we didn't always have the time or ability to store for future use...so stuff went bad frequently.

Does your CSA have a "u-pick" portion? No

If not, have you been happy with the selection? I like that I am getting a bigger variety of produce than I would otherwise. I do miss the option we had with our old service to pick up to three items we never wanted, and they would substitute when those came up. There are some things we'd just never use.

Having recently moved from the west coast where fruit is all over the place, I was disappointed that there is a very limited amount of fruit in my CSA box. During blueberry season we've been getting a very small container of blueberries most weeks, but that is the only fruit we've received so far. There have been a lot of bitter leafy greens, primarily during the in-season early in the summer, and I like the idea of adding those to our diet for health reasons, but it is hard to find things to do with them that any of us can tolerate, especially the kids. I can only take so much. I haven't found that the CSA consistently reduces the amount I am buying at the store. I have been able to avoid buying carrots at the store, and recently have been able to avoid buying bell peppers and have reduced the number of tomatoes I have to buy at the store. Not to mention that we've received enough corn on the cob that we haven't felt a need to buy corn. *But* a lot of the stuff they send is nice "extra" stuff that isn't a staple for us. For example, we've never been huge on squash. Since we are receiving it (in many wonderful varieties), we are cooking it up and eating it, but my kids frequently don't eat more than a bite or two (they're not big on it), and they are still asking for stuff that isn't included in our box, at least to date. And I still feel the need to buy onions and garlic and things that haven't been in our box. I'm also jealous of those who receive things like milk, eggs, butter, etc. in their CSAs. That would be wonderful, but I suppose that is more common with the food co-op groups (back on the west coast, we had food co-op stores, so the idea of a food co-op with no store is a new one for me).

How long does it take from start to finish when you pick up? Not sure I "get" the question. Are you referring only to the U-pick option, or also to pickup in general. We have a pickup location about a mile from our house. Walking there, could do it in an hour. Driving there, could do it in 10-15 minutes total. If I pick it up on my way home from work, that takes me no more than a couple minutes out of my way.

The big thing that takes a long time is once I get home. Everything needs to be washed, stored (sometimes chopped) right away in order to ensure it gets used, or if it isn't going to get used, can be used later. That takes at least a good hour (especially when I am chopping, blanching and storing for later use).

Do you have to work any hours there? No. And originally I really liked the idea of bringing my kids and working together as a family, but I am realizing that would have been impossible for us to maintain. Not to mention that it would have required a long drive and gas useage we couldn't have maintained.

[PatchChild]

Are you currently in a CSA?
Yup, I'm in Stillman's, which has been mentioned before
If so, how many years have you done it?
This is my first year
Do you plan to continue?
Yes!
Does your CSA have a "u-pick" portion?
Nope,but most weeks you do have some choice. Your box is mostly packed, and then you can add some from their selection of the week.
If not, have you been happy with the selection?
I've been happy, although it did get a little heavy on the zucchini for a while. But heck,we're in Massachusetts, that's what grows well.
How long does it take from start to finish when you pick up?
Maybe 5 minutes if there's a line
Do you have to work any hours there?
Nope! Just pay and pick up.

One of the things I like is that you don't have to pick up the share or half share yourself. I was on vacation one week and they had no problem letting my friend pick up in my name.

[veganf]

Are you currently in a CSA? yes
If so, how many years have you done it? 4
Do you plan to continue? yes
If you were in a CSA but stopped, why did you stop? n/a
Does your CSA have a "u-pick" portion? yes
If not, have you been happy with the selection? n/a
How long does it take from start to finish when you pick up? 30-60 minutes
Do you have to work any hours there? yes, 12 hours, but we can opt to pay $8/hr instead

We go to Stearns Farm. It is awesome! Shares are sold out by winter and there is always a waiting list. There is a lot of PYO though.

[avivaelona]

Are you currently in a CSA? Yes
If so, how many years have you done it? 4
Do you plan to continue? Yes
If you were in a CSA but stopped, why did you stop? N/A
Does your CSA have a "u-pick" portion? Yes
If not, have you been happy with the selection? I would say the U-pick is about 1/3 the total produce. It would be a good selection even without the u-pick but many of the most desireable options are u-pick (cherry tomatos, green beans, strawberries, basil, peas)
How long does it take from start to finish when you pick up? 10 minutes if we don't pick, 1.5 hours if we pick everything at once, our farm has the option to come pick at any point during the week, so we can break up the picking or pick on a day that works better than the pick up day.
Do you have to work any hours there? No, there are no work hours required, you are welcome to volunteer at a few particular times a year (garlic harvest for example) I believe you get a credit or some extra produce or something if you go and help but I'm not actually sure.

[Ahava]

Erica- it sounds like you and I go to the same CSA....Riverland Farm in Sunderland?

[avivaelona]

PM'd you :)