Why do you buy CSA shares?

[steev]

If all that matters to the buyer is price and selection, it's you against Walmart. All you can do is try to get people to grasp the concept that it's about community, supporting the people who will support you in turn. It's unfortunate when those on whom you depend can't be depended on to watch out for your interests, thinking they can better their own interests by letting yours down a bit. Is it possible to look for another drop-off?

[12540dumont]

Steev,
He never even thought that it might hurt me. He's just a genuinely nice guy, who wants everyone to join a CSA. His place for me has the advantage of being a "local" store that's open long hours.

The alternative is to deliver all the boxes myself. shudder.

[steev]

Well, given how slothful you seem to be, Holly, I'm sure a little competition will only hone your skills and encourage you to work more hours per day. Be bold; adopt the 25-hour day.

[oxbowfarm]

This is a really interesting conversation. It definitely seems that there is a big difference in all of this stuff from one region of the country to another. My market functions dramatically different from the Cali markets or Joseph's for instance. Some of that may be the differences in scale and population density from west to east? I'd personally hate to have to deal with the crap from local gov't that Holly has to. Our market is totally self-governed, you mostly get inspected if someone makes a complaint although the Ag committee has the right to inspect at any time. There is no fee for the inspection, but there is a fee to the complaintant if no violation is found, mostly a disincentive for wasting everyone's time. All the inspections are done by members of the ag committee and/or the market manager. The only time you'd ever get hassled by NY State Ag and Markets is if you were openly violating food safety regs at market.

I notice a big difference in the way CSA's are being run from west tp east as well. Out here "boxed share" model is definitely falling by the wayside. The most successful CSA's around here seem to be the on-farm pickup, mix-n-match with lots of pick-your-own stuff like flowers, cherry and paste tomatoes and raspberries. The other thing folks do a lot is to have shareholders pick up at the market and just fill their share out on the table with quota's for certain things.

But most farms are way way smaller than the giant CSA's they have out west. I would have a hard time viewing one of those as a true CSA as it is defined here on this coast. Especially given the whole buying in stuff from many other farms. Seems much more like a vegetable delivery service. But my sister in extremely middle-of-nowhere western Alaska really loves her CSA share that includes citrus, meat, eggs, fresh greens and a ton of other foods that are totally unavailable even if she were to fly into Bethel, AK and shop. And its CHEAPER that the stuff you can get in Bethel. It sure seems unsustainable to be flying in veggies on a small plane, but I am glad that my neice and nephew get to eat real veggies once and a while also. Clearly a very complicated question with different answers depending on the local economics and culture.

[steev]

That's why "Locavore" is the name of the game. Community standards and practices are valuable, when they aren't oppressive. Were I to start selling, I would want to do it "on-farm pick-up", being right on the main artery and liking the idea of customers trusting my practices because they see them.

I really like the idea of a disincentive fee.

[12540dumont]

That they save money is not surprising. My favorite customer tells me she saves money because she doesn't go to the grocery store and pick up things they don't need.

She's pretty unique. On the day she gets her veges, she washes them all and preps them.

So in a box with Welsh onion, parsnips, beets, carrots, lemons, artichokes and eggs, jam and muffins, she went home and did this:

She boiled the artichokes with slices of lemon and served them for dinner. At the same time, she roasted the carrots, beets and parsnips, so she could serve them later in the week, reheated. She served the beet greens on the next night. She used the onions in the eggs to make an omelet the third night (using the rest of the eggs for Sunday Breakfast). The fourth night they had the pre-cooked roasted veges. Anything that was left over at her house went into a light soup. I don't have any other customers that cook this way, but she claims that nothing is wasted and that the same veges from a store called "Whole Paycheck" would have cost her $35 and the gas to get there...plus the extra things that sneak into your cart when you are not looking.

By the way, she did confess that the muffins did not make it home, and complained that 6 muffins were not enough for a family of four. Especially when a mom has to sniff them on a long commute home.

[littleminnie]

That is great that you put in a lot of value added stuff. I actually got bad advice on that my first year. Another vendor that does CSAs said not to put in value added stuff in spring because they will want it every week and it would be a problem. So the spring shares were small and the newbies started off complaining. Anyway now I think value added stuff is great to add. They do not complain when the tomatoes start and the value added stuff stops. I wish I had more time to make specialty foods. My goal is to have a year round CSA farm with a certified kitchen and make awesome gourmet food to add to the CSAs especially in winter.

[Joseph Lofthouse]

Around here, "value added" is so heavily regulated and licensed and monitored that I would never ever consider putting anything value added into a basket. (More than 6 licenses would be required from 6 different departments.) I even have to be careful how I harvest, so that I don't accidentally "process" something. I wouldn't want to be labeled a criminal just because I cut off a carrot top too close to the root.

[littleminnie]

Here we can pickle and make jam and bake anything. However I also push it and give them other stuff. I am careful and hopefully won't regret giving them fresh apple butter or frozen squash.

[12540dumont]

And here, you can't "Sell" them anything. So, in the early spring baskets and early winter baskets when things are scare and the baskets look puny, we have: "Gifts".

Anything that is illegal to sell is listed as "This week's special gifts" on my blogs. For new customers I remind them that you can always reject a gift. Scared of home baked goods or canned goods? Just tell me, no gifts. In this manner they also cannot come back and complain about "gifts" because that's just plain rude.

My "old customers" regularly beg for more gifts! I get e-mails regularly about fruit roll-ups, and even new recipes using "gifts".

There's no law anywhere against gifts (except to gubbermint officials) in which case it's a bribe.

I too would like to have a certified kitchen, so that I could charge for my "gifts". The cheapest we've seen is $19k for one in a trailer.

I have a plot to find everything I need for a commercial kitchen in surplus and then install it in a sea container and have it certified.

Last week I saw that U of Utah had an entire pile of scrap stainless steel that they were practically giving away. Enough to duct and line a sea container. On the east coast, one of the colleges was dumping it's entire kitchen. Leo has a 100 mile pick up limit, so all I could do was squeak.

So, I'll just keep looking. They rent kitchens here for $50 an hour, but I have not found it to be cost effective. There are only so many $50's to burn from the farm income and so many ways to burn those dollars...mills, stills, pH meters, canning jars, lids, irrigation equipment, soil amendments, seeds, tools (who has the Felco's?) and I bought a new asparagus knife!)

First asparagus of the season!

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[davida]

Feb 2, 2012 14:25:01 GMT -5 12540dumont said:

They rent kitchens here for $50 an hour, but I have not found it to be cost effective.

Donut shops tend to close here at 11AM or after lunch, at the latest. One of my friends was working on a deal to rent the kitchen of a donut shop for the entire afternoon for very little on a per usage basis and not per hour. Would this be an option for you?

[littleminnie]

Great suggesion Dumont about the gifts.