What is a 'CSA' farm?
‘CSA’ stands for ‘Community Supported Agriculture’, a phrase implying a deeper connection between a farm and consumers than simply the purchase of a box of vegetables. Members make a season-long commitment to the farm, enabling the farmers to focus on producing the best possible produce they are capable of. Both the farmers and the consumers can enjoy the mutually beneficial relationship that can ensue from such an arrangement—you get to know and appreciate where your food comes from, and we can know on whose tables our produce ends up!
What can I expect to receive in my boxes?
Every box that you receive will be customized based on your preferences. Here’s how we will do that: when you sign-up for your share, you will be asked to rate all of the vegetables we potentially will grow, on a scale from 1 to 5, with ‘1’ meaning you would never want to receive that vegetable in your box, and a ‘5’ meaning you would be most happy to receive that vegetable. That list will be stored by ‘Harvie’, our software system. Then with each delivery, Harvie will generate lists for all of the Small, Medium, and Large boxes, based both on your preferential lists, and also on what will be ready to harvest on the farm, which we will input into the system. You will receive by e-mail that list of proposed veggies several days prior to the delivery of your box. Thus, every one of your customized box’s contents will include more of the higher-rated veggies, less of the lower-rated veggies, and none of the least favored veggies.
Are there any extras that I can order from the farm?
Throughout the season, in addition to listing what extra produce will be available from our own fields and greenhouses, we will occasionally make available fruit, meat, and other items that we source from other local farms and orchards. We like to help other local, and organic, (and usually small) farms, most of which do not produce enough to supply the larger stores and wholesale accounts, and by helping them direct-market to you, we can all benefit. You will receive e-mails about those offerings, and can very easily order those items with just a couple clicks from your phone or computer.
What if I'm planning on being away for vacation, or business?
If you know you are going to miss a delivery you have a few options to choose from to ensure you still receive your share.
(If you sign up for the
Skipper Share, then that week’s box can be one of the four that you would be skipping. You will recieve more info on how this works if you signed up for the Skipper Share)
Option 1 - Reschedule Your Box - Preferred Method to change your delivery date
If it’s during the customization period, click “reschedule” in your email and you can choose the next available date for your current pick up location. (For example: If you regularly pick up on a Wednesday, the system will show you the next available Wednesday date. If you want to change this delivery to a day outside your regular pick up day, you must first choose “change location”. The system will then give you additional available dates at your current location and all other locations.)
If you are rescheduling a future delivery, go to “My Deliveries” in your profile, and choose “change date” next to the delivery you want to change.
Option 2 - Choose a Different Location
If it’s during the customization period, email support@harvie.farm to change your location.
If you want to change a location of a future delivery, go to “My Deliveries” in your profile and choose “change location” next to the delivery you want to change.
Option 3 - Cancel or Place a Hold on Your Delivery
When you “cancel” a delivery you are putting your delivery on “hold”.
If you put a share on hold/cancel it, you must email support@harvie.farm to have our support staff reschedule that for you.
If you choose not to reschedule it and you are on a payment plan, you will not have any additional charges on your account for that week.
If you do not reschedule and have paid in full, you forfeit that share amount and will not be refunded.
What if I want either more, or less, of a particular vegetable than what my list will include?
Upon receipt of your e-mail with your suggested list, you then have two options. You can either do nothing, in which case you will receive the exact vegetables on the list that you have received, or, you could swap out one or a couple of veggies for some others that might be available. So, for example, despite loving tomatoes, and having rated them as a ‘5’, you might decide that you needed to take a break from them, and choose to swap them for some extra carrots, or salad mix. This ’swapping’, of course, will depend on what is available in extra quantities that week from the farm. Some swaps may result in an additional charge depending the value of your swapped items.
If you would like to purchase additional veggies beyond what your normal share includes, then you could do that as well, again depending on what is available. Since we are packing a box with your name on it anyway, it will be easy for us to add whatever else you might want to order for that week, and since your credit card will be on file, the billing of that extra order will happen automatically without either you or us needing to enter additional information.
When do the CSA shares start, and end?
Our main season runs from the second week of June, give or take a week, and lasts for 22 weeks, until the beginning of November. We then offer the separate Thanksgiving, and December Storage Shares, which can keep you supplied with veggies till Christmas or beyond. Sometimes during the winter we may occasionally offer additional items, as our supplies dictate, which could be delivered directly to your home, or picked up at one of the farmers markets that we sell at on Saturdays.
Can I visit the farm?
Please do! You would be more than welcome to come visit us, and the farm! We enjoy getting to know our members, and individual visits can be arranged apart from the open house and/or work days that we may schedule during the season.
Will I know in advance what's in my share?
In our weekly email newsletter updates you can read what will likely be included in the following week's boxes.
What are the benefits of being a CSA member?
As a member of Springdale Farm you would receive a weekly (or biweekly) box of diverse vegetables, all grown with the expressed goals of maximizing nutrition, freshness, and flavor, while at the same time grown using techniques and practices that ensure the long-term viability of the farm, and the farm's soil and ecosystem. Members of a CSA acknowledge that they are taking on some of the risks, and responsibilities, of food production and environmental stewardship by their direct support of a particular farm.
What do I need to do when I pick up my box at my pick-up site?
Every box delivered to your pick-up site will have a sticker with an individual’s name on it, and the list of contents of the box. So you will only need to look for the box that has your name on it. (If you have ordered extra items, then there might be a second box with your name on it.)
If you ordered eggs, they will be found in a cooler labeled "eggs"
When you have found your box, then you will need to place its contents into a bag or container that you have brought with you. You will not be taking the box with you! Once it is empty, the box can be stacked neatly for safekeeping until we come to retrieve them.
Please bring back any egg cartons that we give you along with you the following week to be reused. Please do not bring back other containers that you may get from other stores!
What is the difference between the Small, Medium, and Large Share boxes?
The difference is in both the total amount of vegetables, and the variety of veggies received.
The
Small Share is intended to feed 1 to 2 adults, with each Small Share box usually containing from 5-8 different vegetables.
The
Medium Share is designed to feed 2 to 3 adults, or four light eaters of vegetables, and will typically have 7-10 different veggies.
The
Large Share is intended to feed 4 adults, or more if they are light eaters of veggies, and will have the most variety, with 9-12 different veggies.
The Large Share will also contain about twice the volume of the Small Share, and 1/3 more than the Medium Share, while the Small Share will contain about 2/3 of the Medium Share. Keep in mind that the price per pound of the vegetables will be the same for all of the Shares, so there will be no discount on the produce for buying the Large Share. Our new software requires that all of the produce have equal value for any of the sized Shares.
What if I love all the vegetables and don't need to cumtomize?
If you love all of the vegetables and would like to recieve the widest variety in your box simply leave the vegetable(s) unrated, or give them a '3' rating. You will still receive an e-mail with Harvie’s proposed list of veggies for each box, and the swapping option will still be possible.
How does the payment for my share work?
Upon signing up, you will share with us your credit card information, and you will be charged 25% of the total amount due. With the first box’s delivery (in June), you will be charged another 25% of the total amount due. The remaining 50% will be split up evenly among all of the remaining deliveries for the remainder of the season, again utilizing your credit card. Alternatively, you could pay (either by check, or with a credit card) the total amount due at the time of your sign-up.
Paying by Check
Admittedly, paying by check is a bit more complicated. And as a society, we seem to be moving away from checks, and that's why Harvie is not, and is not intending to be, helpful to check writers. However, since some of you are used to paying by check, here's what you need to do.
On the sign-up form you can go all the way to the payment phase, where you would be expected to enter in your credit card information. At that point make a note of the amount due and send the check along to us. (Address: W7065 Silver Spring Ln., Plymouth, WI 53073). You will have an "Incomplete Order", but that's okay. Leave it at that.
Upon receipt of your check, we will confirm receipt, and then get back to you to help you finish the sign-up process, which is basically only rating all of the vegetables that we are growing.
So it would take a couple of steps, instead of finishing the process at one sitting, but it still is possible, even though the sign-up form doesn't include anything written about the possibility of paying by check.
Of couse please,
contact us if you have any questions!
