If you haven't hopped on-board and joined a CSA Farm Share program, now is a great time to support a small, local farm like ours by signing up to receive a weekly or biweekly share of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables all season long. Â
What is a CSA? Â
First, it's important to understand why Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs are so important to small farmers like us. The CSA Farm Share model allows a customer to buy a "membership" in a farm prior to the start of the growing season. In return for their investment, the customer receives a share of the farm's products throughout the growing season on a weekly or biweekly basis.
The CSA model started in the mid-1980s in New England and has since become a popular way for people to support local agriculture around the world. It keeps food dollars in local communities, supports small businesses, and encourages a more sustainable food production system. Plus, it allows you to know exactly who's growing the food you feed to your family and how that food was grown.
From a farmer's standpoint, CSA Farm Share programs guarantee a market for our farm's products, enable us to have an early season income source to help pay for seeds and supplies, and it allows us to get to know the families our farm feeds.
You get healthy, fresh food, and we get a much-valued, long-lasting customer!
How does our CSA work?
While many area farms have CSA Farm Share programs here in the Pittsburgh region, our program is a bit different from the standard CSA model. Instead of getting a box of farm products selected by the farmer, our Cherry Valley Organics Farm Share program allows you to select each item in your weekly delivery, based on a list of what's available from the farm each week.
You tell us which fruits and veggies your family loves, and we'll be sure to send them when they're available. You can also let us know which veggies your family isn't fond of, and we'll keep those out of your Farm Share delivery box. If you need extra of something because the in-laws are in town, just order extra in your weekly box. Or, if you're going on vacation, you can skip your delivery for that week, too.
You select your weekly or biweekly preferences via email, and we deliver your box to a pickup site near you on a designated day of the week. It's that easy! Our 2019 Farm Share season lasts for 20 weeks and runs from June through October.
Celebrate CSA Day with us by signing up for our Farm Share program today (or whatever day suits you best - we're not picky!). Our signups will continue until the program reaches its maximum membership. As of this writing, we still have an opening for YOU!
Why sign up for our CSA?
- Support the health of your local food system
- Keep farmland out of the hands of developers
- Be a responsible environmental steward
- Limit your food miles
- Eat fresh
- The cost is just $25.00 per week!
- Enjoy delicious, USDA certified organic fruits and veggies grown by people who LOVE
Cherry Valley Organics CSA Farm Share detailsÂ
We know you have lots of choices when it comes to your food dollars. There's plenty of competition from grocery stores, big retailers, food delivery services, meal plans, and even the restaurant down the street. So, we want to make it easy for you to support our small farm.
Our CSA Farm Share program offers:
- A flexible payment schedule
- A pickup site near you (see a list of our pick up sites, here)
- Automated payments
- The ability to hand-pick what you want in each delivery
- Plenty of potential add-ons, such as herbal teas, organic soaps, garden plants, and more!
Here's wishing you a season of happy, healthy eating! Sign up here. Â
To learn more about our small farm and what we grow, check out the following posts:
- How to eat with the seasons
- How we grow and harvest cherry tomatoes
- Cucumber farming: Tricks of the trade
- Patty pan squash
- Growing organic garlic
From, The Cherry Valley Organics Farm Family
P.S. Nahla says "Buy fresh, eat local.... and take naps!"
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