Community Connection
How small CSAs have a big impact
The farm is rapidly approaching its 7th season, a number that truly seems unreal. When this enterprise started I did not imagined it would make it this far. Rounding the corner into 2025 I find myself reflecting on and considering aspects of the business, how they support the farm, and what is our offering to a small community of people.
We have offered the Main Season CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, since the beginning. In the before the season customers purchase a share of the farm. They pay us several hundred dollars to get the wheels rolling in promise for repayment with vegetables from May through October. The CSA acts as an operating loan crowdsourced from the people who will consume the produce. We offer a vegetable bonus on their dollar as a form of interest and with gratitude for them shouldering the risk inherent in working with nature.
A CSA share is no small sell. The buyer is commits a substantial amount of money to a farmer before any produce is grown. Then, that customer picks up their produce throughout the season, making for an extra stop outside the grocery store. In many models, the consumer has no say in the produce they receive on a weekly basis instead receiving a farmer picked box. These pinch points can make purchasing a CSA share unfeasible for many people. The upfront cost, time commitment, and even challenge consuming all the produce is daunting.
As a farm the CSA can be a burden. The inherent need to diversify products for customers expecting most of their produce from a farm makes specializing difficult. Instead of growing a couple crops, many CSA farms grow well over 50 each with different nuances and seasonal challenges. Paying back the “loan” throughout the season can cause cash flow issues if not managed properly. This debt can become more substantial if the farmer buys in certain products to supplement their CSA. We do this with potatoes which I can purchase for well below the price I can grow them. Without saving and planning a CSA can easily overburden the farm financially and lead to midseason stress.
So what makes us continue the CSA program into our 7th growing season? What does a CSA offer a customer besides fresh produce and another stop on their weekly errands? The answer is, my dear readers, connection.
Going out to a farm or market most weeks of the season ties CSA members intimately to the seasons, connecting them to a natural rhythm modern grocery stores shun. Consuming produce grown within the season gives our bodies physical fuel rooted in time and place. Studies clearly show fresh produce is higher in vitamins and minerals but eating seasonally also provides the bodies with the exact nutrients needed during those specific times. Spring tonics, cooling summer fruits, and fall immune boosts are all inherently included in seasonal eating.
Socially the CSA connects consumers and producers. The trust a member places into the farm is more than transactional like a bank loan. It puts a face and relationship to the agreement, building ties throughout the strata of society. It blows my mind how many children I have seen come into the world from CSA members. Kids I am still feeding today. Many of the members I interact with have become friends. I can’t say the same about my banker.
Face to face interactions instill a sense of integrity. My customers know the care I place into growing produce while treating the soil well. They know I do not use conventional fertilizers or pesticides on their food. They can come and see the farm anytime throughout the week. We do not hide behind certifications or across international borders.
Other organizations are involved with the CSA model. The Vegetable Connection, a local nonprofit, aims to open the CSA’s doors to all members of our community, not just those who can afford the upfront purchase. They subsidize shares to those who could otherwise not afford them. This expands the reach of our farm and connects members of the community who would otherwise not meet. They are especially important for bridging the gap between locals and people newly immigrated who would otherwise not know CSA farming exists. The weekly responsibility of picking up a weekly share welcomes new people to our towns and provides a community, so needed when people are reestablishing their lives abroad.
The CSA’s reach is broad and deep into our surrounding township. It is a reciprocal relationship that keeps our farm humming and people fed. As crop planning commences and seeds get ordered for next season I am thinking about our farm’s offering to the members who help it off the ground each year.
Farm News
The Farm Stand is open with normal operating hours but only for 2 more weeks. We have a great selection of storage crops, fresh greens, and other local products. We are especially excited about Rainbow Eggs, a collaborative egg supplier who source eggs from small scale flocks up and down the Front Range.
We will also be attending the Winter Farmers Market until December 21st so come say hi while doing some Christmas shopping.
Produce Availability:
Greens/herbs: Green and Red kale, rainbow chard, collards, arugula, spicy mix, Hearts and Souls Salad Mix, napa cabbage, bok choi, parsley
Roots: Chantenay carrots, red beets, red radish, purple top turnips, Hakurei turnips, watermelon radish, purple daikon radish, white daikon radish, leeks, yellow and red onions, shallots, garlic, fingerling potatoes, red and gold potatoes, parsnips, rutabagas
Fruits: Ela Farm Apples, Acorn, butternut, delicata, kuri, kabocha, spaghetti squash, pie pumpkins