What is a CSA Farm Share?
Sometimes called CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), farm share programs generally include farm-direct, pre-season purchase agreements between farmers and customers. These programs enable farmers to raise vital cash during the non-harvest season, while farm members gain a deeper relationship with the farms they choose to support. Scroll down to learn more about how Agriberry’s farm share program benefits members, the farm and the community-at-large.
Members Share the Risks and Rewards of Farming
The Geyers are a family of experienced, professional farmers, who know how to grow delicious, nutritious fruit. Their Partner Farmers are equally skilled and careful. All local, field-grown produce, however, is subject to the effect of prevailing weather patterns and other localized conditions. Because our harvest areas are localized to specific fields, the impact of weather is greatly magnified, versus large-scale (regional, national and international) production. These unpredictable elements can directly affect–both positively and negatively–the quality and quantity of the fruit available for a day, a week or for an entire season.
What Do Members Receive?
With Agriberry Farm’s CSA programs, members receive weekly pre-made boxes or “shares,” of fresh, local fruit grown by Agriberry Farm and our Partner Farms.
Across the 26-week Full Season CSA or the 13-week Peak Season CSA, weekly shares include as much diversity of flavor and texture as the mid-Atlantic region can offer. Some items with limited availability may only be included once, and some fruits–especially our berries–will be included frequently. Each week’s share composition is determined by our harvests and that of our partner farms, and each share will feature berries grown by Agriberry Farm.
Seasonal Eating
CSA members embrace the delights and challenges of seasonal eating, which means experiencing scarcity and abundance. These concepts have been largely lost from modern meal planning due to global sourcing of out-of-season produce. Once the initial craving for a particular fruit has been satisfied and the novelty has worn off, receiving subsequent additional units of that fruit provides the opportunity to explore new uses, new recipes, and to preserve some for later use.
Benefits for CSA Members
According to members from previous seasons, the top benefit of being an Agriberry Farm CSA Member is:
Your weekly share is the best tasting, most convenient way to increase your consumption of nature’s most delicious “medicine,” helping you toward the recommended 2 cups of fruit per day.
Need a few more great reasons to join? Also according to past and recurring members, your farm membership provides:
- Convenience: You’ll have a ready supply on hand of “nature’s fast food” throughout the season, perfect for healthy eating and snacking
- Exploration: Trying new fruits or unusual varieties you may not have tried before, and finding out just how good fruit really does taste.
- Understanding: Learning about seasonal eating, including options for preserving fruit for later use.
- Savings: Receiving a 20% Member Discount on additional purchases from Agriberry Farm for the entire year.
- Trust: Sleeping just a little better, because you know where your food comes from.
- Comfort: The benefit of knowing that you’re investing in the food supply of your own community, and that your membership helps keep the whole cycle of community support growing.
Want more? How about:
- Building a weekly routine of attending a farmers market.
- Receiving weekly member e-mails about your share, including the tips, recipes and everything you need to enjoy every bite.
- Getting to know the farm family and other team members.
- Gaining a deeper understanding about farming and the conditions affecting farms in your area.
- Knowing your fruit won’t sell out before you get to the market.
Benefits for the Farm
Most fruit comes from perennial plants: that is, plants that grow for more than one season, sometimes taking years to begin producing fruit. Taking care of berry bushes, plants, and fruit trees requires year-round effort. Pre-season payments help with much of this non-harvest season work, such as pruning, setting out new plantings, and making improvements and repairs to trellis and irrigation systems.
Members also directly support the farm’s mission of paying a living wage to all Agriberry Farm workers, including the field team, which hand-harvests your blackberries and raspberries each summer. The other special benefit the Farm Share program provides is creating weekday distribution for our highly perishable daily berry harvests.
Benefits for the Community
The CSA program is the glue that binds consumers, workers, and farmers together. All are lifted up, thanks to your investment in the farm and healthy, local eating. The Farm Share program makes it possible for Agriberry Farm to “pay it forward,” investing in education and our evolving local food networks.