CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Credited to Alabama farmer Booker T. Whatley as a way for farmers to market their products directly to the consumer through a membership service, the idea is to purchase a share of a farm’s harvest at the beginning of the season, which allows the farmer to cover spring planting costs before the harvest season begins. The customer purchases a membership stake in the farm, securing food for the coming season, and shares the risk and reward with the farmer. If you want to support local agriculture and really come to know a place, there is no better way.
Today there are tens of thousands of CSA farms in the United States, with different products, offerings, pricing structures and distribution models. Ours is evolving in our fifth year, but how it works for us is we have three “seasons” to choose from: Spring, Tomato, and Hurricane. You can sign up for 21 weeks from June-October or pick just one or two seasons for an affordable option with less commitment.
Each box is usually 8 seasonal items grown on our farm, a week’s worth of vegetables for one person who cooks at home a few nights a week, or plenty for 2-4 people who like to cook a couple of times a week. We send a weekly email with recipe ideas and farm news, with weekly pickup times and locations in Hendersonville and West Asheville.
It’s not a misfit produce box or a meal plan kit, but what it is helps you make a habit of eating fresh, local, and seasonal vegetables each week and helps us cover our early season labor and supply costs. Our crew helps pick and pack the boxes each week, we weigh our harvest and add up the value of the items as if it were retail so we make sure you are getting a good value, good quality, and plenty of food.
Join us, we love to grow food for you!