What is a CSA?

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a model of farming in which farmers sell shares of a season’s harvest directly to community members. The model is based on a shared commitment: the shareholder commits to the farm for the season and the farmer commits to providing high- quality, nutritious food to their shareholders. Community members purchase shares before the season begins, in order to provide cash flow when farmers need it the most, and to allow farmers to focus on farming, rather than marketing, during the season.

Joining a CSA is an investment in your community, in open spaces, in the health of the land, the farmers and your family. Your upfront payment allows us to buy seeds, soil and supplies, as well as pay staff, all before we start to “realize the profit” of delicious veggies. It’s important to mention that a catastrophic weather event could wipe out weeks worth of crops, and in that instance, shareholders might not receive the full value of their shares. However, despite droughts, floods and pests, our shareholders have always received more than the full value of their shares.

A CSA is an adventure, inviting you to become a better cook, allowing you to use your creativity to make use of the freshest ingredients each week! It also allows you to have a deeper understanding and connection with the seasons and where your food comes from.

LexFarm has operated a CSA program since the farm’s inception in 2014.

What’s in a winter vegetable share?

Red Fire Farm in Granby, MA, curates the winter veggie share. The farm is certified organic, and typically provides 8-10 items in each weekly share.

As this is a winter share, items are more likely to be root and storage veggies, such as potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, and winter squash. Red Fire Farm often incorporates a special item in the share as well, a bottle of their hot sauce, a jar of their pureed tomatoes, or a frozen out-of-season veggie.

Can I split a share?

You are welcome to split a share with another household. However, we will not be administering split shares with the winter veggie, egg or mushroom shares. What you choose to do on your own is your choice, but we will only record one name per share. That name will appear on the sign-in sheet at share pickup.

What if I can’t make my regular pickup?

Produce is harvested for a specific number of shareholders, so unfortunately we cannot make special accommodations for individuals. Also, there are over 100 of you! Imagine the administration that would entail! We’d rather focus on growing your veggies!

That said, we realize life happens, and we want you to get your produce, so we provide some options:

• Send a friend. This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce a neighbor, friend, or co-worker to the farm. As with swaps, have the friend check in under your name.
• Donate your share. If you don’t pick up your share, the food will not go to waste. We donate all extra vegetables to food rescue organizations twice every week, and we are happy to make your share available to those who will use it!

I noticed your prices went up.  Why is that?

I’m sure you’ve noticed prices going up everywhere. We anticipate our input costs rising right along with everything else. Supplies of our egg, mushroom, and winter veggies shares face the implications of inflation and the cost of sustainable practices, too.

For the egg share, we are now sourcing eggs from Latremore Pine Ridge Farm (Chary, NY). These eggs are certified-organic, and the chickens are free-range.

In addition, we’re committed to paying our staff a fair wage. As a small farm, we need to keep our costs and income somewhat balanced. Growing fresh, delicious organic fruits and vegetables on a small, sustainable scale isn’t cheap, and when you find low prices, someone or something else has likely paid the costs.

Why am I not receiving any CSA email?

All communication about the CSA will be from [email protected].  Please look in your junk and spam folders and make sure emails from [email protected] are not marked as junk or spam, so you don’t miss any of our communications. Adding this email address to your contacts list should prevent that address from being identified as spam.