How do I join? When is the season and how much does a share cost? Summer Only -June to end of November 26 weeks: $ 1100
Winter Only - December to end of May (skipping last 2 in Dec) 24 weeks: $900 Early Bird Registrations receive a discount: Full year registration received by March 15: $1900 (average $38/week) Summer Only registration received by March 15: $1075 ($41.35/week) Winter Only registration received by September 20th: $875 ($36.45/week) The payment may be made in a lump sum or installments. Please see the registration form for details. Please include all checks with the registration form i.e. post-dated checks if using the installment plan. Preference will be given to current and past members who register early.
What farm does the food come from?
The main vegetable farm in summer/fall is Kimberton CSA. For more information on the farm and its gardeners Birgit and Erik Landowne go here. In addition to the weekly share, Spiritual Food also provides supplements from other farms.
We currently work with: 9 farms for vegetables throughout the year including the main summer farm 8 farms for fruit 5 processors (such as bakery, cheese makers) 2 Farmer's cooperatives, plus 1 distributor for some of the dry goods All are Biodynamic or organic. To learn more about the farms that provide our supplements, please go to the Meet the Farmers and Providers section for interviews and photos. What is in a share?
Every season is different. A CSA teaches us to eat according to the seasons and locally, but also year by year as food is offered by Mother Nature. Please remember that we are working with small, very special farms. The size of the share and availability of items may vary as CSA members share risk with the farmers. Shares are planned to include: vegetables, fresh fruit, dried fruit, grains, legumes, whole-grain slow-rise non-yeast bread, homemade pasta, eggs, cheese, yogurt and special items for sampling. What kinds of food are in the shares throughout the seasons?
The fresh vegetable and fruit crops vary through the year while the supplements (dry goods and dairy) are fairly consistent. Vegetable-wise, the Summer provides traditional lettuces/greens, veges and herbs; Fall moves into squashes, roots and heartier greens; Winter provides more roots with the heartier greens giving way to greenhouse lettuces after the ground freezes; and in Spring locally grown vegetables are just not in nature’s plan although we do have enough organic fare to eat well. The greenhouse can usually provide small amounts of lettuce and baby greens until late April when local wild greens come forth and first outdoor harvests begin. The thin times are filled in with extra dry goods. Fresh fruit varies through the year with a good supply of apples in fall, citrus in winter and a variety in mid-late summer. There is less fruit in summer than one would expect until more local biodynamic or organic farms surface - this is beginning to happen as demand increases and our CSA is contributing to this. Dried fruit is available when fresh fruit is not. The supplements including grains, legumes, bread and pasta, eggs and dairy products round out the shares year round. The share is normally good for:
If I only want half a share, what should I do? Since only one share size is offered, those who want half a share need to find a partner and each person would pay half the share price and take half the food offered. Some partner pairs decide to pick up the whole amount on alternate weeks while some prefer to pick up the food every week and divide it into 2 bags for the 2 partners. The first way, alternate pickups, is easier as you don't have to figure out what to do with single items such as a loaf of bread or head of lettuce while the second way ensures a weekly supply of fresh food. During the Winter season, one thing to keep in mind with the first way (alternating pickups) is that in the Winter we only go to the Kimberton area every other week. This means that the bread and yogurt will be distributed on those weeks. There will be root crops and other vegetables and dry goods evenly distributed; many items are offered 2 or more weeks in a row so all members partake. Bread and yogurt can be ordered and purchased separately by the person who picks up on the alternate week if they wish. Partners can agree on their preferred schedule or be creative and mix up their pick up rotation to get a taste of things from each. Many CSA partnerships are formed between parent/child, co-workers and neighbors. If you don't have someone to partner with, send in a registration form with half the payment noting that you are looking for a partner and at what location; and if someone appears in the same situation we will put you in contact with each other. Partnerships are private arrangements but please be sure to provide e-mail addresses of both parties so we may be in communication with everyone. Some CSAs offer half shares. In our early years, we had half shares as well, but it became too difficult to manage due to the intricacies of the way our CSA is structured. We have found a benefit too among the many who split shares in that it builds community! What if I’m going out of town?
Joining a CSA means committing for the full period of time, yet sometimes unforeseen circumstances arise. It is the member’s ultimate responsibility to ensure a replacement for the remainder of the season. However, staff can help and as there is often a waiting list it should not be difficult to pass a share on to someone else and a pro-rated refund would be given. Please do not give installment checks with the intention of “trying” the CSA and withdraw before all checks are cashed as this would leave staff and other members picking up the tab. I just found out that the CSA won't be starting a new season for many months. Is there a way to get some food now? Yes, there are several ways. If you are serious about joining, you may send in a registration form and ask to be put on the waiting list. A letter will be sent with options for participating such as taking shares from members who go out of town. You may also order some of the items through Spiritual Food for the New Millennium and pick them up in Bethesda or have them shipped to your address. What Biodynamic vegetables can we look forward to each season? This Crop Chart is a sample of a past season. Changes are made to accommodate the year round plans of the farmer and will be posted as available. In Winter, Biodynamic food is less available however some new farms are stepping forward to provide lettuces and hearty greens, as well as root crops such as sweet potatoes, daikon radish, turnips, etc. Local and regional organic farms provide the rest of our CSA vegetables and fruits. (Some items in the crop chart are pick-your-own and thus not part of the weekly shares here in Maryland. We provide some of those items from other farms, and members are welcome to head to the farm to pick!)
Can you give me an example of some shares? Summer 1 head cabbage
1 Butternut Squash
6 oz Lettuce mix 3 lbs Valencia oranges Kohlrabi? Some of those foods are new to me. How do I cook them? The main service needed is setting up on Wednesdays which is mornings in Bethesda and early afternoon at other locations. Some tasks can be done at home. Exact details will be given by the host of each location before the season starts. Details are also available here. When can we visit the farm? Is home delivery possible?
What
if I’ll be away for a long time during the season? The way to handle going out of town is to find someone to take your share while you are away. It takes some advance planning but it gives an opportunity for others to participate in the CSA. The yahoo chat group is one place that share sales take place. Those who can afford it, might consider giving it away. One member gave the share to an employee; another donated it for an entire summer to a family in need. I thought CSAs were for
vegetables. Why does this one include
grains and other items? Over the years, this CSA has grown to work with 9 farms for staple items, 9 farms for fruit (fresh and dried); 4 processors such as the bakery and cheese-makers, 2 farm cooperatives for supplemental vegetables when needed, and a farm-based distributor for grains and legumes unobtainable directly from farms. Can
I get a vegetable and fruit only share? Our family cannot eat wheat or dairy. What should we do? The bread offered in the CSA is slow rise, sourdough and many people with wheat intolerance can enjoy this bread with no problems. Much of the recent near epidemic of wheat allergies can be traced to commercial preparation of bread. See the bread article in Food-A-Pedia for more information. Also helpful to know:
If I know
already that I won’t be able to use certain items, will I be throwing money
away if I join this CSA? CSA is about much more than return for your money or prices. It addresses the true cost of food, which includes a decent wage for farmers and supports economic and environmental sustainability. It is true that not all CSAs include supplements like grains, dried fruit and dairy but we believe that by broadening the scope to include more kinds of food (because after all, we eat more than vegetables) we are opening this alternative way of doing business to cover more of our needs and to support those who provide them. Wasting money is certainly a real concern, but we can look at a broad picture here as well. There is an incredible amount of waste in the modern world and CSA because of its structure and way of operation, (no wasteful packaging, expensive premises, processed foods, throw away containers etc.) reduces this to almost nil. Farmers markets and grocery stores, restaurants and hotels throw away a LOT of food. Single use packaging, shipping across the country or the ocean, and excessive paperwork or “middle-men” while useful can also be considered wasteful and are avoided in CSA. Perhaps the biggest waste is when human minds and bodies are not treated and utilized in a well-rounded healthy, life-supporting way. The CSA model attempts to address, in its small way, all of these very real phenomena of modern times. I’m
still concerned about wasting food or money. What would I do with items I
cannot use? · Food can be shared with family, friends or neighbors reminiscent of the days before refrigerators when harvests were abundant and sharing was part of the recognition and joy of nature’s bounty as well as avoiding waste. · If you split a share, your partner can have the items you cannot use. · Formal exchange – Try finding someone at your pick up site or through the yahoo group to exchange certain items with you on a regular basis. · Informal exchange – Put things you can’t use into the exchange box for another member to enjoy and you might find something you can use. · This special food can be offered as gifts. Many a gorgeous head of lettuce and luscious grapefruit have gone to doctors/healers, nannies, teachers to say thanks. Dry goods can be saved up for a thoughtful gift. Storage crops from the fall make great homemade holiday baskets. Here at the ashram, we give food bags to volunteers, speakers, and out of town guests. · If you just leave it behind, it will be donated to a home in need the next day. Our experience of visiting many farms over the years is that one can NEVER leave empty-handed! It’s even embarrassing sometimes when we know they don’t have a lot of money but insist on giving something -- literally the fruit of their labor and of the land. I believe this is one of the joys of being a farmer. We can experience a little of that as members of the CSA. This beautiful food never need be thrown away. It can be given to another person as an act of friendship or charity. We also know that what goes around, comes around -- what we do for others selflessly, ultimately comes back in another way. As St. Francis says: It is in giving that we receive. |
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