How do I join?
Please go here for information on how to join.  Click here for the registration form. We're excited to meet you! If you're a returning member, welcome back!

How do we know when and where to pick up the food?
See the How To Join page for pick up location options.
Pick up day is Wednesdays - afternoon through evening.
Registered members will receive a letter from the host of each location within the month before the season starts giving exact pick up times, address and directions, volunteer information, contact information and logistical details such as suggestions on what to do if you are late one day, etc.

How much does a share cost?
We are changing this year to a year round CSA with the year starting on June 1^st.  For 2009, a Summer/Fall season option may be available.

For the 2009 year i.e. 12 months of weekly food from June 2009 to May 2010:

Early Bird- Checks received by February 15^th:  $ 1,900
Regular Price for full year CSA:  $ 1,950
(average $37 per week)

Registration deadline for the full year share is March 15^th.
If the 150 shares are not taken by then, remaining shares will be available for both summer only and a full year on a first-come-first-served basis.

Summer/Fall option if available (June 1 to end of October – 5 months):  $ 850

The payment may be made in 1, 3 or 5 installments.  Please see the registration form for details.

Preference will be given to current and past members who register by Feb 15^th.

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, sourdourgh bread, homemade pasta, eggs, cheese, yogurt and special items for sampling such as raw honey and vinegar.  (The grains and legumes will be offered more frequently than in past years.)

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 lighter lettuces and veges, Fall moves into squashes, roots and hearty 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 some organic fare is usually available.  The greenhouse can usually provide fresh lettuce and Asian greens until early April when space is needed for summer seedlings but there is a normally a lull, until the first new harvest in late May, which is 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 throughout the summer.  However, there is less in summer than one would expect until more local biodynamic or organic farms surface.  Dried fruit from biodynamic farms is available when fresh fruit is not.

The supplements including grains, legumes, bread and pasta, and dairy products round out the shares year round.

Will one share be enough for me and my family?

The share is normally good for:

• A couple
• A couple with young children
• One dedicated natural food lover
• Single people or those who frequently travel or don't cook at home all the time often split a share with a partner

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 Biodynamic farms every other week. This means that the Biodynamic greens, bread and yogurt will be distributed on those weeks and the weeks in between will be organic greens, when available, and no bread. There will be root crops and other vegetables and dry goods evenly distributed. 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.

What if I’m going out of town?

• Invite your friends to try Spiritual food
• A Bethesda share can be prepared for you and set aside for late pick up for a $2 courtesy fee. Arrangements can be made with coordinators at other sites.
• Try to exchange with someone else, or sell your share that week, through the CSA online Yahoo group
• Donate your share and we will find a good home for it

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 [link] 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 shows what was planned last Summer (2008) by the Sankanac CSA Biodynamic Garden.  Slight changes will be made to accommodate the year round plans of the farmer and will be posted as soon as available.  In Winter, the Biodynamic farm plans lettuce and Asian greens, chard and kale, potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash, beets, rutabagas, and onions and this will be supplemented with other seasonal organic vegetables.  (Some items in the crop chart are pick-your-own and thus not part of the weekly shares here in Maryland. Members are welcome to head to the farm in Pennsylvania.)

Is the CSA food all from local farms?

Our main aim is to support and promote Biodynamic farms; we offer organic supplements also in order to support a special farm or for the sake of variety when Biodynamic is not available. Local is also a high priority but is sometimes sacrificed for the preference of Biodynamic. To learn what is special about Biodynamics and more about how the providers are selected and why it is not all local, click here.

Can you give me an example of some shares?
Sample shares through the year are:

Summer
    July 30th

1 Mountain Brown Bread
2 lbs plums
1.5 lbs Millet
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
4.5 oz chard
1 lb carrots
1 lb beets
2 onions
2 cucumbers
1 lb squash
basil

Fall

1 Oatmeal Bread

3 lbs Apples
1/2 lbs Alpine Cheese
1 Winter Squash
1.25 lbs Cornmeal
1 Chinese Cabbage
5 Peppers
11 oz Asian Greens
1 lb Sweet Potatoes
1 lb Parsnips
1 leek

Winter

        1 Rye Poppy Bread

1/2 lb Asian Greens or Lettuce
1/2 lb Kale or Chard
1/2 doz Eggs
1 Maple Yogurt
2.5 lbs Hamlin Oranges
1 Butternut Squash
1 lb Carrots
1.75 Great Northern (White) Beans
2 Avocados
2 lbs Potatoes
2 lbs Beets

Spring

3 lbs Juice Oranges
1/2 doz Eggs
1 Plain Yogurt
2 lbs Potatoes
1 bunch Scallions
1/2 lb Nettles or Greens
3/4 lb Dates
1 lb Celtic Sea Salt
1.5 lb Quinoa
 2 lb Black Beans
1 lb Almonds
3/4 lb Mushrooms

Kohlrabi? Some of those foods are new to me. How do I cook them?
Our website offers suggestion for how to prepare new foods or foods that come in bursts such as beets. Check out the Food-a-pedia for food specific suggestions (and remember it is a work-in-progress looking for input from members). CSA participants join an email list where members trade recipes and suggestions on how to cook items found in the shares. One of our members also maintains a recipe blog.  It is helpful to be patient, flexible and enjoy an occasional adventure in order to fully enjoy the CSA experience.

What about volunteer work?
CSA is a community endeavor depending on the cooperative efforts of its members and we do count on your support for about 4-6 hours per season or 2-3 times; twice that for the new year round program. We are very fortunate to have such dedicated CSA members. The main service needed is setting up on Wednesdays which is mornings in Bethesda and early afternoon at other locations. Exact times will be given by the host of each location before the season starts.  Details are also available here.

When can we visit the farm?
Visiting the farm is an important experience for CSA members to connect with the farmer and the land that is their source of nutrition and the forces of life.  Directions are available here.

Farm tours will be offered. When tours are available, members are emailed.

There are U-pick opportunities in the summer for crops such as berries and beans.

Is home delivery possible?

We encourage members to exchange this service with each other. Also, home delivery is possible to some locations for $10/week. Shipping via Fed Ex ground is also possible to neighboring states such as DC, MD, VA, DE and PA with exact shipping charges plus the $2 bagging fee. You may note your interests on the registration form.