I'm sure that a lot of you have been reading about the sudden increase in interest in CSA Shares. Well, you're absolutely right.
We sold out of Shares almost 2 months earlier than normal this season. I know that part of the reasoning is because folks are generally concerned about food security and this CSA is an investment in fresh goodies for this summer. I also know that some are thinking with all of this time they have maybe they'll sharpen some skills in the kitchen.
I can also see trends in our membership, every year we have more and more families coming back to us as returning members- thank you for your support!! So I think that the reason we sold out so quickly is for 2 reasons basically. First, people wanting to secure a share of our harvest (maybe worrying about these strange covid-19 times..), and secondly because we are seeing a much greater percentage of membership returning to us every season.
That being said, if you were a member of the 2019 season and haven't signed up for a CSA but are interested in doing so, you need to contact me asap. I have a priority for returning members and we don't ever want to have to say no- but at a certain point we can't take more members. We are at about 25% bigger capacity than previous years but we also dropped our farmers market so we are basically just offering CSAs, in addition to a small roadside stand in Zimmerman which we love! We set up at Hardware Hank in Zimmerman every weekend starting the second week in July or so and running through the end of September.
Selling out so quickly took us by surprise. We had no idea that we were receive this kind of interest this spring and honestly haven't ever had to cut off the membership before the end date even though I do always say we accept memberships through the end of May or until we have sold all of our shares.
For those who have already signed up:
I realize that many of you have had adjustments to your work schedules. Maybe you're working from home, or maybe you're expecting to go back to work in the middle of the summer. We would like to make your CSA Share as convenient as possible for you and would like to offer you options for your pick up.
If you are working from home you are welcome to select a residential site on the list here: https://www.brownfamilyproduce.com/pick-up-sites
So instead of picking up at your office building, you can pick up from one of the other sites closer to home. I know that many of you might want to wait until it's closer which is understandable because this is an ever changing situation. If you change your site now, but then go back to work in July, we can adjust your delivery at that time no problem. We want to be as flexible as possible!
Remember, our first CSA Share deliveries are the week of June 22nd, which just so happens to be Ben's birthday!!
The countdown is on, almost a month away from our first shared harvest!!
Take care,
~ The Farmer's wife