The Lamb’s Quarter CSA Program.
A PDF of the description may be downloaded here. It is also reproduced below.
A PDF of the form may be downloaded here.
Our 2011 program will be 22 weeks of vegetables, delivered to a drop-off point, or picked up at the farm, once each week. The season will run from May through October. As with all things in farming, the weather doesn’t always cooperate with our plans. Our shareholders need to understand the need for flexibility in delivering vegetables week to week. The program is 22 weeks; the beginning and ending is sometimes negotiable depending on the needs of the crops. (In 2009, we needed to postpone the start of the CSA program 2 weeks due to unusually wet, cool weather).
We plan on increasing the variety of our vegetables, while still offering the basics. Boxes will include 6 items or more, in generous quantity to feed the “average” family of 2 adults and 2 children for the week, vegetable-wise. I know, “average” is vague. Not all families eat alike; some eat more, some less. Vegetarian households may need more, as well as those who eat little meat. Other families of the same size will be overwhelmed.
A full listing of our planned vegetable offerings can be found at www.localharvest.org/farms/M21147.
One of the critical things to keep in mind for your enjoyment and our success is the concept of averaging. Droughts come, wet weather brings disease; weeds and pests are a big issue in an organic production system. Farming is rarely predictable. Our best plans may not come to fruition, and crops do fail. We practice what is known as succession planting in order to average out the variances of the weather and the pests. It is our strong desire and commitment to our members to give you a solid return on your investment. Averaging what you get in your boxes over the entire season means that you will anticipate some weekly boxes being “light,” while others will be “heavy.”
We plan to continue to deliver to Alexandria, Port Republic, and would like to deliver to the southern Anne Arundel area. We would like to have neighborhood coordinators at both locations to host a pickup sight. In that light, we would like to stress some necessary etiquette for picking up your share boxes. Please pickup your boxes within the allotted time frame. If you have any questions about your share box, please contact us, not the coordinator. If you cannot make it to the pickup sight, please have someone pickup your box for you. We really don’t want you to miss out on the great vegetables. Due to the increase in anticipated fuel costs, shares not picked up at the farm will be charged a one time $25 delivery fee.
In addition to the neighborhood coordinators, we also offer opportunities for members to volunteer at the farm, and in the process learn a little about farming. We’ve had one member consistently show up on Thursday evenings; another on off-days at work. Our farm is beautiful, and many hands make light work. If you want to come and bring your children, you are responsible for them.
We maintain a website, www.thelambsquarter.com, where you can find recipes, helpful hints, and a variety of other odds and ends.
This year, we are offering a number of options for shareholders to take advantage of. The first option is the traditional shareholder vegetable box, loaded with 22 weeks of high quality, organically managed vegetables for a cost of $600.00. The second option is the high summer shareholder vegetable box, loaded with 11 weeks of great produce from our farm for a cost of $400.00.
For years we have been trying to figure out how to incorporate our meats into the CSA model. This year we will have a third CSA option, the pastured meat box. The “pastured meat box” will operate like a debit system. You choose the amount you wish to pay, we add a 5% bonus on top of that, and then you can select your meats throughout the season, deducting each pickup from your debit with us. You can select from $100.00 or $250.00. All meat share money needs to used by December 31, 2011. All meat share accounts will be “zeroed out” on Jan. 1, 2012.
Finally, our fourth option is the egg share, 22 weeks at $88, or 11 weeks at $44. The egg share provides one dozen free-range eggs each week of your program option. The egg share and the meat share can be added to either of the vegetable share options.
We plan to offer a total of 100 shares this year. Preference will be given to returning shareholders until February 28.
This year brings new challenges for us as we get a handle on the new food safety law and the paperwork that will be required; the increased pressure to comply with the TDML from the EPA and its increasing regulation over farms in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Both of these initiatives are good in concept; the challenge is in complying with the documentation necessary to prove the practices already in place. All these things add to our cost of staying in the business of farming.
That said, the greatest challenge of farming is simply getting out there and doing it. It is also the greatest reward. We get to enjoy the created order in a unique way, for which we are constantly thankful.
I have one final thought for you to consider this year. One of the challenges of selling good food at a fair price is that not all people will have access to it for a variety of reasons. Last year, Patuxent Friends purchased a share (with the encouragement of one of our shareholders) that was donated to a local food pantry. I would like to enlarge on that this year and give all our shareholders the opportunity to donate part of a share to the local food pantry. Donations can be in any amount; we will donate $100 from The Lamb’s Quarter toward the purchase of each share for the food pantry. We will also make all the arrangements to make sure the food gets to people who can truly utilize it.
We encourage you to do “due diligence” as you look at what we have to offer, what other CSA’s are offering, and of course, the reputation of each. A CSA program is not for everyone. If you are expecting a grocery store experience, there is every chance you will be disappointed. If you are expecting a fresh-from-the-farm experience, you’re the person we’re trying to appeal to. CSA’s make people cook with items they may initially be unfamiliar with; cope with quantities that reflect the seasonality of farming; and generally ask you to be flexible in your menu planning. In return, you get food fresher than you can get from even a roadside farm stand, produced without pesticides, or chemical concoctions, from people who really care about their land, their customers, and the produce and meat they provide for you each week.
If this is what you are looking for in a CSA/farm subscription service, we invite you to join us for another successful season of vegetables and beyond.
Your Farmers,
James and Patrice Bourne
The Lamb’s Quarter
thelambsquarter@comcast.net
PS: I highly encourage you to watch the movie “Food, Inc.” prior to signing up for our CSA shareholder program. I’m too much of a “libertarian” to require it for membership, but the thought crossed my mind….JB
