WHAT IS and WHY BUY a FARM SHARE?

Radical Roots Farm is one of many Vermont farms that offer CSA Farm Shares each season. Since Farm Shares may be a new idea to some people, here is some basic information to help you decide if a Farm Share (from Radical Roots or any other farm) is right for you.

WHAT IS A CSA FARM SHARE?

In a nutshell, a CSA Farm Share is the way in which a community member purchases from a farmer a “share” of the farm’s seasonal harvest. The farmer benefits by having upfront funds to help pay for seeds, materials and equipment. The community member benefits by receiving a healthy sampling – at below retail-prices – of whatever the farmer harvests that year. Both benefit from the connections that come as a result of this relationship!

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and is also known as Farm Shares, Memberships or Subscriptions.

While there are many kinds of Farm Shares available today, the most common kinds are:

Market-Basket Share: This is the traditional Farm Share where a community member pays up-front (usually prior to April or May) for a weekly “basket” of the farmer’s harvest. The farmer fills each member’s basket with whatever has been harvested that week and the community member gets a sampling of a wide variety of produce. Market basket shares generally provide the community member with a healthy discount – for example, a Half-Share Market Basket from Radical Roots Farm gives you $250 worth of produce for just $200, where a Full-Share Market Basket gives you $500 worth of produce for just $400 (25% more for your money).

• A Market-Basket Farm Share may be for YOU if you like the ease and joy of getting a variety of veggies each week and appreciate trying different (and sometimes new-to-you) foods. The Market-Basket Share gives you the best value for your money!
  
  

Pre-Pay Share: This is a more recent variety of Farm Shares where a community member purchases a seasonal “credit” from the farmer and is able to use this “credit” to get their choice of produce all season long. Pre-Pay shares also provide the community member with a healthy (10-20%) discount – for example, a pre-pay of $200 from Radical Roots Farm gives you a $220 credit, a pre-pay of $400 gives you a $460 credit and a pre-pay of $600 gives you a credit of $720 for the season.

• A Pre-Pay Farm Share may be for YOU if you have very distinct likes and dislikes (you do not have to chose broccoli if you are not a fan!) or if you have a garden and want to supplement your harvest with a farmer’s bounty. It is also a good option if you travel during the summer – you can spend your credit whenever you want to and you won’t lose anything when you are out of town. The greater the amount of pre-pay, the better value you get for your money!

Multi-Farm CSA: Some Vermont farmers are teaming up to offer CSA shares that contain produce and food from a variety of farms and food producers. A Multi-Farm CSA share can provide you with a diversity of food including vegetables, fruit, eggs, dairy, meat, baked goods etc. While there are still only a relatively few multi-farm CSAs available in our region, they are catching on with community members and we may see more and more p

opping up as time goes on.

• A Multi-Farm CSA may be for YOU if you would like to have a farm share that provides you with more than produce. Most Multi-Farm CSAs offer you a number of different options so you can get a share that is right for your family.

Work-Place Delivery CSA: Some community members are now ab

le to pick up their Farm Shares at their place of work, especially if they work in a large business or institution (hospital, school system, etc.). RAFFL (the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link) has been developing Work-Place CSAs and currently support delivery to several locations in the Rutland Region.

• A Work-Place Delivery Farm Share may be for YOU if you work at a location that offers this option. If your worksite does not yet offer this for its employees, you may want to speak with your co-workers and management to see if they want to engage RAFFL’s help in setting this up at your location.

WHERE DO YOU PICK-UP YOUR CSA FARM SHARE?

Every farm has a different way of making the pick-up of your Farm Share as easy as possible. Some farms have on-farm pick-up during one or more times during the week. Some farms ask community members to pick-up their shares during Farmers’ Market hours. Other farms offer delivery to various locations for pick up. You should ask the question of pick-up before you chose which CSA to purchase.

Radical Roots Farm harvests and packages our Market-Basket Shares every Tuesdays and offers on-farm pick-up of shares on Tuesdays between 3-7pm or as prearranged (please talk to us – we are happy to hold your share in our walk-in cooler for later p

ick-up). Our farm is located on Creek Road (also known as Dorr Drive) in Rutland.

For those purchasing Pre-Pay Farm Shares from Radical Roots Farm, you can use your “credit” any day of the week at our self-serve farm stand (located on Creek Road in Rutland) or every Saturday at the Rutland Farmers’ Market.


IS A CSA FOR YOU?

While purchasing a CSA Farm Share is not for everyone, it is a great option for many individuals and families. Some of the most obvious benefits of buying a Farm Share include:

• A real connection with a local farmer
• The joy of knowing exactly where your food is coming from, as well as how it is grown and by whom!
• A great value for your money! A Market-Basket Farm Share from Radical Roots Farm gives you 25% more value for your money, a Pre-Pay offers you between 10-20% added value.
• Ultra-fresh locally grown food – all season long.
• The satisfaction of knowing you are supporting and sustaining local agriculture by helping to provide a local farmer with his/her upfront costs.

If you want complete information on Radical Roots Farm CSA Farm Shares, please click on our FARM SHARE TAB.

If you want more general information on CSA Farm Shares, please check out these links:
NOFA
Local Harvest