CSA UPDATE: One Week Delay! First pickup will be Wednesday 6/21. Check your emails for info about a makeup share week!
When and where? 2023 CSA pickups begin June 14h and continue through October 18th. This year we will be taking a break the week of 8/17 so our family can go camping and your family can clean out the fridge. There will be no shares on 8/16!
We have two pickup locations:
- at our farm, located at 1743 Maple Street Bethlehem, NH 03574, every Wednesday from 4-7pm.
- at the Root Seller Market, located on Main St. in Lancaster, next to the Polish Princess, from 12pm-6pm.
How does it work?
- for farm pickup: just pull in the driveway next to our house and follow the CSA signs to the barn. There will be a market style setup in the barn and a list with all the veggies included in that week’s share. Some week’s we’ll have a preset list of the 8-10 veggies you’ll bring home (especially early in the summer), and some weeks there will be some choices (carrots or beets, salad or spinach). Don’t forget to bring your market bags or baskets!
- for Root Seller pickup: Come anytime after noon and your share will be waiting for you in a crate with your name on it. As with farm pickup, please bring your own bags or cooler to transport your veggies home.
What’s in a share? Each week’s veggie share will consist of 8-12 items and will usually be a mix of root vegetables (like carrots, beets, radishes and potatoes), leafy greens (like baby salad greens, lettuce heads, kale and pac choi) and fruit vegetables (like cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini and winter squash). Which produce items end up in your weekly box will depend entirely on what’s in season, which is part of the joy of being part of a CSA! Early season shares will star sweet and tender greens, sugar snap peas and strawberries, mid season shares will loaded with heirloom tomatoes, summer squash and green beans and late season will include fall favorites like winter squash, leeks and fingerling potatoes. We do our best to avoid too much repetition in weekly boxes and try to include recipe suggestions for the more “exotic” items in the weekly CSA email.
Below are some examples of what is in a regular share from last year’s share:
Week 5 (July) | Week 10 (August) | Week 17 (October) |
1 pint sugar snap peas | 1 bunch red summer onions | celery |
1 bunch hakurei turnips | 1 savoy cabbage | 2 heads fennel |
1 lb zucchini | 1 pint shishito peppers | 1 lb carrots |
1 head green oakleaf lettuce | 1 cucumber | 1 lb Italian flat beans |
1 head broccoli | 1 bunch beets | 3 leeks |
2 kohlrabi | 1 1/2 lbs heirloom tomatoes | 1 bunch sage |
1 bunch scallions | 1 lb summer squash | 2 orange slicing tomatoes |
1 slicing cucumber | 1 bunch cilantro | 1 stalk Brussels sprouts |
1 bunch basil | 2 Bell peppers | 1 red cabbage |
1 bunch carrots | 1 lb green beans | 1 butternut squash |
How big is the weekly veggie share? How many people will it feed?
Our Regular Share is generally a good size for two people who enjoy hearty servings of seasonal produce, or a small family that uses vegetables as side dishes or incorporates them into meat/grain based meals. Your weekly share ends up being $30 or more worth of vegetables purchased at our regular market prices. Each share will be different and depend on what is in season, but as an example, small share in mid August might include:
- 1 bunch of carrots,
- 1 lbs slicing tomatoes
- 1 quart fingerling potatoes
- 1 bag salad mix
- 1 lb green beans
- 1 bunch spring onions
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 lb zucchini
- 2 slicing cucumbers
- 1 bunch basil
Our large share is best for a couple that uses a considerable amount of produce (any may use extra vegetables for juicing or freezing) or a family that needs more produce for additional servings at meals. Large shares will generally include greater volumes of the same produce as small shares, and will sometimes include an additional vegetable variety. Large share members can expect $41 or more worth of vegetables purchased at our regular market prices. A Large Share in early August may include:
- 2 bunches of carrots,
- 2 lbs slicing tomatoes
- 2 quarts fingerling potatoes
- 1 bag salad mix
- 1 lb green beans
- 1 bunch spring onions
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 head broccoli
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 lb zucchini
- 2 slicing cucumbers
- 1 bunch basil
What if I don’t like what’s in my share? We will do our best to create shares that can reasonably consumed in a week and include recipe ideas for any items that might be considered “unusual”. Because our crop plan is based around a limited number of CSA members and we dont have the staff to handle additional logistics, we are not able to do substiturions. Part of the fun of a CSA is trying new things and revisiting vegetables you don’t care for. People often find that the farm fresh versions of vegetables they thought they didn’t like, such as brussels sprouts, can completely change their opinions!
How much? Our vegetable CSA is priced on a sliding scale with the goal of making our produce more available to everyone in our community, regardless of income.
For each size share there are three price options: our suggested member rate (our usual price that supports us as farmers and covers the farm’s costs), our reduced rate (half of our suggested rate for those who need it), and our pay it forward rate (our regular price, plus a little extra to help fund more reduced rate shares). Reduced rate shares are available completely on the honor system, but as a guideline, consider choosing the reduced rate share if:
- are supporting children or have other dependents
- have significant debt
- have medical expenses not covered by insurance
- have tuition/educational expenses
- receive public assistance
- have immigration related expenses
- are a senior on a fixed or limited income
- are otherwise unable to afford local, sustainably grown produce, but would like to join our CSA
What if I can’t pick up my share this week? If you have plans to be out of town, let us know ahead of time and give you a week’s worth of farm credit to use at our farm stand or market stand when you get back. If you forget to pickup or can’t make it during our regular hours, make sure you get in touch with us. Shares left at the Root Seller at the end of the day on Thursday risk being composted or donated if you do not make other arrangements with us.