Fox Creek Farm CSA
Support a viable, small family farm and eat some of the best locally grown produce available!
Wh
"Customers
get whatever the farm successfully produces, which means that they assume
some risk if it’s a bad growing year. But [the farmers] try to limit that
risk by raising 40 different vegetables covering 100 varieties. (…)
Shareholders sign up for the fresh, locally grown vegetables, but in the
process they also get a little feel for the farmer’s life, the booms and
busts that come along with one of the few things humans haven’t completely
figured out how to control – nature. Customers pay for their shares of the
harvest up front, and then pick up fresh produce once a week during the
growing season”. This
is what Jennifer Gish, CSA member and staff writer for the Times Union wrote
about our CSA in the newspaper in July of 2007, and we think we couldn’t
phrase it any better.
CSA
membership is an excellent way to support local agriculture, reduce food
miles, and to provide healthy, fresh and wholesome vegetables for you and
your family or friends - harvested a day or even hours before you pick them
up. It also gives you opportunities to connect with the place your food is
grown and with the people who grew it.
Community Supported Agriculture: eating fresh, locally grown, high quality produce made easy, while supporting a viable, small family farm!
The
2013 Fox Creek Farm CSA program
For 2013, we will distribute our fresh and wholesome produce for 20 weeks, starting the middle of June and ending the last week of October. Those 20 deliveries will take place on Tuesday and Friday late afternoon/early evening (generally, between 4:00 and 6:00 PM), with exception for the farm (3:00 - 6:00 PM).
Large and Medium shares
We are offering two share size options. The large, or full share, should be sufficient to meet the vegetable needs for an average size family of four, or two vegetarian adults. Our medium, or half share, is geared towards the smaller household – two people or one vegetarian adult.
Please note that at times the items that are part of the large share may not be part of the medium share – but we will always offer both share sizes the outstanding quality of produce our CSA members have grown to expect.
Shares
go on a first come-first served basis. For 2013, we are limiting the size of
the CSA to 275 full share equivalents.
About
Fox Creek Farm's CSA shares and share options
In 2012, we started to offer two different share sizes. Our large share (or full share) compares with the Fox Creek Farm CSA share you've grown accustomed to: it will feed an average family of four. The medium share (or half share) makes a better fit for smaller households.
Winter Storage Share Option
In addition to the basic share, either 'Large' or 'Medium', we are offering a winter storage share option: approximately a bushel of winter storage crops (e.g., potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, beets, winter squash), to be delivered a week after the last share (the 2012 winter storage share is pictured on the right).
What
kind of vegetables can I expect in my shares?
Eating fresh and locally grown food means also eating what
is in season. For example, our share will start with cold weather crops like
greens and peas in June, and end with long-season crops like winter squash,
onions and potatoes in October. To give you an indication of the diversity
and quantities in the shares, below are some random examples from actual weekly
large share CSA
distributions of one growing season.
The June 26, 2012 share consisted of 1 bunch garlic scapes, 1 pound spinach, 3 summer squash, 1 head of lettuce, 1/2 pound mesclun, 1 bunch of scallions, and peas.
The July 24, 2012 share had 1 bunch of Swiss chard, 3 summer squash, 4 cucumbers, 1/2 pound of mesclun, 1 head of garlic, green beans, heirloom tomatoes, and 1 pint of cherry tomatoes.
The August 21, 2012 share: 9 ears of sweet corn, 4 summer squash, 1.5 pounds green beans, 4 cucumbers, 1/2 pound mesclun, 1 bunch of scallions, 1 Carmen sweet pepper, 2 heads of garlic, 6 red slicer tomatoes, and 10 small heirloom tomatoes.
The September
18, 2012 share: 4 onions, 1 Carmen pepper, 2 bell peppers, 2
hot peppers, 2 heads of garlic, 1 head of lettuce, 2 summer squash, 1 pound
Roma beans, 1/2 pound of spinach, 2 young eggplants, 1 large heirloom
tomato.
The October 23, 2012 share: 1 large Butternut squash, 2 stalks of Brussels sprouts, 1 Carnival winter squash, 4 pounds of potatoes, 2.5 pounds of onions, 2.75 pounds of carrots, 2 heads of garlic, and 1 baby lettuce.
What
else can I expect from Fox Creek Farm's CSA?
A free member U-Pick garden with flowers, culinary herbs, and cherry tomatoes. Each year, we plant an extensive u-pick garden at the farm that features a wide selection of culinary herbs, flowers, and cherry tomatoes for our CSA members -- it's a complementary part of your CSA share, and you can come as often as you like. You've made the U-pick garden possible through your CSA membership, we don't charge you anything for what you harvest.
Over
the years, the member U-Pick has become a destination for our CSA
members, their families and friends: a great opportunity to come and visit your
small family farm.
A
great getaway. Come out to the farm to take a walk through the
fields and woods, feed our chickens, and enjoy the fantastic views. Our farm
is open for visits, all season – and it's a great place for a picnic lunch!
The
Fox Creek Farm CSA newsletter. Our weekly publication with
information about the farm, cooking suggestions for familiar and sometimes
less known vegetables. We will also announce ‘expected harvests’ for the
weeks to come, helping you plan your culinary adventures. See our Newsletter
Archive for examples of our newsletters.
The
annual Garlic Harvest Festival. Our garlic harvest festival has
become a long standing tradition. Around the third week of July, the garlic
is ready for harvest, and we invite all to come out to the farm, help with
the harvest, and enjoy an outstanding potluck lunch!
Farm
potlucks. The
farm will host potlucks during the season – great occasions to meet your
farmers and other CSA members!
Off-grid
farming. By joining Fox Creek Farm, you’ll be part of the only CSA
of this size in
New York State that generates all the electricity it needs on-site, using
solar and wind power. For more information about our off-grid electric,
follow this link.
Fox Creek Farm has established six distribution sites, which helps you to pick-up our freshly harvested vegetables close to your neighborhood.
On Tuesday afternoon, our harvests will be available at:
-
the Honest Weight Food Coop (Central Avenue, Albany), from 4 - 6 PM;
-
the Delmar Reformed Church (Delaware Ave., Delmar), from 4 - 6 PM;
-
and at SUNY Albany (Washington Ave., Albany), also from 4 - 6 PM.
On Friday, you can pick up your vegetables in:
-
Altamont (Altamont Reformed Church, Lincoln Ave.), between 4 and 6 PM;
-
Schenectady (Parkwood Blvd.), 4:00 - 6:00 PM;
-
Clifton Park (Werner Road), 4: - 6:00 PM;
-
and at the farm in Gallupville (Fox Creek Farm Road), 3:00 - 6:00 PM.
If none of our sites meet your need, we invite you to work with us starting a new CSA site.
How
do our distribution sites work?
At the distribution site, you’ll find our fresh
vegetables and a list of how much to take. We expect you to pack your own
vegetables, so you’ll have to
bring a box or some bags to recycle, or use the bags provided by the farm.
One of the farmers or our volunteer workshare members will be at the distribution site to help.
Fox Creek Farm CSA does not have a work requirement – we
don’t ask you to come out to the farm to help weeding or harvesting (but
we invite you and your family and friends to our farm, our farm festivals
and events to meet other CSA members and to enjoy our small farm and U-pick garden
with flowers, culinary herbs and cherry tomatoes).
Important:
As a member, you’ll be responsible for the weekly
pick-up of your share within the time frame set for your pickup location.
The exact pick-up times are between
4:00 and 6:00 PM, with exception of the farm (3:00 - 6:00 PM). At the end of
the pick-up time, left-over vegetables get donated. We cannot hold
over shares, or offer alternate pick-ups for missed shares. If you cannot make the pick-up, you can always send a
friend or neighbor to get your share.
How
do I sign up for Fox Creek Farm’s CSA?
In order to participate in Fox Creek farm’s 2013 CSA program, please complete the membership form (link to membership form) and mail it to us with the $ 100 down payment. The large 2013 CSA share costs $ 475, and the medium share is $ 300, both before discounts and options.
New CSA member
referral program.
To meet our 250
share goal, we are continuing our Membership Referral Program: for each
new member an existing member refers to the farm, we give you a credit towards the
2014 CSA
share ($ 75 for every “large” share, and $ 50 for every “medium”
share). Referred members should write you as a reference on their membership
form. We will send you a credit memo to submit with the 2014 share.
Workshares
available. We are looking for
CSA members that are willing to help us assisting other members during
distribution days. We offer a discount on the share price for this fun work,
depending on the commitment you are willing to make. Please indicate your
interest on the membership form so we can contact you to discuss this
option.
More
questions?
If you have any questions regarding the CSA and our farming operation, please do not hesitate to give us a call or drop us a line (contact us).
Support a viable, small family farm and eat some of the best locally grown produce available!
(c) Fox Creek Farm CSA, 11/22/2012 , foxcreekfarmcsa@earthlink.net