CSA question

I know that I have seen discussions about CSA's on the forum, but after a search I have not been able to find any info.

I am interested in signing up for one this summer (for the first time) and would like to hear any feedback/advice that people might have.

Anyone have experience with Fox Hollow Farm or Grasshoppers distribution?

Thanks so much!
Jennifer

This is my guy and I have nothing but good things to say. Nice guy, easy to work with, and great products. I pick up my share once a month at the Phoenix Hill Farmers Market.

Contact: Adam Barr
Phone: 859-608-6458

http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJ ... 7D&notoc=1

http://www.localharvest.org/csa/M15623

Thanks, Justin. I will look into it.

Jen, here is a link to a discussion thread from last year on the topic. Hope it helps!

http://forums.louisvillehotbytes.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9006&p=84914&hilit=Community+Supported+Agriculture#p84914

Thanks Beth, I searched and I don't know why I didn't find it.

[Robin Garr]

Contact: Adam Barr
Phone: 859-608-6458

We're in Adam's meat CSA as well. Great stuff, and as you say, super-nice guy.

I work at UofL, and I participated in a CSA through UofL the year before last. They have organized for local farmers to do weekly deliveries to the campus to make it easier for the UofL community to participate in CSAs. I loved the idea and eagerly participated. My experience was mixed. I got a lot of weird (to me) stuff that I didn't know what to do with, like lots and lots of pak choi (like every week), which the farmer suggested that I make egg rolls with. As much as I love egg rolls, a person can only eat so many, and the greasy goodness of egg rolls seems to go against my ideas about participating in a CSA anyway. Being a former 10-year vegetarian, I know my way around the vegetable garden, but some veggies are just more versatile than others, and my CSA experience seemed lacking on the staples you would expect. Despite my most lofty intentions, I often found myself feeling overwhelmed by this quantity of produce and desperate for ideas of how to enjoy it without letting it go to waste. Sadly, some of it was wasted, I must admit. And I split my share with a co-worker. She had similar feelings on the matter. I decided it wasn't for me, at least not right now, but I may try again in the future with another distributor. I hear great things about Grasshopper.

Thanks for all of the responses and info. I think that I am going to go with Misty Meadow Farm. Their website has a lot of good info and I got a quick response when I emailed and asked if I could still enroll in the CSA.

I'm so excited to try this. I have been hoarding veggie recipes for a while now.

[Robin Garr]

Thanks for all of the responses and info. I think that I am going to go with Misty Meadow Farm. Their website has a lot of good info and I got a quick response when I emailed and asked if I could still enroll in the CSA.

They are very, very nice people, friends and neighbors of Adam Barr, and they also are at the Phoenix Hill farmers' market at Felice. I don't think you'll be disappointed in them.

OK...So I'm just curious. (a) How much does it cost to join as CSA (b) are the products "free" after you join or are there additional costs and (c) do you have a choice as to what products you receive and when ?

OK...So I'm just curious. (a) How much does it cost to join as CSA (b) are the products "free" after you join or are there additional costs and (c) do you have a choice as to what products you receive and when ?

Speaking on Barr Farms Meat CSA.

He emails an Excel spreadsheet and you pick what products you want for the next 3 months. You can choose different products and quantities for each month. You pay for the 3 months in advance and pick up your order at the designated spot. I get mine on Tuesdays at the P.H. market downtown.

OK...So I'm just curious. (a) How much does it cost to join as CSA (b) are the products "free" after you join or are there additional costs and (c) do you have a choice as to what products you receive and when ?

Speaking on Barr Farms Meat CSA.

He emails an Excel spreadsheet and you pick what products you want for the next 3 months. You can choose different products and quantities for each month. You pay for the 3 months in advance and pick up your order at the designated spot. I get mine on Tuesdays at the P.H. market downtown.

Price ? Amount of product ?

I don't remember the prices, but it isn't cheap nor robbery. However I have no wasted meat now that I get everything frozen. You can order as little or as much as you want. Ground beef comes in 1lb packages, chickens come in 1.5-2lb halves and 3-4lb whole, roasts range from 1-3 lbs, steaks average 1lb, ect. I'd say my bill average $150 for 3 months. I didn't order anything for the last shipment because my freezer was still stocked from over ordering the previous year. You can email Adam and he will send you the form and it has the prices and weights of all his products.

adambarr@gmail.com

[Robin Garr]

The Barr Farm meat CSA is unusual, though, in giving you an option. Most CSAs provide produce, and they're basically a farm-to-consumer method in which you get abundant fresh veggies in return for supporting the farmer up front (and, in theory, sharing his risks). Subscribers pay at the start of the season and receive a box on a regular schedule. Most veggie CSAs don't offer choices; you get what's ripe and ready for picking. If there's a drought or a plague and the farmer has a bad year for his money, so do you. That's part of the deal. (In practice, though, I've never seen that happen.)

It's a good way to get great produce usually less than farmers' market prices, but it doesn't work well for us because the shipments are a little much for a family of two, especially if you eat out a lot.

I know I'm adding to an older post but, we've been in Adam Barr's veggie CSA for a few years (but not this year since I'm not working). It's a flat rate (I think this year is $500) with no extra charges. There is a box a week (with the exception of a couple of scattered weeks off) from early May through mid-October. The thing to keep in mind with a CSA is you are in it with the farmer. If Adam had a good season, we had great boxes; but last year the drought was hard on us all.

Adam and his wife Rae are wonderful people and truly love farming. We're going to do a limited meat CSA this year (where you pick and pay by product) but not the veggies.