What is CSA?
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an alternative way of producing, selling, and buying food. Conventional agriculture is set up so farmers produce a surplus and try and sell as much as possible to supermarkets in order to survive. CSA is the opposite. We assemble a group of customers who commit to taking a share of the harvest and we sell directly to them. The harvest can be vegetables, milk, cheese, honey, or bread. It brings people closer to their food and the farmer while the farmer has a reliable market for the hard work and effort put in to grow.
How does it work?
For us, we know we can produce 40 medium-sized boxes of vegetables for 20 weeks starting in June. People sign up at the start of the season and commit to taking a box for all 20 weeks. The box will feed between 2-4 people per week.
What is in a box?
Given our very small scale, we can’t itemize every box, therefore we decide what will go into each box. Within the veg box we plan to;
– have 8-12 items per week
– lettuce/salad in almost every share
– herbs in every share
Frequent veg to include; carrots, beetroot, salad, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, rainbow chard, radishes, peas, beans, baby turnips, kale, Asian greens, courgettes, spring onions, leeks, herbs (mint/ parsley/ basil/ dill/ coriander)
Occasional veg; fennel, kohlrabi, garlic, peppers, celery, potatoes
Please note; that as we grow on a very small scale, potatoes and cooking onions will not be staples in the boxes, although they will be in the boxes a few times. We know you love potatoes and think you should definitely go buy delicious locally grown potatoes from other fantastic growers.
Your box will follow the season and be harvested and delivered on the same day.
How much will it cost?
The weekly cost is set at £15 for the season of 20 weeks. You can pay the full £300 upfront, split it in to 2 payments or set up a weekly/monthly standing order.
Will it be delivered?
At our scale and also as we believe in a more sustainable approach to doing things and reducing fuel emissions, we will not be doing door-to-door deliveries. We will be setting up a range of collection points around the city.
Is a CSA Veg Box for me?
A CSA veg is for you if;
– you want to get a regular supply of fresh, local, organic food
– you want to support your local farmer and local economy and reduce your food miles
– you want to know who grows your food and how they produce it
– you want to eat with the seasons
– you really enjoy cooking and want to widen your palate and eat new and different types of veg every week
CSA might not be for you if;
– you travel a lot and are not at home to regularly use your veg
– you like to specifically buy your veg and don’t like the uncertainty of not knowing what is arriving every week
-you are a busy person and don’t have time to cook often
What if I am on holiday?
Unfortunately at this stage, we cant have pauses in people taking veg boxes so we would ask you perhaps give/sell your veg box to a neighbor or friend while you are away.
What if I want to opt out?
This is totally understandable and CSA is not for everyone. We would ask you to really be sure you want to commit at the start of the season but if something happens and you need to opt out we would ask you to give us at least 3 weeks’ notice for us to find someone else to take your place.
How do I sign up?
Registrations are not open yet. Please follow us on Instagram @hahuorganics or our Facebook page @hahuorganics for registration updates.
This content is adapted from Barry Conolly’s pruerareorganics website with authors permission.