The Neighborhood Farm
A collection of market gardens in and around Needham, MA
Farmers' Market CSA Shares
A Farmers’ Market CSA share is a bit different from a traditional CSA share (which gives members a mixed box of vegetables each week). A Farmers' Market CSA share offers members a lot more flexibility.
- Our members take only the items they want. Members can choose to take as much as they want of anything we carry at any of our markets – whether we grew it or whether we got it from a friend’s farm. We generally have a wide range of vegetables, fruit (usually berries and apples), seedlings, and cut flowers. We tally up the value of the items selected and we deduct it from the credit in their account. Members have total free choice – they can spend the value of their share however they want.
Hate cabbage? Skip it! Want nothing but tomatoes this week? Go for it!
The only big change from last year is that we will NOT be carrying Clear Flour Bread at the Dedham market. Sorry!
- Members also choose to pick up as often or infrequently as they like – and don’t have to plan ahead! They can come to market once a week, three times a week, or only once during the whole season. Members don’t need to notify us of their plans, they just come when it suits them. This means members can easily go on vacation. They aren’t locked in to picking up their share each week. Members can miss a week, a month, or half the season without losing money.
- Members can pick up at any or all of the following markets.
- Roslindale Village 9 -1:30 on Saturdays from early June through the end of October
- Dedham Square 12 – 6 on Wednesdays from mid June through the end of October
- Hopefully! Needham Center 1-5 on Sundays from mid June through the end of October – this market hasn’t received final approval yet. Please email us for more information. If Needham is the only market you would be able to attend, please don’t sign up until we are certain this market will be open. We’ll send out another email once we know for sure. However, you are welcome to email us and ask us to reserve a space for you.
How it works:
Members sign up at one of four membership levels. We create a personal farm account for them. We add a 10% bump in credit to each farm account. If someone signs up at the $350 level, they only pay $350, but we put a $385 credit in their account. Each time a member picks up, we deduct the total of their purchase from the credit in their account. Members can come to any of our farmers’ markets and select whatever they want.
We offer 4 sizes of our Farmers' Market shares:
- $150 - A $150 deposit results in $165 credit in your account. This averages about $8 per week over a 22 week season.
- $250 - A $250 deposit results in $275 in your account. This averages about $13 per week over a 22 week season.
- $350 - A $350 deposit results in $385 in your account. This averages about $18 per week over a 22 week season.
- $450 - A $450 deposit results in $495 in your account. This averages about $23 per week over a 22 week season.
We offer signup on a first come first served basis.
Changes from previous years:
We are working with more of our local farmer friends this year, so we plan to have produce from more farms in the area! This lets us focus on growing the items that are best suited to our gardens, but to still offer a wide selection of produce. It's also a nice way to help our friends sell their excess produce. All the vegetable growers we work with grow organically (some certified organic, some not certified but using the same growing practices). The fruit growers we work with use Integrated Pest Management (low spray - only if absolutely needed).
We will not be carrying bread from Clear Flour Bakery anymore. We love their bread, but unfortunately the logistics of pick up and transport have gotten too complicated.
Important points:
Any credit remaining in members' accounts at the end of the season will be donated (in produce) to a hunger relief organization. We don't carry over credit to the next season. However, we will do everything in our power to help members use up their credit before the season ends.
Because we work with other farms, we are usually able to offer a fairly wide selection of produce. However, in a bad season, all local farms may be struggling to grow enough food. Thus availability and selection change from year to year. We'll do our best to have as much food as possible, but we are a small farm (and so are our friend farms). We don't bring in vegetables from far away or from farms that use growing practices which differ from ours, and we don't bring in fruit from farms that use unsustainable growing practices.
To sign up for a share please:
Email kate@theneighborhoodfarm.com Please include the following information:
- Name (or names – sharing is OK with us)
- Membership level - $150($165); $250($275); $350($385); $450($495)
We’ll send you a confirmation email with instructions on submitting your check. (All payments will be due by March 15th, 2012).
We hope you join our 2012 CSA program!
