About CSA's
CSA is the acronym for 'Community Supported Agriculture'. This is the fastest growing type of agriculture model
in the USA. As the traditional family farm began to decline in the face of huge corporate factory farms from the
1960s, health and flavor and genetic variety also began to decline in our food. Now, with the CSA model, small
scale farming can be financially viable once again with the support of a loyal local community of conscientious
families.

The CSA model we use sells harvest shares to their members who pay upfront for a weekly share of up to 3/4
bushel of produce. The members pays for a specified number of weeks of shares and has no say in what goes into
the box but we try to provide both variety and a deal over buying from the store. The upside is a chance for better
than retail price for buying in 'bulk', extremely fresh food, locally grown, knowing the farmer and how the food
was produced, supporting your community, being part of a community, reducing fossil fuel usage in shipping
from far away, farm visits and more. The downside is that there is risk in farming. Grocery stores and even
farmers' markets have access to multiple farms from a wide area and so to the shopper there is a large selection, a
single farm will suffer from weather or pests and will lose at least some of the harvest. Keep in mind that what you
see at the market is what they did NOT have trouble with. In East Tennessee the weather can vary greatly over 20
miles and small farms tucked into the hills, like ours, can experience micro-climate type weather which can be
good or bad. Quite often we have had days of rain while 2 miles away have had none and vice versa. Nature is
what nature is.

In our CSA we will try to include suggestions and recipes so that you can easily use all the food in your box. One
share is usually suitable for a family of 4. You will still need to go to the grocery store for foods not in the boxes.

Below is the USDA definition of a CSA:

Community Supported Agriculture consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation
so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm, with the growers and consumers
providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Typically, members or
"share-holders" of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and
farmer's salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season, as well as
satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production. Members also
share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By direct sales to
community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better
prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and are relieved of much of the burden of marketing.

Are you a farmers' market?
No. At a farmers' market you will also find local produce and it also may be chemical free. You may also get to
know your farmer. The upside is that there is no risk of loss but there is no chance of reward. You get exactly what
you pay for and see it before you pay. All farmers suffer loses and experience nature related troubles but what you
see at a farmers market is what they did not lose. At a farmers' market you do not have to particpate in any way
with the farmers battles with floods, droughts or pests. Like a grocery store, the farmers' market draws produce
from multiple farms over multiple counties which has a way of improving the variety and covering the negative
effectes of nature. The downside is that you will not get to visit the farm and pet the animals, build a spiritual
community centered on healthy food from a farm, participate in the production of the food, reconnect with food
production in a real way. In a CSA you get to particpate in a farmers successes and failures and can become
more aware of how nature and food are connected.

Are you a grocery store?
No. Like a farmers' market a grocery store has access to multiple farms over a wide area so the selction and
volume is good. There is no risk and no possible reward for risk. You get what you pay for but you will never know
the farmer, know how the food was produced, know who touched it, know when it was picked, particpate in its
production, have something in common with other shoppers, visit the producers, support the local community or
feel connected in any way to your food. A good chance at receiving a bargain in produce.


A little about produce philosophy.
When harvesting we have a choice about questionable produce. Should we discard it or save it? Farmer Z is a
native of Zimbabwe. Lisa came from the Detroit area, land of concrete. Like most city folk when Lisa first start
eating organic, she would get 'freaked out' by the occasional bug, or put off by the ugliness of a “bitten” piece of
fruit. Most people these days grow up throwing out ugly produce. Z believes that this habit is very wasteful. “So
what if that tomato isn’t perfect, cut off the bad part and eat what is good". So Z's thinking goes something like
this: the members have already paid for the box so we don't charge extra for an additional 1/2 lb of blemished
produce. Then box is what the box is. The member can chose to discard it or chose to cut off the blemished area and
use the remainder thereby getting a little more than the member would have received had Z thrown away the less
than perfect item. Please don't send us an email complaining that one of your items had a bug bite or bruise, if Z
had thrown it away you would never have known about it, your box would have been a little lighter and you'd not
be complaining. We beleive it is better to leave the choice with you. If there is so much produce that we cannot get
the blemished produce into the box then of course we won't distribute it. We pack the good stuff first. Usually we
eat the worst looking produce ourselves.

Just to be clear though, we are not saying that every box will have blemished produce or that we don't have
beautiful veggies. Its just that sometimes there is a small mental adjustment to be made from the always perfect
but nutrient deficient grocery store food to the reality of truely chemical free grown food.

We feel that giving it to you is better than feeding it to our chickens. That may mean that you have to cut off the
ugly spots from a tomato, or that the chard has holes in it. The questions we always ask before we put produce in
your box is “can this be eaten?” and “will it be wasted if we don’t give it out?” On occasion we will miss something
that may be too far gone, which happens even in the best of grocery stores. Just throw it out. Another way to think
of it is; we could give out 1lb of unblemished tomatoes or 2lb of tomatoes that are both blemished and unblemished
of which 1 ¾ are edible. By putting in the blemished produce you come out ahead. As Z says, ‘you’re going to cut it
with a knife anyway why not just throw out the bad spot’.

We have learned to eat with our tongues rather than our eyes. We have been surprised many times at the amazing
taste of a peach that looked awful, or a tomato that had a brown spot. We try not to waste the gifts our fields have
given us.