CSA Information

What's a CSA?

CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, is a model of food production that connects farmers directly with the people who eat the food they grow. Members purchase a share in the harvest & are treated to the fresh, locally-grown vegetables in season each week.

Why Join?

If you’re excited about purchasing organic produce direct from the hands that grew it, read on. There are many benefits to joining our CSA:

Freshness: All Fertile Ground produce is guaranteed to be harvested within 2 days of the weekly pick-up (other than fall storage crops, of course).

Choice: We are not a pre-packed food box program. As a member, you are provided with choice in a number of ways:

• Produce is displayed in bulk so you can pick the particular head of lettuce or bunch of carrots that looks best for you
• There is always a well-stocked swap box for trading in any vegetables you find unpalatable
• Less popular vegetables are generally offered with a degree of choice over which ones you select to take home. We hope you’ll grow to love them all, but we respect your desire to take home produce you’ll actually eat!

Convenience: Pick-up near Moore/Wellington Streets in Kitchener. Purchase other local, organic grocery items including eggs, meats, bread & cheese at the weekly pick-up. Walk, bike or drive - parking is easy to find on the street.

Community: Develop a farm-centric community through weekly pick-ups; participation in work bees; or attending member potlucks, cooking workshops and events at Little City Farm.

Get involved with growing your food: Visit the farm, volunteer... get your fingernails dirty with us - little people, pets and friends welcome!

Broaden your vegetable horizons: Be introduced to some new vegetables and discover tasty, new varieties of familiar ones. You’ll discover there’s a lot of exciting options beyond the produce you can find at the grocery store. Regular shareholders will generally take home 8-12 different herbs & vegetables each week.

Sizing & Pricing

You pay for the amount of produce that meets the needs of your household. We offer three share sizes, outlined below:

CSAs incur most of their costs before the season even begins. One of the reason CSAs were developed was to help address this problem by offsetting costs at the beginning of the season when funds are needed most. Although an instalment option is provided to break up costs if necessary, members are encouraged to consider paying the full amount as early as possible.

NOTE: As of March 27 the CSA is SOLD OUT for the 2008 season. Please contact us if you'd like to be put on the waiting list.

Pick-Up Info

Shares are available for pick-up Tuesdays from 3:30-6:30pm at Little City Farm, 508 Duke St. W., Kitchener (near Duke & Waterloo Sts).

Membership Agreement

When you sign your registration form, you agree to the following:

• All members will receive vegetables at the weekly pick-up location for 18 weeks from July 1-October 28, 2008.
• If you can’t make it to the pick-up, you are welcome to send someone else in your place. Otherwise, your share will be donated to a local food program.
• If you realize you need a different share size you can switch to a different size at any point in the season with 2 weeks notice.
• Although members are encouraged to commit for a full season, it is possible to cancel a membership at any point with 2 weeks notice and obtain a full refund for the remaining weeks.
• Members share in the ups and downs of the season. What you receive will depend on what grows well each week.

Little City Farm Partnership

Little City Farm is a 1/3 acre urban homestead & eco B&B located near downtown Kitchener where Karin Kliewer & Greg Roberts host guests, grow food, offer garden & food-related workshops, make a variety of herbal products & wood-oven-fired baked goods, and engage in an assortment of homesteading projects that change through the year. Karin will be working with Fertile Ground CSA this season, and our CSA drop-off will be held at Little City Farm each week. Check out their website for more information about what’s happening in the coming months.

Bulk Orders

We hope to be able to provide bulk amounts of tomatoes, herbs, beans & fall storage crops for those who want to order extra to can, freeze or stock up for winter. Let us know on the registration form if this is something you think you might be interested in.

Other Organics

We are planning to source other local, organic food supplies to have available at the pick-up each week. Supplies could include meats, cheese, eggs, fruit, honey, maple syrup, and bread. Please indicate your interest on the registration form.