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: 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. We hope you’ll grow to love it all, but we respect your desire to take home produce you’ll actually eat! As a member, you are provided with choice in a number of ways:

Produce displayed in bulk so you can pick the particular head of lettuce or bunch of carrots that looks best for you

Swap box for trading in any vegetables you find unpalatable

"Choice Table" where you choose a portion of your share from a wide array of veggie options

Convenience: Pick-up near Moore/Guelph 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.

Pick-Up Info

2010 has 2 pick-up groups:

21 Guelph St., Kitchener - Tuesdays 3:45-6:15pm
AND
Fertile Ground Farm - Fridays 4-5:30.

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 19 weeks from mid-June to late October, 2010.
• 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 and over the course of the season. If there is a really difficult growing season some crops may not be plentiful or shares may be smaller than anticipated. By signing up you help us as growers by sharing the inherent risk of farming. THANK YOU!

Bulk Orders

We usually offer bulk amounts of tomatoes, herbs, beans, greens & fall storage crops for those who want to order extra to can, freeze or stock up for winter. U-Pick is often available too.

Other Organics

We will source other local, organic food supplies to have available at the pick-up some weeks. Supplies are dependent on member interest but may include meats, cheese, eggs, fruit, honey, maple syrup, and bread.