Community Supported Agriculture
(CSA)
Our farm continues to grow because of the support of our dedicated CSA members. Our members are the heart of our farm. They trust in us and in-turn we make sure they reap the benefits with the healthiest and best quality vegetables we can grow. We deliver weekly to a pick up location of your choice and provide recipes and information to fully utilize all the vegetables in your share.
WHAT IS A CSA?
CSA or “Community Supported Agriculture” is a locally based economic model of agriculture and food distribution. CSA programs build relationships between the farmer and the community connecting people to where their food is grown. CSA members become “invested” in the farm and in turn benefit weekly with a “share” of the freshest produce that is available, often at an overall discounted cost with other perks such as regional delivery, day-of harvests, weekly recipe and info sheet, and access to other product add-ons when available.
Eating fresh, local vegetables is one of the healthiest decisions one can make. Not only for your health, but also the health of the ecosystem, economy and community.
When you support a local farm you are making a conscious decision to consume the most nourishing vegetables available while having the least environmental impact and playing an active part in local community building/economy. You are also pledging to support the farm sharing both the risks and benefits of farming. Farmers rely a great deal on Mother Nature and sometimes circumstances are out of our control. We cannot guarantee that every crop we grow will thrive but we can guarantee that we are going to do everything we can to produce an abundance of the healthiest vegetables possible.
We are going on 6 years of our own CSA with a very high retention rate of satisfied members.
2024 CSA SHARE
JUNE-OCTOBER
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Pickup Locations in East Brookfield, Petersham and Worcester.
Check, Venmo, Card and SNAP accepted. 3 Payment Plans.
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Standard Share - 21 Weeks
$600
This is our classic share size that works for most and is good for 1-3 people depending on your love of veggies.
Large Share - 21 Weeks
$800
Our large share is for those who have larger families and/or who really love their diversity of vegetables . You can expect extra leafy greens, (kale, collard, chard, spinach, asian greens), lettuce heads, herbs, squash/cucumbers/tomatoes, root bunches and more depending on the what is ready on the farm.
Certain vegetables may not be doubled or in excess in the large family share such as cauliflower, our classic lettuce mix, ginger, sugar snap peas, watermelon as these are high dollar in terms of seed, labor and space efficiency. We do the best we can to grow a high diversity of crops on our small 1.5 acre farm and in order to make the farm sustainable we can only commit a certain amount of bed space to each crop depending on value and demand.
Standard Share
Standard Share
Large Share
Large Share
WHAT'S included in yOUR CSA MEMBERSHIP?
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21 weeks of fresh, organic vegetables delivered to a pick-up location near you in East Brookfield or Worcester. On farm pickup in Petersham.
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Each week you will receive ~ 6 to 10 (standard)/~ 8 to 12 (large) of the best and freshest, seasonally ripe vegetables harvested that day. Some choice within vegetable types.
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Weekly farm sheet that includes: recipes, ideas and inspiration to fully utilize the vegetables in your share, farm updates, education and vegetable info!​
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You will learn what grows best in your local area and gain a deeper understanding of eating seasonally. The spring starts off with a hearty dose of greens and roots, shifting into those delicious summer vegetables and in the fall you get the best of all worlds with lingering summer veg, the return of cool season greens and roots, and the once a year favorites like winter squash!
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Access to our “seconds bin” where you can take extra produce that we may have to offer. The “seconds” idea emerged from our goal to accumulate minimal food waste and provide more bounty to our members. This gives a home to produce that may be leftovers from market, blemished or past its prime but still totally edible and probably still better than the grocery stores. ​
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The opportunity to recirculate your money locally and support young farmers growing food in your community. We always support local businesses when possible to help foster more of a local community economy.
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Peace of mind knowing that you’re consuming nutritionally dense food that has been grown sustainably, working to regenerate the land and never using chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. Working toward our common planetary goal of cleaner waters, air, soils, ecosystems and community health.
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Access to local product add-on shares when available.
Is A CSA right for me?
We want all of our customers to be satisfied and since CSA is a unique food model there are really just a few big things to consider to make a good decision:
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Can I consistently pick up my share every week of the season (or have someone else grab it for me)?
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We work very hard to bring our customers the freshest produce possible, usually harvested the day of pickup, so any going to waste is not ideal. Remember you can have anyone pickup your share and if you know you cannot make it just let us know ASAP before pickup or ideally the day before. We know last minute things happen, just try to be in communication so we can plan accordingly.
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Do I like a diversity of vegetables that change with the seasons?
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The beauty of a local CSA program is the diversity you get to experience to learn about new vegetables, flavors and textures while still including classics. If you only want lettuce, tomato and cucumber the whole season our CSA will not be a great option..
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Do I value locally produced, high quality produce?
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We focus on clean, nutrition based growing methods with a high attention to detail to provide an optimal food product. We are a small business​ that works within our means, mostly by hand and with our own labor. Though we try to keep prices competitive, you are of course going to pay a bit more for our product than your basic grocery store with questionable food shipped from far away.
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CSA Agreements - PLEAse read!
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By purchasing a Free Living Farm CSA subscription, you are responsible for and agree to pickup your share every week during the 21 week share season at your designated location and time. We work hard to grow, harvest, process and store the best produce possible and hate to see it go to waste.
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If unable to pickup, please try to let us know at least a day in advance of your pickup day. In general, we harvest the day of pickup, so letting us know a day in advance avoids waste of labor and food. You can always have friends or family pick up if you will not be able to make a pick up or if you are away on vacation.
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If something comes up last minute, please try to let us know as soon as possible by calling, texting or email.
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If you do not make it to the designated pick up location within the time frame with NO prior notification you will unfortunately forfeit your share.
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All members that cannot make the pickup day/time, and HAVE given prior notification, will have the option to pick up their share at a different location for that week.
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Finally, please be sure to read through all of the CSA details on the website. There are many benefits to a CSA subscription with your local farm, but as we do rely on mother nature, unforeseen circumstances can happen and our members share in this risk as a community. Normally this just means if a crop doesn't pan out during the season, we can't guarantee you will receive it.
Thank you so much for understanding and being a member of our farm!