What is a CSA? CSA Stands for Community Supported Agriculture. CSAs give customers direct access to excellent quality, fresh produce grown locally by regional farmers. When you become a member of a CSA, you're purchasing a “share” of typically vegetables, fruits or meats, and you are supporting a farmer from your local community.
You're also eating delicious food (picked within days or even hours of you receiving it), and if you are like me, you are eating a lot more veggies than you normally do.
How do you decide which CSA is right for your family? Here are 10 things to think about when looking into CSAs. Before we get to our list, we want to thank Heron Pond Farm in South Hampton for sponsoring this article. Macaroni KID Seacoast continues to remain a free resource to our community because of the help of our local businesses. Please check out Heron Pond Farm and consider purchasing a CSA this summer!
1. Where's the pick-up location?
Make sure that your pick-up location is convenient. If you choose a CSA with a pick-up location 20 miles from your home, you may find that you can't make the drive every week because life can get in the way, but a quick stop nearby is even easier make than a trip to the grocery store! Best yet, some CSAs even deliver right to your home for a few extra dollars — and some weeks that might be worth the convenience.
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Heron Pond Farm has 4 pick up locations around the Seacoast and North Shore to choose from. The farm store in South Hampton NH is the most popular pick up location, open 7 days a week from 9am-6pm with a wide variety of locally sourced products ranging from freshly frozen meat to fruit jams and artisan cheese. The three off-site pick up locations are in Dover NH on Tuesday afternoons from 2-6:30pm, Portsmouth NH on Wednesday afternoons from 2-6:30pm and North Andover MA on Thursdays from 3-6:30pm. The off-site locations do have a once/season $50 transportation fee to help cover the cost of fuel and extra labor.
2. What will you get?
Different farms offer different items. Some farms stick to mostly veggies, while others will offer fruit, meat, dairy, eggs, and more. More variety usually means a higher price. Ask farmers what their average box contains. If vegetables, you'll find what's in your box changes as the growing season progresses.
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Heron Pond Farm offers a flexible, market-style CSA program meaning members get to choose their items from week to week for maximum customization. We offer a variety of mostly vegetables and some fruit. Prior to the start of the week, we email you a newsletter with the list of available items to help you plan. We like to remind folks that we make this list to the best of our ability, but ultimately we are working with mother nature and a small staff, therefore things will change. Please keep in mind that we are not as on-demand as a grocery store, we sometimes have limited crop availability, and you are always welcome to substitute for an item of equal value. A great way to approach this challenge - have a backup plan and get creative in the kitchen.
In addition to our farm-fresh veggies and fruit, we offer add-on shares for locally sourced meat, dairy, eggs, and mushrooms. There is an additional cost associated with each of these add-on shares.
3. Are there extras available?
Ask farmers if they offer special extras for members. Some farms include with their memberships workshops, work days, and even social gatherings like giving families a chance to come and visit the farm.
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Included in your CSA membership at Heron Pond Farm is a 10% discount when you shop with us at our farm store in South Hampton, at any of our farmers market booths in Portsmouth or Newburyport, and at any of our off-site CSA pick up locations. You are always welcome to visit the farm and check out our children’s garden. Members also receive 10% off when they come to the farm for PYO blueberries, which is a fun summer activity for the whole family! We host occasional workshops and events ranging from STEM on the farm for kids to flower bouquet making for adults. On August 20th we will host our Tomato Festival, an annual event with food, music, and activities for the whole family.
4. How do they grow their food?
If sustainability, pasture-raised, organic, or other farming methods are important to you, ask the farmer about their growing practices.
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Here at Heron Pond Farm we strive to be biological farmers, meaning we consider the needs of the land, water, and people that make up our farm and community. Our goal is to maximize biological diversity and activity within the soil through methods such as cover cropping, steam weeding, and crop rotation. We use organic compost and chicken manure fertilizer. Sometimes, our crops get threatened by pests or fungi and we do have to use non-biological pesticides, which is a decision we don’t make lightly as we live, work, and play on the land. We never spray leafy greens, berries, or anything that is close to being ready to eat. Our farming practices are designed to be sustainable in every sense of the word: environmentally, financially, and mindful of making time for other things in life.
5. How much will you get?
Eight tomatoes, three bunches of spinach, four beets, five ears of corn, two peppers, one bunch of kale, two turnips, and three leeks may not sound like a lot, but trust me, it is. In my experience, a large CSA box usually feeds 3-5 people, while a smaller box feeds 1-3 people. If a farm only offers large boxes and your family isn't made of big veggie eaters, ask a friend or neighbor if they are interested in sharing a box.
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At Heron Pond Farm, this is totally dependent upon what size share you choose is best for your family and what you choose from week to week. For a household of 1-3 people we suggest starting off with a Little Blue share. For a household of 4-6 people we recommend a Great Blue share.
Our program is meant to be flexible and operates as a value based system, meaning the amount of food you take home will fluctuate throughout the season. Take the summer season for example, during our first few weeks in June you might not have a ton of options to choose from because the food is still growing, but by time August rolls around, it’s a safe bet to bring extra bags or extra hands.
6. How will you pay?
Many CSAs require you to pay up-front because this gives the farms the funding they need to get planting at the beginning of the growing season. Some CSAs may offer payment plans and work shares (you work an agreed-upon number of hours a week to help pay for your box). Ask the farm what their payment structure is and how you can pay.
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At Heron Pond Farm, we try to offer as many payment options as possible and do not want cost to be a barrier in anyone trying to support their local farm and source fresh, healthful foods. We offer a payment plan for anyone who self identifies as needing one, but we encourage you to pay in full if / when possible. We accept standard methods of payment such as cash, credit card, and checks (our preferred method). Additionally, we accept Venmo and SNAP/EBT. Please reach out to info@heronpondfarm.com to pay using SNAP/EBT.
7. Can you make substitutions?
Everyone has something that they just don't like, and some people have food allergies. Find out if the CSAs you are considering allow you to mix and match a share that meets your needs, or if they allow substitutions.
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Given the flexible nature of our pick-your-own program at Heron Pond Farm, substitutions are basically built in. If we don’t have something you want that week or we ran out, it’s kind of an “it is what it is” situation and we encourage you to just take something else of equal value. If we run out of something we shouldn’t have, we will do our best to make it up to you.
8. Is there any flexibility?
Vacation plans this summer? Ask your farmer what happens if you miss a week. Can you have a friend pick up your share? Can they donate the food? Are members offered a "mulligan"?
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Yes, yes, yes! Our CSA program at Heron Pond Farm is known for our flexibility. If/when you miss a week, you are encouraged to either make it up another week in the same season, have a friend pick up on your behalf, or opt to donate your share to a local food pantry or rescue organization.
9. Ask for referrals!
Ask around to find out if anyone you know belongs to a CSA and if they would recommend it and why. It's always nice to get inside tips on what to expect!
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If the Heron Pond Farm CSA program doesn’t look like it fits your needs, we are happy to suggest some other local farms or encourage you to check out your community Facebook pages. Word of mouth is the best way to find out about folks firsthand experiences. Additionally, if you are looking for a home delivery program, we suggest the Three River Farmers Alliance, where you can even get some of our produce in addition to lots of other products from local farms.
10. Build a relationship
Stop by farmers' markets (or the actual farms!) and get to know the farmers. You may meet someone who you have a great connection with or love the story behind their farm.
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Catch Heron Pond Farm at the Portsmouth Farmers Market every Saturday from May-November at the Portsmouth City Hall from 8am-12pm. We can also be found at the Newburyport Farmers Market every Sunday from May-November at the Tannery Marketplace from 9am-1pm. Our roadside farm store located in South Hampton is open daily from 9am - 6pm! Come say hi or reach out with any questions. Hope to see you soon!
Still not sure where to start? You can visit localharvest.org and use the zip code search to find a list of farms near you, including descriptions of what they offer.
If you are interested in a CSA from Heron Pond Farm or have additional questions, visit their CSA page.
Mary Monahan is the publisher of Macaroni KID Lincoln, Neb.
Jonna Kinlin is the publisher of Macaroni KID Secoast, NH.
