Hunter Hill CSA Member Agreement for Winter 2022
As a member of Hunter Hill CSA, you will enjoy a share of tasty, local, seasonal food. As the farmers, we’ll provide you with that. The following are the practicalities and expectations of our mutual commitment to the CSA model.
Becoming Part of Our Farm
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a relationship between our farm and you as our member. Rather than simply purchasing food, our customers become “members” of our CSA farm and receive a portion or “share” of our farm’s harvest in addition to produce we will source from other small farms in the Lehigh Valley, and from farms in Berks and Lancaster County. Our Winter CSA runs for 8 weeks, from November 9, 2022 to December 28 2022.
Our Growing Practices
We farm in a way we feel is healthy for ourselves, our land, and our community. To increase the health of our soil, the farm is no till—that means we do not use tractors or other machinery to turn the soil. Tilling land releases carbon into the atmosphere, whereas farming without tillage sequesters carbon. This is mentioned to shed light on yet another damaging aspect of industrial agriculture, not to demonize small farmers who till. In fall of 2018, we decided to buy a tractor to relieve our bodies from having to do some of the hardest and most time-consuming physical labor. Before that, we accomplished all farmwork with our F-150, shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows, and other hand tools. Each spring we fertilize with composted plant materials and manures. We don’t use any synthetic chemicals and we are non-GMO. We do use a few OMRI-listed biological controls. OMRI-listed means they are approved for use by Certified Organic farms. Our farm is not Certified Organic and we do not plan to become certified. We are transparent about our farming practices and welcome any questions! This is abundantly productive agriculture, and we are proud of the methods we use.
Produce We Expect for Winter Share 2022
During the winter months, where we live doesn’t receive enough daylight to actively grow vegetables outdoors. Produce is “held” either in storage or in the field. Items we plan to include: red beets, butternut squash, napa cabbage, green cabbage, carrots, fennel, garlic, kale, lettuce, onions, potatoes, spinach, sweet potatoes, winter radishes, and other items for variety depending on availability.
Member Fees
By selling shares in advance of the growing season, a CSA reduces the burden of up-front costs for your local farmer. Your share fees provide us with money to purchase seed and supplies before the season starts, and ensures that our capital expenses are met up front so we don’t have to pass on the cost of financing. We appreciate your commitment to local, sustainable food sources and a living wage for its producers. We believe that healthy, local produce should not be out of financial reach. If paying for a share in one lump sum is a financial hardship for you, contact us about arranging to pay in installments. All payments are non-refundable beyond the second week of the season.
Winter CSA Sourcing
We’ve planted a number of crops on our farm this summer and fall for the Winter CSA. We’re excited to provide as large a percentage as we can of our own produce in your bi-weekly shares! Several of our farmer friends in the Lehigh Valley have grown additional crops designated for the Winter CSA. These are farmers we’ve known for years, many who run their own CSAs, and they share our commitment to high quality, chemical-free produce. (Please refer to Winter CSA sign up page for grower profiles.) As we are still building out the production and storage infrastructure to supply a late fall and early winter CSA we are still somewhat reliant on sourcing at least some veg from our fellow growers, we anticipate having to supplement with Pennsylvania-grown, Certified Organic produce via the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative in order to assure quantity and variety through the end of the season.
Picking Up Shares
You are responsible for picking up your share every Wednesday from our farm during the designated time 3:30-6:30pm each Wednesday. The pickup will be set out market style, weather permitting.
- Missed Pick Up: If there is a week you cannot come pick-up your share, please arrange for someone else to pick it up for you during the regular pick-up time. You are responsible for explaining the pick-up location and procedures to your substitute. If you entirely miss a pick-up, but contact us the same day, we will hold your share in the farm’s walk-in cooler overnight for a scheduled pick-up the next day (preferably morning).
Washing Our Produce
Since we’re using multiple sources to fill shares, please be aware that different farms have different washing standards. As with our main season share bags, some items included will be clean and could be eaten straight out of the bag while others will benefit from a rinse, soak, or scrub.
Communicating with Us
Questions? The best way to communicate with us is via email. Our email address is hunterhillcsa@gmail.com. We will do our best to respond as soon as possible!
Newsletter When you sign up, you will be added to our Winter CSA distribution list. We will send a newsletter with farm news, share contents, and recipe ideas to correspond with each of the 8 pick ups. Please read your newsletters from us!