2014-04-18

CSA at CUC

CSA = Community Supported Agriculture

Roxbury Farm is a community supported farm. Community UU is their White Plains distribution point for produce shares from Jun - Nov.

Pick-up at Community UU, room 43, is every Wednesday for 23 Wednesdays, starting the second Wed in Jun through the third Wed in Nov (except the second Wed in Nov) -- between 3:30p and 6:30p.

The shares are currently all sold out for the 2015 season.

Sign up in spring for the 2016 season.

More info about Roxbury Farm: CLICK HERE.

How does it work?
Roxbury Farm members pick up a share once a week from June to November at a central distribution point in their neighborhood. Roxbury Farm delivers to 6 sites in the Capital Region, 5 sites in Westchester, 2 sites in Harlem, 2 sites on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and the Farm in Columbia County.

When you arrive at your CSA site you check off your name on the sign-in sheet, pick up a newsletter (or download one from the website), and read the share list. You then collect each item from the share list and place it in your own bag. If you are going on vacation you can have a friend or neighbor pick up you share. But, don't worry none of the vegetables go to waste, all the produce left after the CSA pick up is delivered to a food pantry or community kitchen.

What’s in a share?
A share provides 10-17 lbs of freshly harvested produce each week. Given an average harvest, a share provides enough vegetables to feed 2-4 adults eating a vegetable based diet (400-450 lbs of produce every season).

Each week you will receive 7-12 different varieties of vegetables. You will experience a variety of vegetables that changes with the seasons. From early spring with wide variety of greens, scallions, and radishes, through the peak of the summer with rich flavored tomatoes, freshly picked sweet corn, and green beans, and into the cool days of fall with hearty root vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash, beets, and parsnips.

Fruit Share:
In addition to our weekly CSA vegetable share Roxbury Farm also offers our members the option to buy a fruit share by subscription only. The fruit provided in the share is all grown in Columbia County orchards but it is not organic. The share includes 2-4 lbs of pre-bagged fruit per week, ranging from sweet cherries, to plums, peaches, pears and a large variety of apples. We deliver fruit for 18 weeks beginning in July.

Sharing Shares:
If you would like to purchase a half share, we ask that you find someone to split the share with. We request that you indicate on your enrollment form one primary shareholder, who will be responsible for making the payments to the farm. We cannot accept checks from both parties. The share must be picked up all at once: you cannot sign in and pick up only your half of the vegetables. All splitting of shares must be done outside the pick-up site, unless you come together. (Some people divide their share by picking up on alternate weeks).

What is my responsibility as a member?
A CSA eliminates the need for a retailer, so the members not only share the harvest with the farmers, but the distribution of the harvest as well. It is important for members to help keep the sites running smoothly or they don't work. Each member or family is asked to contribute three to four hours of time, helping to set up or clean up the site, delivering leftover food to a pantry, or telephoning other members with reminders.

If you are unable to fulfill this work requirement please contact the farm to work out an alternative arrangment.

What is the share price based on?
Each fall the farmers go over the farm budget to figure out the operating costs for the next season. They then divide the costs of operating the farm by the number of members. This is the base share price. The farm adds a delivery fee to pay for the trucking costs. Then each member community adds on an administrative fee to provide for management of the pick-up site. Each site community has a different share price, see the specific site page for share prices.

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