What is Community Supported Agriculture?

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. A CSA consists of a partnership between agricultural producers and consumers. Consumers, known as shareholders or members, provide enough money in early spring to meet a farms operating expenses for the upcoming season. In exchange, the members receive a portion of the farms produce each week throughout the season. Excerpt from Asparagus to Zucchini Cookbook, John Hendrickson and Marcy Ostrum

 CSA buys you more than just fresh produce-it's an investment in building community, a social experience that allows you to connect to your food, the land, and those who tend the soil. CSA farms engage their members in agriculture through newsletters, harvest days, and farm celebrations. Throughout the season, members get to know the farmers who grow their food, learn how that food is grown, and experience the joys of cooking with the seasons! By joining a CSA, you also improve the safety of your food supply, help to preserve the environment, and enjoy the vast genetic diversity of local fruits and vegetables.

 What is "certified" organic? Are your farms certified organic?

 "Certified organic" means the produce is certified pesticide free, and organic methods must be used to fortify and maintain their soil. All certified organic farms must submit to an annual inspection to maintain their certification. To receive specific information on the certification process and the criteria our farmers must adhere to in order to maintain their certification, copy and paste to your broser: http://www.mosaorganic.org/. While many farms are using organic practices (and we applaud them for that) the best way to guarantee that your local produce is pesticide free is to choose local produce that is certified organic. All of our farms are certified organic and adopt sustainable practices to reduce the impact of agriculture on the environment. Also, our farms deeply respect the health, taste, and nutritional value of your food.

 How does Simply Wisconsin differ from other CSA's?

Simply Wisconsin works with dozens of farms across the state of Wisconsin, allowing a more steady supply of quality produce, although weather still plays a big part in the varieties available at any given time. Most traditional CSAs are centered around one farm who grows the produce for member shares.  We also believe that everyone should have affordable access to organic produce - which you will see when our promotion begins for our 2010 summer share.

 What happens when there is a crop failure or bad weather? How does this affect my share?

 When extreme weather is happening, crops are most likely affected. Your share may look a little scarce until the farms have a chance to recover, and crops come back to life. Keep in mind there is no such thing as the ultimate growing year good weather for tomatoes and melon isnt necessarily good weather for other summer crops like greens. When you join CSA, youre taking a risk along with the farmers. You will also share in the bounty when the farmers are doing well. Sometimes crops are completely destroyed, and sometimes farms can replant and start over. You may not get specific items in your share during a bad weather period, although we try to plan each season very carefully with our farmers 6-8 months in advance of the season. Our farmers plant the CSA crops according to that careful planning - we never sacrifice our CSA members to benefit other customers (restaurants or retail outlets for example) but sometimes, Mother Nature has other ideas about our CSA season, despite the careful planning! We may have to postpone a few deliveries during the CSA season due to extreme weather if necessary, although its not likely except during periods of weather extremes that have destroyed many crops across the entire region. The season may start a week or two later than anticipated, depending on the winter, the length and temperatures of the spring, late frosts, and heavy spring rains which may prevent farmers from getting into the fields as early as they would like. This year, many CSAs in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa were forced to delay the start of their season this summer due to heavy flooding in June. If we postpone deliveries or start later in the season than anticipated, the deliveries will be made up at the end of the season so you are not missing out on any deliveries and you will be notified in time to make adjustments to your schedule.

What are my responsibilities as a CSA member?

When you sign up for a membership with the CSA program, you are responsible for picking up your share on the scheduled delivery day, and within the pickup time. You are part of the honor system, and are required to check the sign in sheets at your pick up site, to be sure you are listed and are scheduled to pick up that day. You then sign the sheet, and go enjoy your fresh organic veggies, eggs, and cheese!

How do I receive my CSA share? What is the procedure for picking up my share?

1) You arrive to the pickup site on your pick up day within the allotted pick up time.

2) Check the sign in sheets to see what you are to pick up if you are splitting a share with someone else, please make sure to coordinate which weeks each of you will pick up your share to eliminate confusion on pick up day.

3) Grab your goodies.

4) Sign your name on the sheet.

5) Transfer your produce into a canvas bag.

6) Unfold box and stack it neatly in a pile.

We ask that all members respect other members as well as their site coordinator by leaving things the way you find them, cleaning up after yourself, and always making sure you are only collecting what you are signed up to take. Youre now all set to enjoy your bounty!

Will I get a reminder to pick up my share?

You will receive a weekly E-mail with a reminder of the pick-up, along with a .pdf copy or a link to the CSA newsletter which includes recipes, storage tips, farm histories and photos.

What happens if I forget to pick up my share?

If you forget to pick up your share, please make sure to contact your site host we recommend you put their contact information in your cell phone or PDA, and keep a copy of the information in your glove box or your bike bag. Because it is your responsibility as a CSA share member to pick up your share within the set time frame, please keep in mind that your site host is under no obligation to hold your share past 8 pm on delivery day. We give the site hosts permission to donate any shares that havent been picked up to a local food pantry or shelter. We cannot switch delivery dates , send replacement shares, or issue credits/refunds for missed pickups.

What if I have a vacation scheduled and I am gone for a scheduled pick up day?

If you are out of town for a last minute trip and cannot pick up your share, please try to contact a friend or family member to pick up your share. If you cannot find anyone to pick it up, call your site host to see if you can make other arrangements with them directly. We understand that occasionally you may need to be out of town unexpectedly, but if this is a common occurrence, perhaps our CSA is not the right choice for you.

When you are out of town for a vacation, you will need to find a friend or family member to pick up for you. Again, we cannot switch delivery dates, send replacement shares, or issue credits/refunds for missed pickups.

What if the pick up days or times don't work for my schedule?

We have tried different pick up days and times over the years, and the current system seems to work best for the bulk of our members. If our pick up day or time doesnt work for you, perhaps our CSA isnt the right one for you.

Can I change my pick up site once the season has started?

You can change your pick up location ONCE during the season if you find another location that works better for you, and if that location isnt already full. Some of the pick up sites fill up and cannot take any more members because of the amount of space they have available. If you decide to switch pick up sites during the season, you may not get into your desired pick up site if it is full at that time.  For the WINTER share, pick-up times cannot be switched because the season is much shorter than the summer season.

Are there farm events planned? Can we visit the farms?

We try and plan a couple of farm visits and festivals for the CSA members during the season, depending on the availability of our farms. The list of our farms is printed on the brochure. If you are in Wisconsin or planning a Wisconsin vacation, feel free to call any of our farms to see if you can stop at the farm while youre in the area.

How do you communicate with CSA members?

The most efficient way to communicate with members is through E-mail. Please make sure that you always have a valid E-mail address, and you have set any spam filter to accept simplywisconsin@yahoo.com and kp_simplywisconsin@yahoo.com as an approved sender. At times, we also have to communicate by phone, so please ensure that we have your current phone number(s). If you call the CSA Coordinator and receive the voice mail prompt, please make sure to leave a message with your contact information and best time to call, so we can return your call promptly!

How do I know what will be in the box each delivery? Is there a newsletter that accompanies each box?

CSA members will also receive an informative newsletter which is posted on the website each week to compliment each box, filled with delicious recipes, storage tips, and farm news.