CSA Membership Agreement 2023

We, the farm, wish to provide you with fresh, local, seasonal veggies, and you, the member, wish to receive a portion of our harvest. This agreement outlines our shared commitments to that relationship.

Becoming Part of our Farm

What is a CSA? “CSA” stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Through our CSA, members can enjoy bountiful local produce without all the hard work of farming. Members purchase a vegetable “share” at the beginning of the year. When we start harvesting late May, we prepare a box of veggies grown on our farm every other week for each of our members to pick up. Members are able to choose from different sized shares to fit their needs. The CSA runs for 10 pick ups from May to October.

Our farm is not certified organic, but this does not mean we are not selective about the controls we do use. Generally, if we're using any kinds of controls at all, we use those that are certified organic themselves, and will only utilize more conventional controls as a last resort. Typically, we do not end up treating more than a few crops through the entire growing season. We prefer to handle pests, disease, and soil care through other practices, such as crop rotation, companion planting, composting, planting cover crops, and using row covers. We are very open about our growing practices so if you would like to know more, contact us any time.

Shared Risk & Reward

We promise to do our best to provide you with a bountiful share each pick up week. The quantity of produce in your boxes, however, may vary from week to week due to extreme weather, insects, or other production factors despite our best efforts. By joining our CSA, you are agreeing to share the risk of crop failure with us and other members. In the event of a minor crop failure, we compensate for the failed crops by filling your share with other crops grown on the farm that are ready for harvest at that time. If a large portion of crops fail, you may see smaller quantities/less variety of produce in your boxes. There is also the unlikely possibility of full crop failure, such as in the event of extreme hail damage or drought. In this case, it is possible you may see weeks of little or no product in your boxes.

For example, if we were to have a poor tomato year, you may only see 2-3 tomatoes rather than the 6-7 we prefer to include in a large share box. The tomatoes that you don't receive may be replaced with other veggies, such as extra bell peppers or zucchini, if these are available.

Conversely, in the event of bumper crops and surplus, we will fill CSA boxes up with extras. We don’t want to overwhelm our members or deliver so much produce that it goes to waste, so when we feel that members have received enough of certain crops, we handle the surplus by selling it elsewhere. Our CSA receives first priority when we are harvesting, and only after the shares are well-filled do we sell our produce elsewhere. Please note that we produce some items exclusively for our other outlets.

CSA members receive exclusive access to members-only farm events and appreciation days which will be announced in the spring.

Our Produce

The lists below outline what types of produce you can likely expect, and when you may see them in your share. This chart is based on our best estimate, but of course weather, pests, and other events will affect actual production. We may experiment with new varieties outside of this list.

May-June

Arugula, Basil, Beets, Broccoli, Cilantro, Cabbage, Carrots, Chives, Fennel, Garlic Scapes, Green Onions, Kale, Lettuce, Lovage, New Potatoes, Peas, Radishes, Rhubarb, Spinach, Snow Peas, Swiss Chard, Cut Flowers

July-August

Basil, Cantaloupe, Carrots, Celery, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Green Beans, Garlic, Ground Cherries, Kale, Parsley, Potatoes, Sweet Corn, Sweet/Hot Peppers, Sweet Onions, Tomatoes, Various Herbs, Zucchini, Cut Flowers

September-October

Arugula, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Collards, Daikon, Eggplant, Garlic, Green Beans, Ground Cherries, Kale, Lettuce, Lima Beans, Mustards, Onions, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Radishes, Rutabagas, Spinach, Sweet Peppers, Sweet Potatoes, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, Turnips, Winter Squash, Zucchini, Cut Flowers

Picking Up Your Shares

You will have the option to pick up your bi-weekly box at one of two locations on Wednesdays. Drop locations are as follows:

Nayborhood Farm, 1412 Barefoot Rd Knoxville, IL, 61448, Thursdays 10 AM to 8 PM

876 W Main St, Galesburg (Riverbend Food Bank parking lot), Wednesdays 4:30-6:00 PM

At the Galesburg drop, members may take their produce from each bin as specified on the signs. At the farm pick up, members may put together their shares from the produce available at the pavilion as marked.

Each week, we will email you (generally on Tuesday) what you can expect to see in your box. While we will make this as accurate as we can, the list may not always match up exactly to what you receive.

You are responsible for picking up your share each week from your drop site and observing drop site rules:

Bring along your own large bag or box to carry home your produce.
Pick up your share within the time frame listed.
Please respect the property of the pick up site's host.
Follow posted instructions on the white board for shares picked up at the farm. Do not take produce not specifically marked for CSA members.

If you cannot pick up your share, you must arrange for someone else to pick it up for you. You are responsible for explaining the pick-up location and procedure to your substitute. If possible, let us know you are having someone else pick up for you so we can notify pick up attendants and assist your sub. If you need to change your pick up site or time, you must give us no less than one week of notice. We ask that you do not change pick up sites/times from week to week, as this can cause confusion on both ends.

Shares that are not retrieved within the pick up time will be forfeited by the member and donated to FISH Food Pantry. You will not be able to pick up shares after the set time frame. Makeup shares are not available due to the perishable nature of produce.

Available at the Galesburg drop site will be an exchange box. Members can use the box to leave behind unwanted produce or to pick up produce that has been left. Produce substitutions or additions are not possible beyond the exchange box at the Galesburg drop site.

Food Safety

We take the safety of your produce very seriously. Your produce will always be harvested with clean produce-only containers. In most cases, your produce will be lightly rinsed with tap water (the farm well water, tested as per FSMA rules) to remove visible dirt on an outdoor washing rack. More perishable items will then be transferred directly to our produce refrigerator. Generally, your produce will be harvested within a 36-hour period before your pick up whenever possible to ensure the highest possible quality. This does not apply to all types of produce, however; products like potatoes, onions, winter squashes, etc. may be stored for some time before reaching your CSA box. Because we use very minimal pest treatments, it is likely you will encounter the occasional insect at one point or another. Be sure to thoroughly wash all produce before eating for your added protection.

Share Options

We offer two share types to fit each member's needs.

Butterfly Share. Our largest share option is also the most cost-effective. This share gives you the widest variety of produce grown over an entire season, as chosen by the farm, so you’ll see lots of different items. Your box will typically include 8-12 different types of produce in meal-sized portions, and it will usually fill 2 regular-sized reusable grocery bags. For example, a box in mid-summer might include ten big tomatoes, a dozen ears of sweet corn, two pounds of potatoes, two or three large lettuce heads, two sweet onions, four zucchini or yellow squash, a large cabbage, a bundle of fresh parsley and basil, a few slicing cucumbers, and a quart of pickling cucumbers. Full shares work well for groups of 2-3 who cook several days a week, or larger groups of 4 or more who cook less often. A full-sized butterfly share can easily be split between friends as well. Runs for ten weeks of pick ups May-October.

Honey Bee Share. The honey bee share comes with about half the produce of a full-sized butterfly share. Depending on the week, your box will usually come with 6-8 different types of produce. For example, a summertime box could include one pound each of potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, a large onion, and a bell pepper. The honey bee and butterfly shares will not always include the same produce from week to week – smaller shares tend to have the produce variety spread out more over the course of the season. Honey bee shares work well for singles or families who don't have time to cook every night but enjoy fresh produce. Runs for ten weeks of pick ups May-October.

Pick Up Schedule

Below are the calendar dates for the ten CSA pick ups for the 2023 season (applies to all butterfly and honey bee shares):

May 31/June 1, June 14/15, June 28/29, July 12/13, July 26/27, August 9/10, August 23/24, September 6/7, September 20/21, October 4/5

Communicating with Us

The best way to communicate with us is via email: info@nayborhoodfarm.com. We will do our best to respond as quickly as possible, but understand this can be difficult when we are out in the field for most of the day. We will primarily communicate with you via email, and when you sign up, you will be added to our mailing list. We depend on being able to communicate important information such as necessary changes to your distribution schedule or to our farm events. You will receive an email once per pick up week, usually on Tuesdays, with the list of your produce for that week's share, recipe ideas, storage tips, and other farm updates. We make the produce list as accurate as possible, but your individual share may sometimes vary.