(CSA) Community Supported Agriculture Share Program Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) as the name implies allows you to get your food from a local source and support your local economy. Here at Olden Produce our goal is not only to develop life long relationships with our customers, but also educate you on more than where your food is coming from, but also how it is produced.
For those of you wanting a little more in depth explanation of how a CSA
works, here is how we interrupt the program. We offer shares that provide you
with a constant supply of produce during the growing season. If you were to
purchase these same items thru grocery stores and bought all of these items individually it would on average cost 20% more through the entire growing season.
This is based on last year’s prices and your savings are likely to grow as
prices rise. You not only save, but are getting locally grown, chemical free produce.
In exchange for the savings all we ask is that you be advocates for our
farm. Educate your friends & neighbors, direct them to where they can find our
produce and help us to grow. To be better partners we want you to understand
what sets us apart from store bought and standard chemical based produce production. This will be accomplish by e-mail newsletters, inserts with your produce and family event/work days on the farm. We do not require share members
to work, but hands-on experience is one of the best ways to learn. We also
welcome your questions throughout the season as something comes to mind.
We also want your feedback to improve and satisfy you, our customers. This
will be accomplished thru surveys and your direct comments. We can’t always
promise to implement all your input, but we will always do our best to explain
why. Factors such as our current equipment, irrigation, growing conditions,
costs, etc… all factor in to every decision. We will encourage you to try new
things and at the same time give you the favorites that everyone looks forward
to each year. That’s the basis behind our philosophy for a good CSA.
CSA members should expect lighter boxes for the first few weeks, as these will
include cool season greens, peas, broccoli and other early crops. As summer
goes on you will see more and more produce come on. This will continue into
fall and as all the long season crops begin to slow down you will see the return
of the short cool season crops from early in the year to compliment the fall produce.
Along the way, with a little help from mother nature we plan to bring you
some surprises that are not listed in our current list of produce for the 2008
growing season. Some of these items are new trials and others are temperamental
crops that are difficult to grow in our region. We hope this peaks your interest
and answers your questions. |
Our CSA is a scheduled 21 week program starting the Wednesday & Thursday, May
28 & 29 and ending October 15 & 16. Depending on our growing season we may add a week on the beginning and/or the end of this window. We will of course always keep you updated through the website and e-mails.
We want to be as flexible as we can be. That being said you will have 3 options for
picking up your produce each week:
• Ripon/Green Lake Area—your pick-up site will be the farm (Wednesdays 3-6
p.m.) W11699 Olden Road, Ripon, WI
• Fond du Lac Area—your pick-up site will be determined (Wednesdays 3-6 p.m.)
• Oshkosh Area—your pick-up site will be determined (Thursdays 3-6 p.m.)
The off farm sites will not have refrigeration and your timeliness will ensure freshness.
Once all members are signed up we may adjust the time schedule to fit everyone
schedule for maintaining freshness.
In the same theme of flexibility we offer four different share plans. A full share is designed to provide produce for the week to feed a family of four. A Half Share is designed to provide produce for the week to feed one to two people. These options assume you are a produce loving family. If you are a lighter vegetable and fruit consumer a half share maybe more appropriate. Another option is to go together with a neighbor a share a full share each week. Consider these thoughts when looking at the share options.
• Full Share—21 Weeks: $420 if received by Friday, April 4th or $470 in 2 payments
(Down Payment of $170 by April 4th with the balance of $300 due by May
28th.)
• Half Share Stretch—21 Weeks: This is half the amount of a full share provided on
a weekly basis, for lighter consumers or smaller households. $255 if received by
Friday, April 4th or $280 in 2 payments (Down Payment of $130 by April 4th with
balance of $150 due by May 28th.)
• Half Share—11Weeks: Starts the same time, but is every other week. $225 if received
by Friday, April 4th or $250 in 2 payments (Down Payment of $100 by
April 4th with the balance of $150 due by May 28th.)
• Flex Share—Offered for those with an active summer schedule or seasonal homes
in the area. Runs from June 11th to September 11th. (14 week window): Minimum
of 8 week participation required.): $30 per week. (8 week payment of $240 due
by May 28th, additional weeks payable at that time or at time of pick-up. |
Ripon WI 54971 
