City Supported Agriculture

"We're Changing the Way Philadelphia Eats"

GREENSGROW FARM CSA

Thanks for your interest in the Greensgrow CSA.  Here you’ll find a description of your share, the particulars of belonging to our CSA, and a general harvest schedule to give you an idea of the types of produce you’ll receive each month.  If you would like to become a member, mail us a signed copy of the Agreement and Registration Form with your deposit or full payment.  If you have any questions, contact us at (215) 427-2702 or email csa@greensgrow.org.

Your CSA Share

We put a lot of thought into what goes into your share. Based on comments received on each end-of-season survey and more in-depth random surveys, we have made a few changes for the 2008 season. These changes are reflected in the share options and added pickup times (which you will read more about below). We’ll continue to provide a balance of old favorites as well as new and exciting things to try.

In the share every week…

A seasonal assortment (4-7 items) of locally grown, freshly picked fruits and vegetables from our urban farm and the rural farms we work with. 

A locally-produced cheese or dairy product.  Some favorites include Garlic Cheddar, Fresh Chevre, and handmade Fresh Mozzarella.

A meat or pasta.  (Or our vegetarian option.)  Our meats are all humanely raised on local, grass-based farms.  Pastas and vegetarian items such as tofu and seitan are all locally produced.  Some favorites from last season include:

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 3-4 lb. free-range whole chicken
• 2 lbs. fresh, hand-made linguine
• 1 lb. ground lamb
• 1 dozen fresh, hand-made potato pierogies
• 1 lb. Ray’s Seitan

Your choice of one of the following:

• 2 cups of Pequea Valley yogurt
• 1⁄2 lb. of Amish-style butter
• 1 dozen eggs - pastured, free-range, hormone- and antibiotic-free
• 1⁄2 gallon local pasteurized milk

In the share throughout the season you may receive special items of local interest such as…

• A loaf of freshly baked bread from one of several local bakeries, including Metropolitan, Sarcone’s, Slow Rise bakery, as well as our home made dessert breads.
• Oyster and/or Shitake Mushrooms from Angela and John at Oley Valley Mushrooms (featured at many local restaurants including Southwark and the White Dog Café).
• LinVilla Orchards Apple Cider
• Locally produced honey
• Beer from Philadelphia Brewing Company, produced in Kensington.
• Occasionaly you will find a non-food item, such as Copa Soaps. We feel that these items are important to include because they introduce you to other local businesses and directly fit into the mission of Greensgrow as Growers of Food, Flowers, and Neighborhoods.
• Locally grown, cut flowers from our own "farmer Tom"

Full Share

Based on an overwhelming response to the survey, the 2008 share will extend for 25 weeks with one week vacation for each member. You are only paying for 24 weeks of food. If you are able to give us a request for your vacation week when you sign up, great, if not PLEASE let us know in writing one month prior to your vacation. (For example, if you are going away in September, please let us know by August 1^st)

Half Share

The half share option is well-suited for folks that dine out more often or want a break from cooking, but still want to support local, sustainable agriculture. With a half share you’ll get the same amount of food as a full share, but you’ll pick up every other week.  We’ll let you know when your start date is, and whether you will be picking up on Week A or Week B. Half share option does not include a vacation week. The last week of the season, all members will pick up their shares.

Thursday, Friday or Saturday?

You tell us.  But speak now and forever hold your peace, ‘cause it’s one day or the other.  You can’t switch back and forth, because of the amount of time our staff devotes to the CSA and the farm stand and the nursery, we can’t spread ourselves too thin.  We’re offering this third pick-up day due to requests on the end of season survey. Thursday’s a great day if you like to be ready to cook on the weekend or know you travel on the weekends.  Friday is a nice day to start your long summer weekend. Saturday’s nice if you know you’ll always be stuck at the office late on Thursday or Friday or would like to turn your farm visits into a more casual, bring-a-friend sort of experience. 

Work Share

Each season we make a few Work Shares available - and we are full up for 2008. 

(FYI in 2009... for a reduced price, you can work with us to get the shares ready, weed the beds, set out plants, or whatever else needs to be done around the farm.  Plan to work 3 hours a week for 13 weeks on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The schedule will be set in advance, so you’ll know how to plan around it.  In exchange, the full share will cost $575.  Returning Work Share members get first dibs.  If you are interested in learning more about this option, please contact us at (215) 427-2702 or email us at Theresa@greensgrow.org.)

Pick-Up

The CSA season is 25 weeks long, beginning the week of May 19th and ending the week of November 9^th.  Share pickup is at the farm, located at 2501 E. Cumberland St.  You are responsible for making arrangements for pickup on your chosen day.  Please familiarize yourself with other CSA members that live in your neighborhood during our initial CSA meeting. If you have an emergency and cannot pickup your share, you’ll have the option of asking another member to retrieve your share. We cannot hold CSA food items past 3 pm Saturday. Any share items that are not picked up by 3 pm Saturday are donated to St. Francis Inn located in Kensington. St. Francis picks up all leftovers promptly at 4 pm every Saturday. Sorry, but we cannot offer delivery options for CSA shares.

Newsletter and Recipe Database

With a chef and a vegan on staff, we have no shortage of recipes and food advice for you.  Each week you’ll receive a newsletter tailored to that week’s share.  We’ll send it to you electronically, but if you’d prefer, paper copies will be available in the CSA shed.  The newsletter is full of recipes for the more unusual items and new ideas for the old standbys.  We’ll also give you information on how to store and prepare your food and a little background about its origins.  We’ll also let you know which things to use first, so you don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy the more perishable items.  And earlier in the week we’ll send out a brief email with a heads up of what you can look forward to in your share later that week.  You can access our website for examples of past newsletters. They are located on the CSA page.

Each winter we also compile the season’s recipes into our Online Recipe Database, so that you’re never without ideas.  Use the database to search for whatever ingredient you have on hand to pull up recipes calling for that item. You can get to the database by clicking on the CSA icon on our website.

Come Party with the Greensgrow Crew

Each year we host an Opening Party and Orientation for new and returning members.  This gives you a chance to see the farm, meet other members, share some local food with us, and learn the pick-up routine.  This year, orientation will be held Thursday, May 8^th from 5 to 7 pm.

A new venture for Greensgrow CSA

In order to accommodate a growing number of CSA members, we have a new CSA hotline! Feel free to call regarding any CSA questions or concerns. If you’re running late, or have emergency this is the perfect way to let us know.  Continue to email questions if that’s your preference, but this phone number will lessen the number of emailed questions that may not get answered for a day or two during peak season.  This special access phone number will be made available to you upon registration.  In the meantime, please call the main Greensgrow number with any questions.

Volunteering on the Farm

If you or someone you know are interested in volunteering at Greensgrow Farm please contact us.  During the season, there is an endless amount of weeding, planting, picking, and marketing to be done.  We always appreciate an extra pair of hands.  Contact us in advance though, so that we can schedule a time together.  Please note that volunteering is not a mandatory part of joining the CSA! 

A few final words of wisdom…

The CSA is a season-long commitment, and is not for everyone.  That’s why we have a Farm Stand!  If you’re not into experimenting with new food or you go to your beach house every weekend, you’ll probably be much happier visiting our Farm Stand and personally choosing your food.  The very same items that we put into the CSA Share are almost always available for sale that day at the Farm Stand.  But we hope you will decide to join us this year as a member, and challenge your kitchen and your tastebuds to fully enjoy the rich food culture that surrounds us in the Delaware Valley.

Joining a CSA is signing a lease agreement. Please consider and ask around about other member’s experience with the CSA because once you sign up it’s like the Army – you’re in! We recommend that first timers join the half share to try out the experience before committing to the whole tomato! Of course we want you to join the CSA. We just want you to have a realistic view of the commitment. Greensgrow turns down many requests for membership because we can only accommodate a certain amount of slots. We would hate to turn someone away that really wants to join because someone else joined with unrealistic ideas of the CSA and then was unhappy.

Fresh from the field food is different than commercial food. Because is has not been post-harvest hydro-cooled it does not hold up very long. Farm fresh food is meant to be eaten right after harvest. This is the one reason Greensgrow CSA was developed as it was. We heard too many members of other CSAs complain about having refrigerators literally filled with beet greens and cabbages. So we thought about how we eat and added eggs, cheese, and meat to your share. If you want a vegetable only CSA you may reconsider joining.

If you have a concern with anything that involves us, call us or ask to speak to Theresa or Mary. This is one reason that we have an on farm pick up. We want you to know us and we want to know you! We have a human way to communicate our issues, concerns, and mutual admiration. Telling us in January about a bad peach you received in June does not help either of us. If during the season, god-forbid you become ill, a have a family crisis, if you are offered the opportunity to repaint the Sistine Chapel or you lose your job as a pro football player and have no income, communicate your concerns with us and we’ll develop a solution together. We want your CSA experience to be a positive experience for all of us!

Click here to see some sample CSA newsletters.

Seasonality Chart