From milstein@pipeline.comMon Nov 27 18:20:02 1995 Date: Mon, 27 Nov 1995 15:22:05 -0500 From: Sarah Milstein To: sanet-mg@amani.ces.ncsu.edu Subject: More on CSA Hi there. Glad to answer as many questions as I can. As a side note, I'm posting this to SANET because there seem to be a number of people interested in this subject, and because your postmaster returns things that I send directly to you. > >How long have you been a CSA? 5 years. > Have you had positive growth? Yes. > What types of problems or concerns have arisen? Many, many. From whether we get too much daikon, to whether the site co-ordinators should be paid, to whether we need to raise/kill cattle to sustain the farm, to whether our distribution sites are legal. By nature, CSA's generate continual problems and concerns: thus, the core group (see below). > How have you dealth with them? Constructive input from core group members, the farmer and other concerned folks. > >How many members do you have? We sell 450 shares. This could be as many as 1000 members. >How much does it cost to be a member? What does a share equal? Last year, the NYC share price was $258 per single share; this year it will be $263. The share cost at our other locations is different, mostly because they have different trucking needs. At the annual budget meeting, we figure out how much the base price for each share will be (that is, how much the farm needs) and then each of three sites determines its own trucking costs (based on a common formula) and its administrative needs (decided by the core groups). A share is usually 7 to 9 different veggies, plus herbs, delivered weekly from June through November, and then every other week from Thanksgiving through February. One share can feed a couple of people who are *not* eating an all-plant diet. (As a vegetarian who eats no eggs or dairy, I eat at *least* a single share by myself every week.) >How is the farm strucutred? What do you mean here? Who works on the farm? There's the farmer; one 2/3 time person who coordinates with the sites and does some field work; one 1/2 time person who does some office work and some field work; and up to three apprentices, who do almost all field work are paid a monthly stipend and receive on-site housing and a food allowance. The farm itself has been owned by the farmer's in-laws who are in the process of putting the land under a conservation easement and gifting it to the farmer and his wife and her sister. do you have a core group o members? Each of our three sites has a core group. In NYC, our core group ranges in size from 5 to 7 (there are 225 shares sold in NYC). >What are their responsibilities? The core group responsibilities are legion. We coordinate the distribution of the veggies; organize the members' work/volunteer shifts; write up, send out and collect each year's reenrollment agreements; meet with the farmer and other core groups three times each year (officially) to determine the budget and direction of the farm; plan and execute two farm festivals each year; plan and execute two potlucks and member meetings each year; etc., etc. > >It it an organic farm? Actually, it's biodynamic, which is sort of the Anthroposophical take on organics. >How do you distribute the food? Pickup, deliveries, farm stands? >How often? How many weeds do you distribute? The food is distributed once a week at each site (the sites are hours apart by car, and members can only pick up at their own site). The farm brings us crates of veggies and a list of how much of each veggie one share should get. Then we set up the crates in a logical order and post a board with a list of what one share equals. Members check in on a rollcall sheet, and then weigh or count out their own stuff (they bring their own bags). If they don't want something, they can put it on a surplus table for other members to take (besides the surplus table, *there are no extras allowed!!*). Anything that is leftover at the end of the day, goes to a local food pantry. The distribution site in NYC is open from 4:00 to 7:00 pm each Thursday; our other sites have different days and hours. There is at least one site coordinator at the site at all times (in NYC, there are three site coordinators -- core group members who have the time to oversee everything), plus a few volunteers (a different crew each week) who help with unloading the truck, checking members in, consolidating the crates and cleaning up. The truck does not stay for the distribution (it arrives at 3:00 and leaves after unloading; we open at 4:00 exactly). We try to distribute very few weeds. > >What are the member responsibilitlities? In addition to paying on time, members are responsible for picking up and bagging their own shares, and if they're out of town, they can have a friend pick up for them. Members must also work at least three hours each year for the farm. This work can be done at the distribution site (we need at least four workers each week to help out) or at the farm itself (we have special work days there for members). We also ask that people attend our two potluck/meetings each year, but that's not mandatory. Are their working shares? What >do they do? Working shares are available, but only people who live near the farm can really take advantage of this plan. As I understand it, working shares can, on specified mornings, pick peas and/or strawberries (two labor-intensive crops) and can get refunds on their shares based on the number of pounds they pick of each. If you want more info about this, I can put you in touch with the core group in the farm's area, since they coordinate this project. Do you depend on volunteers? What do they do? We at the site distribution depend on members volunteering/working their shifts. See above. The farm itself does not depend on volunteers at all, although we do arrange for members to work at the farm a few Saturdays of each year. > >Would you share your budget with us? Specifically how you support your >farmers? Do your farmers receive benefits? I'm not certain whether our books are open, but I'd image they could be, and I will look into this. Our farmer is paid an annual salary out of the CSA budget; benefits are taken into account when determining his salary, and he buys his own (and his family's) insurance out of his salary. At this point, nobody receives insurance as an employee of the farm. > >What other sources of income support your CSA other than membership >shares? > About 95% of the budget is supported by the CSA membership. For flexibility in crop harvesting (that is, if we have an overabundance of chard or something), however, we also sell some produce to a New Age-y retreat center near the farm, and we sell some predetermined lots of canning vegetables to members who are interested. We call this predetermined stuff Shareplus and it works like this: after we've gotten in all of our enrollment forms, we send out an additional form listing ten veggies in large units that people can readily can or freeze (tomatoes, corn, etc.) and the amounts in which they will be available (i.e., one unit of tomatoes = half bushel; one unit of corn = 50 ears). For an additional $65, members can sign up for six units of which ever of the ten veggies they'd like (for instance, you could get six units of tomatoes, or one each of six different kinds of veggies). Shareplus does not effect regular membership in any way, and it represents a risk in just the way that regular membership does (i.e., if corn fails, you will not get any). When/if these crops become ready, the farm delivers special boxes of these units to the distribution site, to be picked up by members when they pick up their regular share. If you're not there to get your Shareplus stuff, it goes to the food pantry. Shareplus is a lot of extra work for the distribution and site coordinators, since we call everyone before their stuff is coming in (in NYC, we have 25 members who subscribe to the Shareplus option). It does, however, provide the farm with a little extra income, gives the farm some leeway in harvesting the Shareplus crops (all of which are also part of the regular share) and allows members to extend the season by putting food by. This year, we also started selling beef and pork shares to members who were interested (there were one-time deliveries of large, frozen parcels); all of the animals were raised on the farm for their manure (cattle) or for their ability to demolish lots of compost (pigs) and were slaughtered when they were no longer fulfilling their primary function in an efficient manner. Like Shareplus, the beef and pork shares were offered as an option at an extra expense to members who were interested. >What types of social interactions or functions help support the farm >community? In NYC, we have two potlucks/meetings per year for our members. At the other sites, they have monthly potlucks, but no formal meetings. There are also two festivals at the farm each year: one in the early summer (strawberry time of year) and one in the fall. Generally, the festivals have themes (like sustainability or artists in our community) and they are organized by members and/or core groupies from each site on a rotating basis. In addition, each site gets a weekly note from the farmer with recipies on the back that give inspiration for any weird veggies we're getting that week (like celeriac). And we have a monthly farm-wide newsletter that is edited by a core group member in Albany, but always contains contributions from each site. >What are some unique qualities of your farm? Can you send us your >brochure? There are many unique qualities to our farm, not the least of which is the fact that we have a superb grower and a number of committed, creative core groupies and members. In NYC, we don't even have a brochure anymore. But I can see if one of our other sites has an extra. > >I'm glad you >are so willing to help others. Thanks. No problem -- you're very welcome. Is Lamspon Brook Farm located in western Mass? If so, have you contacted any of the farms in your area (such as Caretaker)? And how many members have you got? Sarah Milstein Core Group, Roxbury Biodynamic Farm 227 W. 20th St. #4C New York, NY 10011 212/645.9191 milstein@pipeline.com From milstein@pipeline.comWed Nov 29 01:15:57 1995 Date: Sun, 26 Nov 1995 00:58:18 -0500 From: sarah milstein To: Intergalactic Garage Cc: sanet-mg@amani.ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Re: BD CSA On Nov 24, 1995 07:50:16, 'igg@intrepid.net (Intergalactic Garage)' wrote: > >I am working on starting a BD CSA to service the Washington DC area. Great! > >I have lots of questions to ask you, if you don't mind. > Ask away -- I'll be thrilled if I can provide some useful answers. >The first two would be 'On what date do you have your planning meeting for >the following season We have a series of planning meetings involving the farmer, the core groups (our farm includes three separate core groups -- one for each of the three areas to which the farm delivers) and the members. So when you say "planning for the following season," do you mean: when does the farm plan what to grow (the farmer decides this over the course of the current season)? when do we decide how many shares will be offered and what the share price will be (we have a budget meeting in early November)? or when do we meet with the members to discuss any changes (we offer the shares in early December)? I'd be happy to elaborate on any of those processes... >and how to you 'advertise' for members' In NYC, we get members by word of mouth and by people walking into our distribution area (a church courtyard) off the street, so we don't really need to "advertise" per se at this point. At our other sites in the Capital District and in Columbia County, however, they make up one-page brochures that explain the concept of CSA and the specifics of Roxbury, and then they distribute the pamphlets at community sites such as churches, synogauges, schools, libraries, etc. (anywhere with a bulletin board, basically) and at local farmers' markets, where the customers are already interested in fresh, local produce in season. They will also offer to do a presentation to a group of people (a book club, a bunch of Rotarians, whomever). I don't know if anyone has done this for Roxbury, but in a small community, a local newspaper might be a good spot for an ad. Bottom line: an excellent way to build a true "community" for your CSA is to have the existing members bring on their friends. The SERIOUS drawback to this method is that you wind up with a fairly homogeneous group (so while CSA is not about growing veggies for educated, upper-middle class folks, it can be hard to diversify). We're grappling with this problem continuously. the second >would be 'How large of a permanent paid staff does the grower have' > The farmer and his wife draw a salary from the CSA budget (of course, everyone's salary comes from the CSA budget); there is one 2/3-time person who co-ordinates deliveries with the sites and does some field work; there is one permanent part-time worker who does some field work and some office work. In addition, the budget allows for up to three full-time apprentices who each receive a stipend ($250 -$500/month, DOE), plus produce, a food allowance and housing (a farm building has been converted specifically for apprentice housing). Last year, there were two apprentices, this year there were three, next year there will be at least two. If you were to use migrant labor rather than apprenitces, your work distribution might be a little different. >I'm the WWW master of the BD Association home page. If you would like your >CSA mentioned there - with a write up of your own - please let me know and >email me all the materials. I've been meaning to get over there and look -- once I do, I'll give you our info. > >Did you make it to Santa Fe? We did and will never be the same! A >wonderful, inspiriing, educational event! > Unfortunately, I was unable to attend. But I'm very much looking forward to the Kimberton conference. Feel free to ask me more questions or have me clarify my answers. Sarah Milstein