Community-Supported Agriculture
What Is a CSA?
CSA stands for “community-supported agriculture.” A CSA is a community of members who support a farm, with the farmer and the members providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production.
Is it a real CSA? See this fun info-graphic!
How it works: Members generally buy their shares in advance, which helps cover the farmer’s costs of seeds, soil amendments, labor, etc., which all begin long before the harvest is ready. In return, once a week the members get a share of that week’s harvest (or every other week, with our biweekly shares). You can feel good that 100 percent of the food dollar goes straight to the farm, instead to middle-men. And, our food typically reaches your table within 24 hours of harvest, rather than sitting in a warehouse for weeks.
Your share purchase allows us to employ and educate interns, as well as continue to build the soil and improve our garden.
Joining a CSA is wonderful way to connect with the wisdom and healing benefits of eating in harmony with the seasons, and support the environment and small farmers. We try to care for the earth and are organic certified, as well!
Joining our CSA is also a way to give: we donate a portion of surplus produce to shelters and food banks, and individuals can purchase shares to be donated.
CSA Membership Offers Many Benefits:
- Seasonal organic produce picked at the peak of freshness
- Expanded food choices by offering new produce you might not have tried
- Sustainable farming practices working in harmony with the land
- Food grown locally, less dependent on fossil fuels than food shipped from another state (or country)
- Heirloom varieties that preserve genetic diversity
- Preservation of the direct, traditional connection between the farmer and the customer
- Education of aspiring farmers through our internship program
With each delivery, you can expect to receive 5-10 different items, farmer’s choice from what is ready for harvest that week. Full and bi-weekly shares receive 7-10 items with each delivery. The small shares receive 5-7 items weekly, while still getting to experience the diversity of produce throughout the season. For example: Full shares receive sweet peas and arugula each week mid-spring and small shares receive sweet peas one week and arugula the next, along with many other fresh spring garden gifts, like lettuce, beets, scallions and more.
- Full share = a generous bag every week of 7-10 seasonal items
- Small share= a generous bag every week of 5-7 seasonal items
- Biweekly share = a full bag, every other week
What We Grow
We strive to offer traditional favorites (such as tomatoes, green beans, and cucumbers) plus items that you may not have tried before (such as salad turnips, Asian greens, and garlic scapes). We plant several types of heirloom tomatoes (Cherokee Purple, Valencia and Brandywine, for example) and kale (lacinato, green curly, and red winter). Our lettuce comes in a rainbow of varieties and makes a beautiful salad. Below is a list of what we plan to include in your shares this year, roughly by season. Depending on the weather, spring items might flow into summer, or summer items ripen early, and so on.
Current Delivery Locations:
- District of Columbia
- Chevy Chase / NW (Morrison Street)
- Maryland
- Silver Spring (Hanover St.)
- Takoma Park (Sherman Ave.)
- Virginia
- Herndon
- Pennsylvania
- Warfordsburg – Farm of Peace
- West Virginia
- Berkeley Springs (Sunday at the Farmers Market))
Retail Sales:
- Berkeley Springs Farmer’s Market, Berkeley Springs, WV – Sundays 10 - 2 pm. April through November.
by Heart Light Digital