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Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), was pioneered by biodynamic farmers bringing European biodynamic farming ideas to the United States in the early 1980’s. CSA programs at their core create a direct link between farms and people. One of the earliest CSA programs in the United States, and still operating today, was created on the Temple-Wilton Community Farm located in Wilton New Hampshire. We consider it a privilege to continue this New Hampshire tradition.

Our crops are picked at their peak, often times within a day or two of when they are made available in our market. Our crops are nutrient rich and taste better as there is a short interval between our harvest and your table. By purchasing our crops, you help maintain our farm and your support is reinvested within our shared community. As a CSA member you will likely eat more servings of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as experience a greater variety of foods. You also help promote a safer food supply as the more steps that exist between you and your food, the higher the risk for contamination. Please check out the FAQ link for specific information on our CSA.

We are currently enrolling customers for our Autumn CSA which starts mid-October and runs for 20 weeks ending in December.

One of the good things about the Sweet Hill Farm CSA is that there is no long-term financial commitment. We don’t look for up front payment as each week you merely login to your member account and submit your payment through our secure credit card processing system. If you feel it more appropriate to shop every other week you can. You are also free to add anything we have available in the farm market to your weekly CSA. Our online system has real-time availability. For example if you want us to add cheese, jam, crackers etc. we will gladly package this for you and have it ready along with your CSA share.

The Sweet Hill Farm CSA program design is based on our own experience as CSA members and interviews with other farmers operating their own CSA programs. In our design we have tried to balance the available farm resources with the needs of all those who support the farm.

We hope you will join and we look forward to sharing with you all we grow here at Sweet Hill Farm.

Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

CSA HOME

CSA FAQ

 

  • What size CSA shares do you offer?

    We offer two CSA share size options. Our large shares will supply four to five people with a week of fresh produce and we include anywhere from 10 to 14 different items. Our small shares will supply two to three people with a week of fresh produce and we include anywhere from 8 to 12 different items.

  • What type of CSA options do you offer?

    We offer two CSA program options; the Market Option and the Traditional Option. Under the Traditional Option the farm selects that weeks offerings and other than items listed as choice options or items available at the Swap Table there are no available substitutions. The Market Option is more flexible as you select, from our available list those items you want in that weeks CSA box. Because the Market Option is more labor intensive we are limiting it to 25 members per season and only large shares (for Summer and Autumn). The Traditional Option, particularly over the Summer season is a long term commitment and may not be for everybody as the last thing we want is to create food waste. We suggest that anyone new to a CSA consider either our Market Option, opt for the smaller share size or join the Traditional Option with a family member, friend or neighbor.

  • What type of CSA programs do you offer?

    Spring CSA generally begins mid March and runs for 10 weeks through the end of May. The weekly cost is $20 and we only offer the small size share. The Spring CSA will have some good choices but nonetheless will have the least variety of produce from which to select your CSA share. We ask that anyone interested in enrolling in the Spring CSA do so by February 1st.

    Summer CSA generally begins the first week of June and runs for 20 weeks through mid October. The weekly cost is $30 for a large share and $20 for a small share. The Summer CSA will have the greatest variety of produce from which to select your CSA share. We ask that anyone interested in enrolling in the Summer CSA do so by May 1st.
    Autumn CSA generally begins mid October and runs for 11 weeks through the end of December. The weekly cost for a large share is $30 and $20 for a small share. We generally have many of the same items available as in the Summer CSA. We ask that anyone interested in enrolling in the Autumn CSA do so by September 1st.
    Winter CSA begins in January and runs for 11 weeks through mid March. The weekly cost is $20 and we only offer the small size share. We ask that anyone interested in enrolling in the Winter CSA do so by December 1st.

    Are there benefits to becoming a CSA member?
    Each CSA member will also enjoy a 10% CSA member discount against any purchase made in the Farm Market on his or her pick-up day. This includes any items purchased through the online market when you are placing your CSA order.

  • When do I have to order?

    Each week we will email each CSA member the list of available produce and those items to be included in the large and small shares for the week by Sunday at 6PM. You then must log-in to the CSA Member portal and select either CSA orders must be in by Tuesday at 3PM.

  • When do I pick-up my share?

    Pickups are on either Wednesday or Thursday from 2PM to 7PM. When you become a CSA member you will choose your pick-up day.

  • What is included in my weekly share?

    We select the fruits, herbs and vegetables that make up our CSA offerings based upon crop availability, peak freshness and customer demand as through experience and surveying customer preference we have learned which of these our customers prefer more frequently and those that they prefer less frequently. Generally speaking you will find our shares to be an excellent representation of the crops we are harvesting at that point in our season.

    We also have some general guidelines that we follow in designing our weekly offerings included in the Traditional Option
    We include herbs in every share that we match to the crops in that week’s offerings. We include lettuce and greens in every share but never the same green twice in a row
    Items we include frequently: tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, peppers, summer squash/zucchini, onions, fruit whenever available
    Items we include a lot but less frequently: garlic, root vegetables (beets, radishes, turnips) peas (snow or snap), beans, cole crops (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower), eggplant, melons, Swiss chard, kale, arugula, spinach, cherry tomatoes
    Items we include occasionally: fennel, hot peppers, tomatillos, husk cherries, kohlrabi, celery, celery root, garlic scapes, sweet corn, new potatoes, micro-greens
    Winter items. Pumpkin, butternut squash, winter squash onions, parsnips, carrots, beets, radishes, turnips, garlic, lettuce, Asian greens, spinach, arugula, micro greens, ginger, turmeric.
  • Do you plan to offer any other CSA programs?

    Beginning in the summer of 2021 we plan on creating meat, fish, dairy, eggs and cut flower CSA options.

  • What if there is something I do not like?

    Each week we will have fresh items on our Swap Table. If you see something you do not like in your weekly share you can swap it for something you may like at our Swap Table

  • Can I make additions to my CSA order?

    You are also free to add anything we have available in the farm market to your weekly CSA. Our online system has real-time availability. For example if you want us to add cheese, some jam, crackers etc. we will gladly package this for you and have it ready along with your CSA share.

    In addition to our CSA options we will have a weekly Farm Market Basket which will include a combination of that weeks fresh vegetables plus items from our farm market. These can be ordered on-line and will vary from season to season. We can also make up custom Farm Market Baskets for gifts and/or special occasions.
  • How do I enroll?

    If you are interested in becoming a Sweet Hill Farm CSA Member, sign up in the right sidebar or stop by the farm to join.