We’ve shared a lot of farm share posts in the past. In those posts you’ll find a variety of meal ideas and recipes. In fact, all of the images in this post come from previous farm share posts.

Alright veggie-loving locavores, you know what time it is, right? It’s pick-your-farm-share time!

Read on to get some help with picking your share AND to hear about a new company that may make the whole farm-share experience more personal and easy to navigate. 

Farm Share 101

Farm shares/CSAs are a farming business model where consumers are asked to sign-up and pay for their produce at the beginning of the growing season. The farmers use the investments from their customers to pay for the variety of costs they have to run their farm over the course of the growing season – anything from seeds and fertilizers to irrigation and labor costs. Then, throughout the growing season, everyone who has paid for a share in the farm receives fresh produce as it’s harvested. The share composition will change throughout the growing season as different crops go in and out of season.

If you’re still having trouble conceptualizing a farm share, read this post for more info and an example of how I used a month’s worth of farm-fresh food (or check out my quick description below). Once you’re done with that post, we have a whole series of farm share posts full of the most mouth-watering meals. And, holy cow, I can’t wait for this year’s share to start.

How to Pick a Farm?

Choosing a farm and making this season-long commitment can seem a bit overwhelming. Farm shares have grown in popularity over the past few years/decades. This is obviously awesome and amazing for all of the small-scale farmers that are able to succeed with this business model and for all of the customers receiving fresh and local produce.

Depending upon your location, you may be blessed with the burden of too many choices. Here are a few important items to consider.

… in writing this post, I’ve come to realize that picking a farm share is a bit like reading a choose-your-own adventure book. This year you may come to one conclusion, next year you may end up with a whole different ending farmer.

Is a farm share for you?

First let’s figure out if you should just skip the share and frolic through your local farmer’s market instead.

• Are there farm share options in your area? No. Then the share option is not for you, skip ahead to your local farmers market and get your fresh veggies there.
• What are your eating habits? Signing up for a farm share is making a commitment to eat a certain quantity of veggies in a given period of time. No one feels good about wasting food. For some people this is a given, and they have no problem working through their share. Other people use the share to challenge themselves to eat more veggies and eat a greater variety of things. If neither of those options sound like you, then why are you reading this post? JK, maybe you’re entertaining the idea of adding more greens to your diet? Spend this summer investing in your farmers market and then join a share next year.

If there are farm shares in your area and you’re excited about consuming a variety of veggies throughout the summer, then congrats, you’re on your way to farm-fresh goodness. Go to the next section for some help with picking a share.

How to Find Farms?

So, maybe a farm share is for you. But, how do you find the farms?

Are you sitting in front of a computer? If you’re reading this, I’m guessing yes. Do a quick google search for farm shares in your area. Hopefully a few will come up. If so, use that as your starting point.

Another great strategy is to hit up your farmers market and ask around. As the different stands if they offer shares. You could even ask the market director if they know about farms in the area offering shares (they may know more farms than are at the market).

Look for farm share or CSA fairs. Farm shares are a big deal in my area. There are many farms offering shares, no two are alike, and it can be really hard to both know what all of your options are and know which farm is right for you. Fortunately, our farmers market organized a CSA fair (at a local brewery, because life is awesome in Boulder). I went to the fair this year, and it was a really great opportunity to talk to a bunch of farmers and learn about what each one was offering. At the very bottom of this post I talk which farm I chose, and why (it has to do with that new technology that I mentioned at the start of this post!).

And definitely try word-of-mouth. Strike up a conversation with friends and at work. You never know where you’ll find the inside scoop.

Now that you have your list, which share will you pick?

Which Share?

Depending upon your location, again you may be blessed with an abundance of shares. Hopefully the points in this section will help you whittle that list down until you have just a few shares to choose from.

• LOCATION: Where are the pick-up locations for the farm? This will vary by farm, so you’ll have to do some research. Some farms bring their shares to one central location (a weekend farmers market is common). Other farms will offer a number of different locations (it’s common to use a farm-share member’s house or a large parking lot as a pick-up location). Other farms may deliver directly to your door (this may be offered at an additional price). Other farms may have you come to the farm to pick up your share. Look for farms with feasible pickup locations, keeping in mind that if you have to drive too far or out of your way, then the share may become an inconvenience.

• TIMES: In addition to specific pick-up locations, there may be a limited window during which you can pick up your share. For example, if you have to pick it up at the weekend farmers market. Are you awake and home during the Saturday morning market? Other locations may have a longer time-frame in which to get your share (maybe you can stop by the farm any time on a given day?). Whatever the time is, make sure that it fits your schedule. There’s nothing worse than missing a pick-up and not getting your share in a given week.

• DELIVERY FREQUENCY: Most shares are weekly, but some farms will offer a bi-weekly option. Knowing what a farm offers may make your decision easier. The bi-weekly option can be great for a number of reasons (for example, if you travel a lot or are concerned about coming up with meals and minimizing food waste from a weekly delivery).

• COMMUNICATION: This may be a hard item to know without some trial and error, but it’s a much nicer experience when communication with the farm is easy. Some things to think about (without suggesting that any one point is better than another): Are they a small operation that seems to know their shareholders? Do they seem tech-savvy with a website, other forms of social media, and quick response times to email? Do they use a service that helps with communication and scheduling (see more on this below)?

• FOOD OPTIONS: Farm shares have started to offer a lot more than produce, although just produce is great too. Some shares will partner with other farmers and businesses to offer add-on options such as: eggs, meats, coffee, dairy products (cheese, yogurt, etc), mushrooms, fruit, etc. If you’re interested in items beyond produce, it’s worth asking the farmers if they partner with other farms to expand their offerings.

• WORKSHARE & PAYMENT OPTIONS: If you don’t have the funds to pay a few hundred dollars at the beginning of the season, don’t be deterred. Some farms offer payment option. You pay some portion of the cost when you sign up and then have a few scheduled payments throughout the summer. Some farms also offer a reduced price if you commit to working a certain number of hours throughout the season.

• FARM EXPERIENCE: Finally, one of the biggest benefits of buying from a local farm is the experience of getting to know your farmer and the people that are working hard to grow your food and bring it to you. Some farms make an event of their weekly pick-up days at the farm. Many farms offer a shareholder dinners throughout the growing season (sometimes this is potluck style, other times it is an additional fee for a dinner that is prepared for you). Some farms have volunteer days at the farm, a memorable example is the morning that Sarah and I helped with a sweet potato harvest.

Something New: HARVIE

As I mentioned, I picked my farm when attending a local CSA fair. At the fair, I was prepared with a metal list of my priorities and “bonuses”. For me this listed wasn’t very long, because I’m not super picky.

First the priorities: I wanted a pick-up location on my end of town (but this was flexible if I really loved the farm) with mid-week pickup times (so that I didn’t have to worry about being in town on weekends). I wanted a variety of veggies, and a few add-ons like eggs, dairy, and mushrooms were bonuses.

Now the bonus, and it’s a tough one: I spend a big chunk of time out of town every summer (it’s that month when we’re at the beach). I would casually bring it up this “month away” with farms that I was interested in to see if they had any options or flexibility within their share. In past years, Calder can use some of that produce, but over the course of a month, weekly deliveries can be overwhelming for one person. Fortunately, one farm had the perfect option: the option to reschedule the weeks that I’m away!

So, that’s the farm that I went with. They have this option partly because they are working with a new-ish tech company called HARVIE that is helping farmers to improve the user-end experience of signing up and using farm shares.  Harvie is based out of Pittsburgh, and lucky for our PA readers, they are already working with a bunch of farms in that state (from Pittsburgh to State College to Harrisburg to Allentown to Philly… so many farms)! And beyond PA, they’ve branched out to farms in a number of other states.

Through the Harvie website, you can sign up for a farmshare, and then use their customize features to help with things like picking the veggies you like best, scheduling or rescheduling pick-ups, etc.

And finally, if you are thinking about signing up for a share, and want to do it through Harvie, then I have code that will give you $25 towards extra add-ons for your share. For example, my farm offers “preserving shares” as an add-on item; these are large boxes of a single item, such as tomatoes, that are perfect for preserving when they’re ripe. I think the add-on items may vary by farm. If you’re interested in that bonus, click here.

The End

… or is this just the beginning?

This is my first year using an secondary service to help manage my share, but I have high hopes that this service works smoothly for rescheduling my shares during that month when I’m away. Either way, I’ll be sure to let you know.

And, get ready, because now that our farm is picked, I’m counting down the days to that first pick-up, and I can’t wait to start sharing a whole new list of farm share-tailored menus with you.