If You Could Get Everything You Eat at One Farm Stop, Would You?

In our existing beef & pork CSA renewal emails, which I originally drafted in 2020, I close with the sentence “Join us and give yourselves the peace of mind of knowing that our family will be feeding yours, no matter what craziness the rest of 2020 (and beyond) brings!”  At the end of 2021, I considered changing that phrase, thinking that the “craziness” of the world had calmed quite a bit.  But now it’s only been a few short months  and  yet we find ourselves with more uncertainty than ever before.  The need for a strong local food supply does not diminish.
Our “why” as farmers is to nourish our community, both nutritionally & spiritually, with the abundance that our farm generates. 
We are excited to offer a growing diversity of products, with new space (land & processing) available to add even more.  We want to continue to create & grow connections with the people we are feeding.
We are wrangling with the best means to make all of this available, to fill your needs & desires and to create a financially stable framework for our farm’s future.  Our family has been farming for over 300 years, and we farm today with the intention to continue for another 300. 

Which brings us to the concept of a whole diet, year round, free choice CSA membership model.

It’s a big concept.  What might that look like? Let me lay out some possibilities with the intention of gathering your feedback on how you’d like to see it work.

We would offer our members free choice access to everything our farm produces – and YOU choose what you take each week.  Your share could include our 100% grassfed dairy products, grassfed beef & pastured pork, and pastured eggs.  We could also offer seasonal vegetables, fruits, chicken, maple syrup, and grains/breads produced on our farm or sourced from other like-minded local farms. 

You in turn make a commitment to eating from one place, wholly & seasonally.  You are committing to supporting a small, sustainable family farm.  Can we completely replace the grocery store?  No. But the majority of your diet would be produced on our farm or farms nearby. 

What would the logistics look like?  A weekly window to come to the farm in Rock Stream and choose your meals for the week from our existing inventory.  A standing offer as farm members to enjoy the natural beauty of the farm, put your hands to work in the soil if you’d like, visit the animals.  Picking up at the farm opens up the possibility of offering raw milk in the share (in addition to our pasteurized options). 
You could also place a weekly pre-order, which we would then pack and deliver to your home or neighborhood. 
Pickup at the Ithaca or Trumansburg Farmers Markets or at our farm in Ovid is also possible. 

Pricing would be a flat monthly fee per person for all members of your household, with discounted rates for children and a sliding scale for those who need it.  Payment could be made annually, quarterly, or monthly. 

Please take a few moments to give us feedback on this concept, whether you are interested or equally important, not interested. If this is an idea you’d like us to move forward with, we need to know!

Cheers!
Sarah & Charlie, Lyle & Hannah  

PLEASE GIVE US FEEDBACK!