The Greensgrow Winter CSA 2011-2012

The Winter CSA is full for this year-sign up for the Summer CSA starts February 13th! Eating locally doesn't have to stop when the summer season ends: you can support local farmers and producers while reducing your carbon footprint all winter long. Stay tuned for the Summer 2012 CSA, sign up starts in March. Sign up for our newsletter and friend us on facebook to get the latest CSA updates and news from the farm.

How is the Winter CSA different from the Summer CSA?
If you've participated in our summertime CSA before, you know that summer members receive weekly shares of seasonal produce, plus a local cheese and the choice of one additional dairy item. In the winter, members pick up a share every other Saturday (with a three week break in there for the late December holidays) from early December through mid-April. There are no half shares for the winter CSA, nor is there a work share option. That doesn't mean your choices are limited, though: we offer shares that include meat, no meat, and additional produce, or vegan items in the Winter CSA.

Members receive an email newsletter full of info about the items in the share, recipes, Greensgrow news, and other useful tips. As always, we make it our mission to grow and gather a selection of the best produce and local food items from within 150 miles of our fair city for each share!

Meat vs. Veggie vs. Vegan Shares
Winter CSA members can choose between a meat share, a vegetarian share, and a vegan share. In the meat share, members will receive 4-6 produce items, two dairy items, a cheese, and a meat. Vegetarian members will receive 2-3 additional veggies and locally-produced treats in place of meat. Vegan members will have the option of swapping dairy items for more veggies or kosher organic tofu in place of their cheese and dairy items, and we provide local soy milk as part of the share for members who don't do dairy.

What's in the share?
Fall crops like apples, winter squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, cabbage, parsnips, beets, and other tubers; greenhouse-grown microgreens and lettuces; local mushrooms; and crops like kale, Swiss chard, and fennel grown in our own high tunnels. Meat shares receive a local meat item each week - like a pound of Country Time Farms bacon, Landisdale Farm hormone-free ground beef, or Griggstown Quail Farm's chicken sausages. Rounding out the share are local milk (at each pickup) and a choice of yogurt, butter, or eggs (choose one at each pickup); local cheese; Greensgrow-made summer preserves like strawberry jam and dill pickles; and items from favorite Philly-area producers like Metropolitan Bread, Fruitwood Orchards honey, and Bobbi's Hummus.

Check out a sample share based on last winter's CSA:
Produce: 2 lbs. Jonagold Apples, 4 oz. Pea Shoots, 1 Head Butter Lettuce, 1 lb. Organic Carrots, 2 Focaccia Rolls
Cheese: 1 log Allegheny Chevre
Dairy: ½ Gallon Milk, Choice of Dozen Eggs, 2 6-oz. Yogurts, or Butter
Meat Shares: 1 lb. Smoked Turkey, Koch's Turkey Farm
Veg Shares: 2 lb. Cranberry Potatoes, 1 lb. Purple Radishes, ½ lb. Shiitake or Oyster Mushrooms

Has anything changed since last winter?
Yes, and for the better, we think! Our members loved Trickling Springs Creamery's milk so much last year that we're including it with every pickup. Members will send in their milk preference (whole, 2%, skim, or soy) via email the week before the pickup.

Last year's winter CSA members were the first to experience the Winter CSA with returnable half-gallon milk bottles. The response was overwhelmingly positive -- members said they liked the flavor and sustain-able packaging better than plastic. However, Greensgrow pays a $2 deposit on each glass bottle we bring in for the CSA. That means that this year, we're charging a $20 refundable deposit for each share. If you bring your bottles back every week, you'll get your $20 back at the end of the season. This way, we're not losing money bringing this delicious sustainable dairy to our members. In the event of a lost or broken bottle, we will deduct $2 from your deposit. We will track returned bottles and keep accounts up to date.

Another slight change from last year: Since we're distributing milk with each share, we're offering the choice of butter, eggs, or yogurt for your other dairy item. This offers members a little more flexibility from pickup to pickup. So at each pickup, members will receive one half-gallon of milk and their choice of one of the other three dairy items in the CSA fridge.

What does it cost?
The price of a winter share is $400, which works out to $40 per pickup, plus $20 refundable bottle deposit which is due with the first payment. Members can pay in full ($420) when they send in their applications or in installments, ($220) payable with their application and then again in February ($200). We accept payments in cash, checks, or money orders (payable to Greensgrow Farms). There are no half share or work share option for the Winter CSA. We do not accept credit cards for CSA payments.

When and where are pickups?
Members pick up their winter shares at the farm, 2501 E. Cumberland St. in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood. Pickups are Saturdays from 10am-2pm - no exceptions! - and take place in our warm, toasty greenhouse (complete with complimentary coffee and juice). Members will also have the opportunity to pre-order additional items like yogurt, milk, bread, and mushrooms to purchase at our seasonal farmstand, which will be held during each pickup and is open to the public.

All pickup dates are Saturdays from 10am-2pm. This winter's pickup dates are as follows:
December 3 and 17, 2011 • January 7 and 21, 2012 • February 4 and 18, 2012 • March 3, 17, and 31, 2012 • April 14, 2012

What about winter weather?
As we all know, winter weather and fresh vegetables don't always go well together - no matter how many greenhouses we have, a cloudy day or a blanket of snow can make or break a scheduled harvest. In the event of crop failure, Greensgrow's CSA will make up any lost items in future pickups. In the event that weather conditions are unsafe to hold a pickup, we will reschedule or make up lost items for future pickups (but the weather has to be pretty brutal for that to happen).

Thank You for Supporting Greensgrow and Local Farms All Year Round!