CSA Information and sign up for 2016

     CSA Starting to fill up, Meeting is not required to reserve your spot.  But we still would love to see you!

 
We offer a wide variety of vegetables each week that are all grown in accordance with national organic standards.  More info about our farm is on our website: www.gaininggroundfarm-nc.com
  
Examples of weekly boxes, Regular and Small, from years past are posted as you scroll through this blog.

Hey All Happy New Year!  We have been placing orders with seed companies, lining up fertilizer and potting soil shipments, and reviewing this past season.  We have been critical through the years of so many aspects of our business of growing food.  The way we have been operating the CSA has been a main topic of conversation this fall and winter.   The CSA model is very important to our farm and we want to improve on it.  It is a commitment on so many levels for both the farmer and the member.  We are changing some things about the membership this coming season in an effort to emphasize the Community aspect of CSA.  We have done well in the past with receiving your financial Support, and we have been getting better over the years with the Agriculture part of it.  We are changing other parts of the CSA in order to free us up from some of the stresses of paperwork so that we can focus on growing great food.

     2016 CSA Changes:

We want you to feel a connection to our farm and us a connection to you.  We feel that the best way to achieve this is by sharing the physical place/space with you.

All members are strongly encouraged to attend one meeting held at the farm before signing up.  We will have a meeting once per month until all of our shares are accounted for.  These meetings will be structured in order to keep it short and sweet, then with time to walk around. The first meeting will be at 3pm sharp on Sunday, January 24th.   Location of the meetings is 222 Sluder Branch Rd. (same location as the party last fall).  Many of you have been to the farm in the past, many have not.  A lot has changed and we want to show you where and how your food is grown.  We are proud of what we are doing here and want you to experience it as well.  The meetings will be a chance for us to hear concerns from members, show you around the farm, and meet face to face before the season gets started.

We will be opening the farm up to members every Thursday afternoon May thru October so that you can feel free to come out, bring a picnic and walk around the fields.  In order to make this work as a positive experience for all of us, we need you to come to one of the meetings and get an orientation. Come and get to know the lay of the land because we won't be available to show you around every Thursday.  (Thursday afternoon our interns have off so often it is the day when both Aaron and I are doing tractor work and catching up.) 

The 4th Thursday of every month we will be hosting a potluck.  Come and lets share the food that we collaborated on producing together.  
  
We will not be doing substitutions, or packing special boxes this year.  Instead, we will have an exchange box at market where members will be able to take something they want more of, and leave something that they do not desire.  Those of you with food intolerance/allergies will need to choose a market pick-up in order to utilize this system.

There will be 1 share size this year.  Slightly larger than the small share of years past and a bit smaller than the regular size.  This means that all boxes will include 7 to 10 types of vegetables per week picked at the height of their flavor and freshness.  The CSA will still be 22 weeks and the cost will be $375 ( $17/week).  This means that your box will contain at least $17 worth of veggies and often a good deal more.

We hope theses changes are something that works for you and that we can continue to grow food for you.  We hope that these changes make for a more meaningful experience for all of us.

CSA SHARE OPTIONS
We offer 1 share size for the 22 week main season share:

Full Season Share:
The box will include 7 to 10 types of vegetables each week.  It is difficult to say for certain how many people this will feed because everyone's eating habits are different.  Generally though, this will feed 2 adults and a child most of your vegetables for a week.
It last 22 weeks starting May 11 and ending October 5. (Saturday pick up starts May 14 and ends October8.)

Full season share $375

Extended Fall Share:
This share provides 5 boxes from October 12 thru November 9.  Fall crops include carrots, beets, leeks, spinach, greens, sweet potatoes, shallots, winter squash, Irish potatoes.  Most of the veggies in these boxes will store into the holiday season.  You can sign up for this now or in early fall.

Fall share: $120

Pick-Ups:
Wednesdays:
River Arts District Market, (All Souls Pizza Parking Lot, Clingman Ave)) 2 to 6 pm.
Catawba Brewery, (32 Banks Ave Downtown Asheville) 4 to 10 pm

Saturdays: (limited number of pick-ups)
North Asheville Market, (UNCA Campus) 8 am to noon

Payment:
     If you pay in full by February 15 with a check, you receive an early bird discount.  The price with discount is $360.

     Down payment of 1/2 the total is due upon registration.   Please include a contact number, email addresses for share members who want to be on the mailing list, a snail mail address, and pick-up preference with your payment!
Payment can be made by check to:

Gaining Ground Farm,
298 Sluder Branch Rd.
Leicester NC 28748


Thanks for supporting our farm and please feel free to email Anne at gainesground@gmail.com or call at 828-545-2362 with any questions!
                                       
                                     www.gaininggroundfarm-nc.com