You may note the careful parsing of terms above “CSA and organic produce delivery organizations”. Why? Community Supported Agriculture, refers specifically to a system in which individuals buy “shares” in a local farm’s harvest for a year. In doing so, they pledge support for the local producer and by agreeing to share in some of the risk. Since consumers aren’t buying a fixed commodity at a fixed price, but instead buying a share of future crop, if the season goes well, they share the bounty, and if the season goes poorly they may receive less.
More so than the shared risk, for us the key element is the direct connection with the local producer. We won’t bore you this particular Sunday morning with one of our tiresome sermons on the value of buying from the local economies and the importance of supporting small farms. If you want that info, there are some interesting facts in this Sustainable Table article and there a ton of entertaining and inspirational TED talks on the theme of food. But as you consider how you buy your food, we encourage you to consider where it comes from, and what affect your decision can have on our community and our world.
Anyway, without further ado.
| Name | Pricing | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source of produce | ||||
| Wallingford Pick-up site | Frequency | Year-round | Custom | Hold |
| Full Circle | 4 box prices ranging from $23 – $45 / week. | |||
| A network of approximately 30 farms up and down the West Coast. | ||||
| Home delivery or 5% for pick-up | weekly | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tiny’s Organic | Multiple plans, see pricing guide | |||
| Tiny’s Organic Farm, WA. Tiny’s is within 100 miles of Seattle & is family-owned. | ||||
| Pick-up or $5 home delivery | weekly | June 11 – Nov 16 | No | No |
| New Root’s Organics | Personal Fruit, Veggie or Mix $29.50,Standard Fruit, Veggie or Mix $39.50 | |||
| WA, OR, CA, mix of direct from grower & wholesalers | ||||
| Home delivery | weekly | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Local Choice | Multiple plans, see pricing guide | |||
| Washington farms | ||||
| Home, office delivery / pick-up | weekly | June 17 – Dec 2 | Yes | Yes |
| Boistfort Valley Farm |
|
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| All summer share produce is grown on their farm, winter shares are supplemented by other local/regional organic farms. | ||||
| Pick-up in Fremont and Green Lake (no Wallingford) | Winter: monthly Summer/Fall: weekly |
Winter (Nov – May) Summer/Fall (mid June – Oct) |
No | Yes |
| Helsing Junction Farm | $20 – $37 / week | |||
| Their 50-acre farm in Rochester, WA. | ||||
| 62nd and Corliss | Weekly | Mid-June to mid-October | No | Yes |
| Helsing Junction Farm | $20 – $37 / week | |||
| Their 50-acre farm in Rochester, WA. | ||||
| 62nd and Corliss | Weekly | Mid-June to mid-October | No | Yes |
| Pacific Coast Harvest | $25 – $42 / week | |||
| Six Washington State farms. | ||||
| Home Delivery | Weekly | ? | Yes | ? |
| Oxbow Organic Farm | $630 for family share that generously feeds 4 people $420 for small share, plenty for 1-2 people or a family who gardens |
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| Everything in the box grown at Oxbow and harvested within 48 hours of delivery for super fresh, super nutritious & super tasty veg! Add-on Fruit share available. Outrageously-fun harvest party in October. | ||||
| Lower Wallingford | Weekly | June to mid-October | No | No |
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Pacific Coast Harvest (https://www.pacificcoastharvest.com) also delivers to Wallingford, and they’re wonderful.
Full Circle offers a great service, but undercuts the smaller farms. If you are aiming for a true CSA, go for one of the smaller farms that are feeling the pinch from Full Circle.
We bought a share from Tiny’s last year. We were disappointed in the quality and selection of the produce. Things started going moldy within a day or two, and there was often far too much of a single item to be used up within a week while “staples” like salad or cooking greens were lacking. They never responded to our feedback. This was totally unexpected given the quality of their produce at farmers markets.
Carolyn Boyle, owner of New Roots Organics, does a great, personalized weekly (or whenever) delivery of fabulous fruits and vegetables, fair trade coffee and regional honey as well. The weekly menu arrives on Friday morning via e-mail and the fresh, local-as-feasible produce gets delivered a few days later. Only accolades from this organic foodie family! Located in Frelard on Leary, look for the big beet.
Thanks, Kellie! I’ve added them.
We’ve been getting our box from New Roots for 4 months now, and we love them. The produce has been great and the staff are accomodating. We’re glad that we can substitute out certain items if we want, and we like getting our box delivered directly to our door.
To round out your form: PCH does go year-round, although in the winter they have been sourcing things from farther down the coast to fill out the boxes (Oregon, CA, the occasional item from Mexico.) In the summer it’s all local to WA state. They’ll also put your delivery on hold temporarily if you ask them to, and are accommodating of substitutions.
The young guys who run it are awesome! They’re great at customer service, and they are full of new ideas, some of which they are starting to set in motion this spring (such as an educational grow-your-own-seeds kit along with video updates from one of the local farmers who is growing the same produce!) They deliver late at night on Wednesdays, and finding the box full of beautiful veggies at the door makes every Thursday a little like veggie-christmas… which is why I refer to them as my “produce fairies.” I’ve been using their service since last summer and it is one of the best things I spend money on.
Hi Jordan, Did you know Seattle Tilth has a CSA? The produce is certified organic and our primary grower is our farmer training program located in Auburn, Seattle Tilth Farm Works; 20 weeks June-Oct. Pick up at 20 locations including the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford. $25-$35 a week for a half or full share, and we have lots of delicious add ons you can include. http://www.seattletilth.org/about/stcsa We’d love to be included in your great list!