Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Farm Share?
A Farm Share, or a CSA share, is a way to support a small scale vegetable farm. When you purchase a share, you become a member of the farm. As a member, you then pickup produce weekly based on the season.
Three Seasons
We have a 33 week share split into three 11 week seasons. Spring Shares begin on May 4 and end July 13. Summer shares run July 20 – September 28, and Fall shares go from October 5 – December 14. You can join any period you would like. If you have a garden, join us for just the Spring and Fall, if you have a big vacation in the Spring, then join us the other weeks. If you are new to a Farm Share, then start small with just a quarter share to see if it works for you. When you purchase one or more seasons together you save 10%!!!
What Size Share Should I Get?
We have three share sizes: We designed the Full Share for a household of four, the Half for two adults and the Quarter for one adult.
A Quarter share picks up a half share every other week.
We know that every household is different. Check out some of our example pickups to decide on the size that best fits your needs!
When Does My Share Start?
Spring shares begin May 4 and end July 13.
Summer shares begin July 20 and end September 28.
Fall shares begin Oct. 5 and end Dec. 14.
When is Pickup?
Pick Up is every Thursday from May-early December from 12-6:30pm at the Farmhouse. 1115 Leonard St. NE Grand Rapids MI, 49503. Pick up is located behind the house off of Herrick Street.
Food Safety
Your household’s safety is our top priority. We ensure that our employees are trained to follow proper safety protocol so your food is safe. With the new reality of the coronavirus we are being careful by following safe produce handling precautions. We will do a hybrid pick up option in 2022 offering a drive-thru CSA pick up and reopening our market-style pick up option. We will ensure that sick employees remain home, and we will be applying extra sanitizing measures to our washing procedures. We ask that our customers be extra diligent as well. Please sanitize your hands before you touch the produce if you choose to select produce via the market-style option, wash your hands after returning home, and please wash all produce at home a second time before using.
How Do I Choose?
Before COVID, our share pickup was set up like a farmer’s market. Customers would arrive and pick out vegetables according to a weekly list with approximately 8-12 choices. With our drive-thru pick up customers are sent an order form two days before pick up with choices that guide our employees in pre-bagging your share for you. We are instituting a hybrid model in 2022 where customers can either pre-order or arrive and do a market style pick up.
What Are U-Pick Items?
We harvest and wash all your produce except for Peas, Beans, and Cherry Tomatoes. When these crops are in season customers have a choice to pick up a smaller pre-picked quantity, or they can U-pick these items to get a larger quantity. For example, one choice for a full share could be: take 2 pints of pre-picked cherry tomatoes OR U-pick 2 quarts of cherry tomatoes.
How Do You Grow Your Veggies?
We grow your food 100% naturally! This means we grow your produce in nutrient dense compost enriched soil, supplemented with certified organic fertilizers. We manage pests through crop rotation with native plants and if necessary, we apply certified organic pesticides to fight off extra tough pests like Thrips or Potato Beetles. We also do not use GMO seeds, herbicides, synthetic pesticides, or synthetic fertilizers. However, we are not certified organic because it keeps our cost lower and eliminates any additional administrative responsibilities.