About CSA | Subscription Details | Sample Boxes & Feedback

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About CSA

What is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?
Community Supported Agriculture is a local community supporting local agriculture.  A local farm offers prepaid subscriptions or shares for a weekly box of fresh organic vegetables.  The community wins because local people receive high quality food grown closer to home.  The food is picked fresh and ripe and not transported long distances to reach your table.  This means higher quality food for you and less fuel spent getting it to you.  The farm wins because prepaid subscriptions help reduce the risk of farming.  A prepaid subscription is your investment in our farm. This agreement is the foundation of a CSA program.

What are the Advantages of Purchasing a Subscription for a Weekly Box?
The most important advantage is the quality of food you receive. The vegetables that go in the boxes are picked the night before or day of the pickup or delivery. Unless you are growing yourself, you can't get anything fresher. We follow organic growing practices so your food is NEVER sprayed with harmful chemicals of any kind. In our own household, we prepare 95% of our meals. We know what it means to have fresh, high quality ingredients and the difference it makes in nutrition and flavor. Your boxes are filled with tomatoes that have ripened on the vine and potatoes that have just been dug. What a difference that makes! Each week the box will contain a newsletter telling you the activities and happenings on the farm. It will also include a list of what is in the box, preparation ideas and delicious recipes using ingredients from your box that week.

New this year is the online Vegetable Reference Guide. This guide will will include a description of each vegetable and herb we plan to include in the weekly boxes. It will give you advice on storage, preparation insstructions and valuable nutrition information. If you are ever in doubt about what a vegetable is or how to keep it fresh, you will always have the online reference guide to help you.

Another advantage of purchasing a weekly box is your investment in a locally owned sustainable farm who is not contributing harmful chemicals to the environment. Our goal is to use growing practices that are in harmony with the soil, wildlife, water, and air. Your investment in our farm allows us to continue producing high quality food that bears no burden on our environment. It keeps the earth clean and your food local: just where it belongs!

Vegetable Reference Guide

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Subscription Details

How much quantity and variety will I receive in a box?
Our weekly boxes are a half bushel and we aim for no less than 6-7 items in each box. Variety depends on time of the season and we choose what goes in the box each week. Flexibility is very important as you will most likely receive vegetables you have never prepared or eaten before. We do provide a weekly newsletter that will describe each vegetable you receive and give preparation/storage instructions. Boxes start out in June with less variety due to cooler temperatures. Early boxes contain lots of greens, radishes, green onions, cabbage and broccoli. By July and August, you will see tomatoes, peppers, beans, fresh basil, summer squash and more. Quantity is for fresh eating from week to week. It is not our intention to provide enough to can or freeze. Weekly box examples from 2006 are provided below.

When Does the Program Begin and End?
The subscription begins the first week of June and runs through mid-October, lasting a total of 20 weeks.

What If I Need to Miss a Box?
You need to notify us before we deliver your box that you are canceling. Once the box is delivered, it is your responsibility to pick it up. If, however, you notify us ahead of time, you do have the option of making up the missed box in another week. You can take 2 boxes in one week or have a friend pick up while you are away. For returning customers – there is no longer a makeup box at the end of the season. Missed boxes must be made up during the regular 20 week subscription period.

Delivery or Pickup Options
Our weekly boxes will be available for pickup at the farm on Wednesdays from 1-6 p.m.  We also have drop spots in Peoria Heights at the Options Center located on Prospect, the Peoria Montessori School located on War Memorial & Sheridan, and the Naperville Farmer's Market on Saturdays. 

How Do I Subscribe?
Subscriptions for a weekly box of vegetables are available until sold out. Subscriptions can be purchased online or by sending payment directly to Broad Branch Farm, Ltd. at:

Rural Route 1, Box 44
Wyoming, Illinois 61491

Cost For a Weekly Box
Our price for the weekly box for 2008 is $400 for 20 weeks of produce.

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Sample Boxes and Feedback

Weekly Box Examples From 2007
It's very helpful to see actual examples of boxes we provided in 2007. Keep in mind that you receive a box every week so it's important to enjoy your food on a daily basis so you're ready for the next one. Click here to view the 2007 newsletters included in each weekly box. Newsletters provide more detail regarding the list of vegetables in the box, recipes, and farm happenings.


Week 2
Lettuce Blend
Spinach
Baby Greens Mix
Garlic Scapes
Radishes

Week 8
Carrots OR Kohlrabi
Bok Choy
Potatoes
Slicing Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Salad Mix
Chives

Week 14
Cherry Tomatoes
‘Juliet’ Tomatoes
Garlic
Eggplant var. ‘Nadia’
Broccoli OR Patty Pan Summer Squash
Sweet Peppers
Fresh Basil

Week 20
Greens Mix
Fennel Bulb
Parsley
Tomatoes
Onions var. ‘Copra’
Sweet Peppers
Green Onions

Feedback
The last 2 growing seasons have been challenging with less than normal rainfall that has stressed the garden. Despite these adverse conditions, we continue to receive positive comments. These comments are a direct result of our customers eating very fresh, flavorful, nutritious organic food –REAL FOOD! What a difference from those flat tasting limp store bought vegetables. There’s absolutely no comparison and our customers tell us we “spoil” them.

“Wow! That was the best spinach I’ve ever had – that Wyoming soil!!! It lasted through yesterday and tasted as fresh as 9 days ago.”

“Just a quick note to say how much I'm LOVING my weekly boxes. It’s so much fun seeing what will come each week, and it is all so incredibly delicious. I can't recall when, if ever, I've eaten a turnip cooked, much less raw, but I followed your advice and I'm eating them raw like apples. Fantastic!!! And what amazing parsley -- I put it in an omelette and it was fabulous. I can't wait till next week's box!!”

“I just wanted to tell you how wonderful Wednesdays are. You have probably heard this a thousand times - - but your vegetables are awesome. I am always in a good mood on Wednesday, cause I know my vegetables are coming.”

“It's 10 degrees on a dark winter evening, but I'm fixing fresh, dark-green locally-grown organic broccoli for dinner!
Thank you. We're glad there are people in the world like you.”

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