CSA Project: A Fresh Path To Sustainability & Better Health

1. CSA Project:A Fresh Path ToSustainability & Better Health • January 29th, 2014

2. Did you know that organic vegetables are delivered fresh from the farm to your neighborhood?

3. What Is A CSA? • CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture • The concept was “imported” from Europe and started to take root in the United States in the 1980’s. • It’s a locavore system that creates a direct link between local farmers and consumers. • Rather than deliver produce through wholesalers and grocers, CSA members pay a fee in return for a share of a farm's harvest. Each week those shares are delivered to a local drop site for members to pick up.

4. Who Are We ... • Ploughshare Farm is a certified organic farm owned by Gary Brever and located 18 miles north of Alexandria, MN. • Gary Brever, Ploughshare Farm’s owner, is one of Minnesota’s leading authorities on organic farming.” 2012 MN Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year” Beyond being a frequent speaker and leader at organic farming conferences, Gary was one of two Minnesota farmers selected to go to Washington to discuss 2012 Farm legislation. He also was a recent, featured guest on Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s The Splendid Table. • Established in 2002 and named “Edible Twin Cities” Local Hero in the Best Farm / Farmer category. Ploughshare Farm has a long history of growing a wide variety of organic vegetables and some fruits on 160 acres of fertile soil bordering the Chippewa River in Central Minnesota. • Ploughshare delivers its locally-grown, freshly-picked produce straight from the farm to over 15 drop sites in the Twin Cities and along the western MN I-94 corridor. Members pick up their “share” at drop sites. Gary Brever, Owner Ploughshare Farm

5. Why Do Members Like Ploughshare? • “Fresh, organic vegetables just tastes better” Until you’ve tasted Ploughshare’s produce, you just won’t understand. Our vegetables are crisp, fresh, and deliciously flavorful vs. relatively bland, store-bought vegetables that are sometimes weeks old by the time you buy them. • “My share helps me eat MUCH healthier” Subscribing to a CSA gets you thinking about “what’s for dinner” totally differently.  Rather than vegetables being an afterthought, you start planning your meals based on what’s in your weekly share. It’s amazing how this small change gets you eating so much healthier! • “I feel more connected to nature” These days it’s easy to become totally out of sync with what eating local means.  After all, in a grocery store there are very few varieties of produce that aren’t available 365 days a year.  But eating local is not only good for the environment by reducing your carbon footprint, but it’s also good for you since your eating “ultra-fresh” food picked exactly when it ready vs. days or weeks in advance.

6. Why Do Members Like Ploughshare? (cont’d) • “I learn about new and different veggies” Do you ever feel like you’re in a food rut?  Subscribing to a CSA really helps you mix things up.  The days of just a salad or some broccoli as a side will be long gone. With something new in your box every week, you will become much more adventurous with your veggies. • “I like to support farming that’s gentler to our Earth” More and more people are concerned about the long-term consequences of pesticides, industrial fertilizers and genetically modified crops. Ploughshare Farm takes the worry out of eating and being kind to Mother Nature. • “Now I know my farmer” Knowing exactly where your food comes from is increasingly important to people. CSAs help connect people with farms like it used to be many years ago.

7. Is the Produce Really Organic? • Ploughshare Farm is Certified Organic • Ploughshare’s philosophy is all about healthy soil! • Healthy soil creates healthy food so the farm is focused on promoting ecological balance, cycling of resources, and conserving biodiversity to maintain healthy, nutrient rich soil that can in turn grown healthy, nutrient rich food. • What does this really mean? • No synthetic pesticides • No sewage sludge • No irradiation • No GMOs • Investing in an elaborate cover cropping schedule by growing crops like alfalfa, buckwheat, and oats and turning them back into the ground.

8. Summer Share Options • Ploughshare Farm offers TWO different summer share options: • Full Summer Share • 10-15 kinds of fresh organically grown vegetables, fruits, and herbs • The share will vary in size, growing from around 7-12 lbs. in the spring to well over 25 lbs. in the late summer and early fall • 17-18 weeks of produce. • Generously feeds two people on vegetarian diet or a family of four with mixed diets. • Cost: $685 or just over $38 per delivery, a HUGE value compared to buying organic produce in the store. • Mini Summer Share • 6-8 kinds of fresh organically grown vegetables, fruits, and herbs • The share will vary in size from early summer to fall, but Mini Shares are typically 50-60% the size of a Full Share • 17-18 weeks of produce • Perfect for smaller families or families wanting to try out a CSA and dabble with healthier, organic living. • Cost: $550 or just over $30 per delivery, a HUGE value compared to buying organic produce in the store.

9. What’s In Your Weekly Share? • It varies from week to week, and it’s determined by what’s in season:

10. What’s Needed To Set Up a Site? • Ploughshare Farm needs at least 15 shares (full or mini) to establish a site at your building. • Commitment: Shares need to be paid for upfront by the beginning of the season ($685 or $550) • This a commitment for you/ your family, your health, and your finances. • Suitable Location

11. Recipe For a Suitable Location • Convenient access for delivery is essential for our delivery personnel. Since we have many deliveries to make each week along our route, we need each drop to be very time efficient. Locations with elevators or a long carting distance may require more members to be considered. • Adequate space for delivery boxes is also very important. We prefer to have a minimum accessible floor space area of 2 by 6 feet for the boxes to be stacked for our smallest sites, and a larger square footage for our larger sites. Generally speaking, our sites work best that have an area to stack the boxes at about one square foot per member share. The area should also be out of the weather and sun, air conditioned if possible, and easily accessible with minimum need for handling by the host site. In a business or office setting, a location near the front desk or lobby, or a accessible service area works well. • Convenient pick up time options are necessary so members can easily get their shares. In workplaces this typically isn’t an issue since shares are picked up during the regular workplace hours. • An on-site coordinator is crucial to help manage the drop site and coordinate communications from the farm to members. This requires MINIMAL effort and will NOT take away from this individuals duties in your organization.

12. Questions?