What is community supported agriculture?

What is CSA?

C–Community S–Supporting A–Agriculture

CSA is a mutually beneficial relationship between individuals, families and farmers. CSA members (farm supporters), purchase a Season’s worth of home grown vegetables, produce and fruit delivered to a neighborhood drop off location, their workplace or their home. The members register and pay in advance for their CSA share or they may use the payment plan offered by the farm. Their purchase of a CSA share helps the farmers with operating costs prior to and throughout the season. In exchange for this, farm supporters receive a weekly delivery at harvest time of the farm’s bounty for a definite number of weeks. The 2023 season is for 20 weeks, with a goal to begin deliveries in mid May. Our supporters value eating fresh, nutritious food grown close to home, and our farm is committed to offering our CSA members the very best locally grown food available.

DOING GOOD…CLOSE TO HOME

Doe Run Farms is proud to be able to give back to communities where we deliver shares. We are pleased to donate fresh, homegrown produce and vegetables during our growing season, to various organizations that help feed people and provide food security. Manna House in Huntsville, Alabama is one of our main benefactors.

These food donations have improved the health and well being of members of the community by providing access to healthy fruits and vegetables to those in need, who may otherwise go without.

Why purchase a weekly farm box from Doe Run Farms?

The food in your CSA share comes from our farm and a select group of small southern Tennessee and northern Alabama partner farms. We are dedicated to using safe and sustainable practices on our farms to grow delicious, healthy and nutritious food. Our farm partners were chosen based on their expertise in growing specific crops, and their ability to help our farm to provide premium quality food for our CSA members consistently throughout the season. 2023 marks our 18th year of CSA from Doe Run Farms.

Some of the benefits of joining:

Traveling this summer? If you know you will be traveling, you can receive credit for missed shares with advance notice to the farm. Up to three weeks credit is offered to protect your investment. Every one registered for CSA receives the CSA GUIDE which will be sent to your email inbox a week or two before deliveries begin. Please become familiar with the Guide.
Shareholder Bonus! We will be bringing back our freebies this season! Customize your box with extras from the “freebie boxes” that are delivered to public pick up locations and workplaces. What are freebies? Once the harvest season is in full swing, we send any vegetables, produce or fruit left over after packing our boxes on delivery days to our delivery locations. Help yourself to more of your favorites if you are so inclined.

You may change your pick up location during the delivery season if the need arises. You are not confined to one location. We have many convenient pick up locations. We ask that you give us 48 hour notice to change your location.

Pay for your CSA share using our easy Payment Plan. There is a 4% charge for the convenience of using the payment plan. This charge is spread over the 4 payments of the payment plan. The charge goes toward administering the plan for the 20 weeks of CSA.

Major credit cards are accepted for payment. You are not charged a fee for using your credit card to pay in full for your share.

Workplace delivery – If you’d like us to deliver to your workplace, get a group together, get an ok for us to make the deliveries, and we’ll will bring your boxes to your workplace! It only takes a few minutes for delivery and we don’t need to come into your building to deliver to the company/business. We deliver to small offices as well as corporations. Call or email for more information. Convenient and time saving for employees.

Home Deliveries: Available to single family homes within our delivery areas. (no condos or apartments). Email the farm to see if your address is within our delivery area. You do not have to be home for delivery.

Your favorites such as tomatoes, green beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, okra, and peaches will be available to buy through our Country Store in boxes or baskets, come mid July. Enjoy the taste of summer all winter long by dehydrating, freezing or canning when things are at their peak in summer.

The deadline to order from the Country Store is the Sunday night before your next delivery. Your items will be delivered along with your weekly box.

WONDERING IF CSA IS RIGHT FOR YOU? If you eat out most meals, travel a lot, or if by your own admission you are a “picky” eater that doesn’t care for vegetables, then a weekly CSA share is not a good fit for you. But, if you’re interested in (1) improving your overall health and well being as well as that of your family (2) you enjoy home cooked meals along with an occasional meal out, and you are open to trying something new now and then, (3) you prefer to eat “locally grown” food as much as possible because you believe it is not only healthier, fresher, and just tastes better, chances are good that a weekly farm box would make eating healthy fun!

I’m in, how do I register?

Visit our online country store to open an account and purchase your weekly farm box.

**Please print and retain a copy of your registration form to have on hand for reference.