If you don’t see the answer to your question below, please feel free to contact us via email and we’ll respond as soon as we can.
What makes your Farm Shares different?
These aren’t your typical CSA produce shares – our shares contain a variety of prepared foods made from fresh ingredients from our farm and other local farms and from organic ingredients that we purchase in bulk. We will also provide some fresh produce in season – such as tomatoes, carrots, etc. Participants will have a say in which fresh vegetables they would like us to grow this year. In general, each week’s share will contain a variety of items such as fresh-baked bread, salad, soups, a vegetarian entrée, snacks, sweets, dips and breakfast foods. Farm-fresh eggs and artisan cheese might also be in the share along with preserves or pickles depending on the time of year and the harvest!
How much does a share cost?
Shares cost $65 per week or $250 per month (based on 50 weeks per year). There is also a $100 refundable container deposit for all new shares. These funds are used to purchase re-usable glass containers for transporting and storing your share items each week. If you decide to cancel your share and return all of your containers the deposit will be returned to you.
When does your season start and end?
Because we source some of our ingredients from other farms and our local health food store we are able to offer shares year-round. For several months during the winter fresh produce may not be included in the weekly share. We will be closed from December 21, 2014 through January 4, 2015.
What are my responsibilities?
We ask that our participants commit to these four items:
- Respond to our weekly email regarding your share by the due date (usually this means confirming your participation, indicating your preferences for items that we are offering a choice on – nothing too time-consuming!) We have a lot of harvesting, cooking and packing to do each week and having to chase everyone down who hasn’t responded can really mess with our schedule.
- Return last week’s containers cleaned and sterilized (in the dishwasher is ideal) and ready to be used again. We do not have access to a commercial dishwasher –so if you give us back your dirty containers we have to take extra time cleaning and sterilizing them.
- Be home and ready to receive your delivery during your scheduled day/time. This is something that we can’t stress enough. We will be there on time each week and we expect the same courtesy from you. We understand that sometimes emergencies happen – just call us as soon as you know what is going on so we can re-schedule. Please know that customers that make a habit of not being on time for their delivery will be asked to leave the share program.
- Pay on time. Payment is due in advance of your delivery. If you are paying weekly we must receive your payment 1 week prior to your delivery day. If you are paying monthly we must receive your payment 1 week prior to the first delivery of the month.
Where (and when) do I pick up my share?
You don’t – we’ll deliver it to you! We make weekly deliveries to Floyd, Blacksburg & Roanoke on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings. You must be available to accept delivery during your scheduled delivery window. Delivery windows will be set when you sign up.
What if I don’t like something in the share?
Each week in advance of your delivery we will send out a confirmation email that contains a list of what will be in the share that week. If there is something in the share that you really don’t want and you let us know we will try to work with you to substitute something else. Our intent at this point is to be able to offer a few choices each week and of course, as we get into the season we’ll get to know all of you and what you like/dislike, etc. As a member you will have the opportunity to help us determine what to offer in the share and which crops to grow. Also, new participants will have the opportunity to tell us about their likes and dislikes up front which we will try to take into account when planning the weekly share.
I have a food allergy – can you accommodate me?
Maybe. We take this issue very seriously as we have a relative with a life-threatening food allergy. We say ‘maybe’ because it depends on the allergy. If you have a shellfish allergy we can accommodate you – we never have any shellfish in the kitchen. However, if you have a gluten allergy we cannot since we use wheat flour in all of our bread and pasta making and it gets EVERYWHERE. Please let us know of any food allergies up front so we can discuss them with you and you can make an informed decision about participating.
Do I have to commit to an entire year?
No, but we will give preference to folks who commit for the long term. What this means is that you are free to opt-out of a share in any given week – up to four times per year. If you opt-out more than that, AND we have a waiting list, we will give your spot to the next person in line. The main reason for this is because we are looking for folks who are interested in building a relationship with the farm – who are committed to supporting local agriculture and local business and have a passion for food. Our intent as time goes on and the farm grows is to add dairy animals (and milk shares) and even offer farm-raised meat for those who are interested. We’d also like to have a few days each year when folks can come out to the farm for a tour, a concert and a meal. But we realize that this type of farm share might not be right for you – and you may not discover that until you start participating – so we allow folks to cancel at any time.
What happens if I am on vacation?
If you will be on vacation or otherwise unable to accept your share one week please notify us as far in advance as possible, but no later than the due date for the weekly email confirmation. Participants can opt-out of their weekly share four times per year without losing their space in the program. (You do not have to pay for your share if you opt-out that week.)
Are all of your ingredients organic?
No. There are many debates currently raging over local versus organic, certification, labeling, food safety, etc. – and we aren’t prepared to get into any of that here. We try to source as many ingredients locally (from our farm and other area farms) as we can – that is our first priority. Some of these farms have obtained their organic certification but many have not. Most of them are using sustainable and health-promoting practices and avoid the use of pesticides, chemicals & petroleum-based fertilizers. When we can’t find an ingredient locally we try to use certified organic products. There are some ingredients that we either can’t find an organic product or, in a few cases, the cost would be too prohibitive to purchase the organic variety. We are happy to provide you specifics on any ingredient if you would like to know where it came from and how it was grown or sourced.
If you are interested in learning more please contact us at Morgan@TakeFiveFarm.com or (540) 505-4988.
Ready to sign up? Please start the process by completing our online sign-up form located here.