In response to the current COVID-19 outbreak, we are making necessary changes to ensure the safety of our staff and CSA members.
We’ve agonized over many of these decisions, all of which have been informed by CSA member survey results, state and local mandates, best practices, and availability (or scarcity) of resources. We hope you will trust that we are doing the best we can.
As of right now, here’s what you can expect for the start of the CSA season. (CSA Members: Check your email for specific communications regarding start date, PYO registration, and other details.)
We will offer pre-packed shares. Unlike our usual market-style pickup, CSA this year will begin with pre-packed shares.
We realize this is a big change, in that it will limit how much members can customize their shares. We are looking into options to provide members with more choice within this model, and will trial them if/when it becomes feasible to do so.
Shares will be packed in reusable bins in a plastic liner. The liner is important for both food safety and product quality reasons (ie: so greens don't dry out). Produce should be taken home in the plastic liner.
Pick Your Own will continue. Members will sign up for a weekly time slot which will be their slot for the season (or until we can revert to our unregulated PYO schedule). Handwashing stations will be made available.
We ask that members limit the number of people coming to pick, as much as possible, for the safety of fellow members.
These changes are temporary. We like the old model, too! We love seeing entire families in the Pick Your Own fields, enjoying them together. We love the market-style pickup and being able to give you the freedom to choose and customize your weekly share. We love the community chaos of a distribution Tuesday. Unfortunately, despite exploring a number of scenarios, a market-style pickup is simply not feasible in this current climate. We are as sad to see it go (temporarily) as you are.
As soon as we can safely return to the “old” way, know that we will. (We can’t wait!) Until then, we hope you will be there to weather these changes with us.
