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CSA
Charlton
Orchards Farm CSA Program.
For 2012, we are now offering
shares of farm fruits, vegetables, pasture raised beef,
and our award winning wines.
What is a CSA Farm?
Community
Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farms
as defined by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural
Resources.
Community-supported agriculture
(CSA)
is a way for the food buying public to create a relationship
with a farm and to receive a weekly basket of produce. It is a
relatively new socio-economic model of food production, sales,
and distribution aimed at both increasing the quality of food
and the quality of care given the land, plants and animals –
while substantially reducing potential food losses and financial
risks for the farmer. CSA’s focus is usually on a system of
weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables, sometimes including
flowers, fruits, herbs and even milk or meat products.
Community
supported agriculture is a relatively new idea in farming, one
that has been gaining momentum since its introduction to the
United States from Europe in the mid-1980s. The
CSA
concept originated in the 1960s in Switzerland and Japan, where
consumers interested in safe food and farmers seeking stable
markets for their crops joined together in economic
partnerships.
By making a
financial commitment to a farm, people become "members" (or
"shareholders," or "subscribers") of the CSA. Most CSA farmers
prefer that members pay for the season up-front, but some
farmers will accept weekly or monthly payments. Some CSA farms
also require that members work a small number of hours on the
farm during the growing season.
Our
Charlton Orchards Farm Share Program
We are offering 3 different share programs
Vegetable and Fruit CSA (35 shares)
Meat CSA (15 shares)
Farm Winery CSA (50 shares)
Each program can be purchased separately or combined.
Shares are limited and are
sold on a first come first serve basis. Annually, our farm
produces approximately, 10 tons of vegetables, 20 tons of small
fruits, including strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and
cherries, 90 tons of large fruits, including apples, peaches,
pears, and plums, 3 tons of beef and our wine production is
approximately 2000 gallons per year.
Our goal with this
CSA is to afford purchasing benefits to our community, sharing
our harvest with those who are interested in direct contact with
our farm and those interested in directly supporting our farm.
We have purposefully limited the number of shares sold so that
we can maintain the highest level of quality and variety within
each share. Our goal, by maintaining a small share size, is to
provide consistent and uniform share distributions.
Vegetable
and Fruit Shares (35 shares for 2012)
Our Vegetable
and Fruit Season share runs from June 9 to December 22, 29
weeks. Share Pick-ups will be on Saturday or Sunday afternoon
each week, at our farm during this period. The shares are
not pre-packaged and include 7 pounds of vegetables and/or fruit
each week, what ever is available, your choice. The full share cost is $600,
for the season, with discounts for returning customers.
Here is a
list of what you can expect to find in your share:
June
Vegetables: Our tomatoes,
cucumbers, lettuces, summer squash, zucchini squash, radishes,
spinach, and broccoli.
Fruit: Strawberries,
Raspberries, and Sweet Cherries
July, August
Vegetables: Carrots, beets,
cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, sweet peppers, melons, potatoes,
greens, broccoli, lettuces, cabbage,
Fruit: Blueberries, Raspberries,
Blackberries, Peaches, Plums, Apples, and Pears
September, October
Vegetable: Winter squash,
cabbage, potatoes, broccoli, and tomatoes
Fruit: Apples, Pears, fresh
apple cider
November and December
Vegetable: Winter squash,
potatoes, and tomatoes
Fruit: Apples, Pears, fresh
apple cider
Total
Cost Price/lbs Monthly
Half Share (3.5 lbs)
$355
$3.50/lb $59.17
Full Share (7 lbs)
$600 $2.95/lb
$100.00
Meat (Beef) Shares (10 Shares for
2012)
This year, we
offer our local, fresh,
pasture-raised, hormone free beef, for the entire year. One
share
each month for 12 months. For convenience, if you have the
freezer space, and your share is paid in full, you may take a 3
months or 6 months share supply.
What is in a
share and how is our meat packaged?
A share in our Meat CSA consists of our pasture raised beef. Like our vegetable and fruit shares, our meat
shares are not pre-assembled giving you the freedom to choice
your beef preference. Your monthly share includes approximately
1/3 ground and stew cuts and approximately 1/3 roasts and mid
priced steaks and 1/3 higher-end cuts
of steaks and roasts. (excludes T-Bones,
Porterhouse and Tenderloin steak cuts)
Meat
CSA members receive their meats
frozen, and vacuum-sealed by a certified USDA facility.
Meat CSA members pick-up their shares, once a month at our farm on the first
weekend of each month.
Total Cost
Price/pound
Monthly
Half Share (5lbs)
$540.00 $9.00/lb
$45.00
Full Share (10lbs)
$990.00 $8.25/lb
$82.50
Wine Shares (30 Shares for 2012)
Receive
your share each month for 12 months
Wine
shares are available in either half share increments or full
share increments. A half share increment includes 2 bottles of
750 ml wine, and 1 bottle of 375 ml wine. A full share contains
4 bottles of 750 ml wine and 2 bottles of 375 ml wine. As
a CSA Wine Share customer, each month you may choose four, 750
ml bottles, from any of our 750 ml wines valued up to $14.00 and
choose two 375 ml bottles, from our 375 ml wines valued up to
$11.00, or substitute two 660 ml Hard Cider bottles for the two
375 ml bottles. Our wine
share program, offers flexibility to our customers, as we can
customize the share to the individual tastes of our customers.
This customization is achieved because our winery offers 7
different grape table wines, 3 different hard cider varieties, 4
sparkling wine varieties, and 10 fruit wine varieties.
As a special bonus, to the lucky
wine shareholders, purchasing our wine shares automatically
enrolls our customers in our Wine Club. Members of our wine
club receive a 15% discount on their purchases of wine
throughout the year.
What
is in a share and how is our Wine packaged?
Wine CSA members pick-up their shares, once a month at our farm on the first
weekend of each month, pre-boxed and ready to go.
Total Cost Price/bottle Monthly
Half share (3 bottles)
$360.00 $10.00/ea
$30.00
Full Share (6 bottles)
$648.00 $9.00/ea
$54.00
Disclaimer:
Farming
is not an exact science. As we diversify and change our farming
methods in an attempt to control the uncontrollable, we have
managed to have some sort of crop. Some years are strawberry
crop is diminished but we still have a full blueberry crop.
Other years we lose our lettuce crop to extreme heat but later
that fall have a wonderful crop of broccoli. We have been in the
farming business for more than 50 years, so we have the
experience to roll with just about anything mother nature throws
at us. We have irrigation for drought and extreme heat years,
greenhouses for crops in the cold weather, and practice
rotational and double cropping to accommodate short-term
disasters.
Although, we believe we have good controls in place to support
our farming system, and accommodate the needs of our wholesale
retail and CSA customers, we have to acknowledge the possibility
of situations beyond our control interfering with our best
intentions.
Vegetable and fruit crops can be destroyed or reduced by
weather, insects or disease. As such, some vegetables planned
may not be available either in part or in their entirety and
must be substituted by a crop that grew and produced well.
Cattle is a vibrant and ever-changing livestock venture. Due
to breeding problems, the nature of slaughterhouse schedules,
the possibility of death and disease within our cattle stock, we
may run out of the best cuts of meat and have to substitute
lesser cuts.
Wine like apples, is our most stable crop. Our major
limitation, within our wine operation, is the fruit crop itself.
Over the years, this has caused a limited quantity of certain
wines. The shortages for the most part, are short-lived, and
replaced within a few months, so all varieties of all of our
wines, are not always readily available. We may have to
substitute your preference to another of our fine wine
creations.
Payments:
For 2012, the wine and meat CSA will begin on any month
throughout the year and continues for one year. Pickups will be available the first weekend
of each month. Other
start dates for our year long CSA are available for the asking. The fruit
and vegetable CSA will begin on the 2nd weekend in June; June,
9, 2012.
Payments for half shares must be paid in full, by the start of
the CSA program of choice.
Payments for full shares; two installments, the first due by the
start of the CSA program of choice and the second payment is
due 30 days later.
Accepted forms of payments: cash, check, credit card.
Enrollment:
Enrollment in our program is quick and easy. We will need your
name, address, the program you are interested in and your method
of payment, to enroll you in any one of our CSA programs.
You may contact us, directly, by phone with any questions or
concerns you have about our CSA program, by dialing
508 - 248 - 7820.
If
you wish to contact me by e-mail, my direct e-mail is
nate@charltonorchard.com.
Please type CSA in the subject line.
Special
notice: We will prorate the fruit and vegetable CSA if you
missed the beginning, and if our program is not full. We are so proud of our produce that
we want everyone to enjoy the flavor of great fresh food once again.
Call us and we will explain how you can join our CSA, even Late.
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