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Member Benefits



Hi, All!

Looks like my relocation from New York to Puget Sound is going to be
delayed by a few months (whew!) -- one of the goats is farther along than
was first evident and we're going to have Christmas kids, so have to wait
until they can be weaned and sold or transported.

So while I'm hugging the woodstove and drooling over the seed catalogs (and
packing and schlepping stuff to the auction house), I thought it might be
fun to ask and compare with other CSA folks how they approach some of the
details of operating a CSA.  I'm throwing out three categories today.

MEMBER BENEFITS:

Do your members get any special considerations beyond great produce?

Things aren't completely firm yet at Our Farm, but the general direction is
"Yes, Absolutely".  Here's what we're planning to offer:

	Certified organically-grown vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers --
	    weekly harvest bags from June through October - best quality
	    and freshest
	"Paring Knife Specials" at half-price
	Group visits to area u-pick farms (loganberries and blueberries, 
	    apples, sweet corn, strawberries)
	Canning and freezing "bees"
	Small fee for use of the farm's dehydrators
	Monthly newsletter (member news, recipes, upcoming events)
	Free visiting privileges (non-members pay a small fee)
	10% discount over farmstand and farm market prices
	20% discount on workshops held at the farm (at least 1 per month0
	Monthly dinner and Core Group meeting
	Quarterly Core Group Fun Days (team-building workshops)
	Garden supply buying co-op, 20% over wholesale (members only)
	Whole food buying co-op, 20% over wholesale (members only)
	Goat herd co-op (members only)
	Garden work co-op -- workers share income from farmstand and
	     market sales, Core Group hours count toward this benefit
	Group tours and trips to other gardens and off-farm events

Have we forgotten anything?  Anybody have another benefit to add?

Dori Green:  Writer, Farmer, Facilitator
temporarily still at Ash Grove Community Farm & Center for Sustainable
Living
	http://www.servtech.com/public/funfarm/index.html
relocating in March to Our Farm Community-Shared Agriculture Project
	will be http://www.ourfarm.com