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produce pick-up



Fellow CSA/subscription farmers,

I'd like your advice and to hear of your protocol (and it's problems)
regarding produce pickup.  I'll tell you first  about my situation and my
dilemna as I see it.  

I just finished the first year of running my subscription garden (no core
group). My farm is 35 minutes from my customer base.  Since I also work a
necessary, full time off-farm job, I purposely kept my subscriber numbers
very small with 5 half-shares and 1 full share. The produce quantities for
this amount of people are fairly manageable to leave in coolers (with
"freezy things" in them) and I currently give the subscribers a 3-hour
guaranteed window to pick up their already divvyed-up bags from the
unmanned cooler drop-off site in town (outside behind a subscriber's house
in the neighborhood where my subscribers all live). This works reasonably
well (even though I still have people who can't seem to go 5 blocks or less
from their homes to pick it up--I donate the leftover bags to potential
subscribers). However, next year I'm going to add more customers...only 4
or so more which, again, would be fairly manageable to continue to handle
the produce delivery & pickup the way I am now---but it won't be manageable
this way for much longer as I add more customers (I plan on giving this
business my full attention in about 4 years.) 

I am considering re-designing the pickup protocol and feel that I should do
it now while I still have a small customer base and can educate them and
get them used to this "new way."  My options as I see them:

1. Most desireable for me: Still divide up the produce for each of them,
but have it in paper bags or boxes, and offer a 1 hour time period for
produce pickup.
Pros:  a. Don't have to use plastic grocery bags (In coolers, everything
"perspires" and gets wet.)
       b. Don't have to buy (or ask subscribers to buy) coolers--not very
"sustainable"
       c. Produce deteriorates for shorter period of time.
           
Cons:  a. One hour time period may be very limiting for some subscribers &
some of them won't ever make it--	may be seen as restrictive and inconvenient 
       b. I have to be there since I'll need to keep produce in my cooled,
covered truck bed during hot 	weather or to keep the rain off
       c. Have to keep supply of boxes or paper bags on hand. 

2. Continue with cooler scenario: Include in the first year fee $30 extra
so we can buy for them 2 coolers to exchange from week to week.  Fee is
refundable if they quit or they can have their coolers back, whichever.
Pros:  a. I don't have to be there.
       b. More flexible hours to pickup for customers.
       
Cons: a. Not very "sustainable" 
      b. Customer has to return a cooler every week...and some won't
      c. I have to continue to keep a supply of frozen pop bottles, milk
jugs, etc. (we do have an extra 	deep freeze) and some will be "lost" to
the customers
      d. Produce deteriorates as "freezy things" melt.

3. On-farm pickup: Not an option for a few years since I don't have a
flexible schedule to allow for customer pickup out here nor do I have time
to socialize (boy, that sounds mean, doesn't it?) When I'm not at my 8
a.m.-5 pm. job, I'm in the fields planting, weeding, harvesting, watering.
I have very little time to absorb anything extra right now--it won't always
be this way (or I won't continue!) People are always asking me "How do you
do it all--town job and garden business?  Well, I almost didn't do anything
else for 7 months this year, i.e., went to work in town and then went to
work at home. 

With your experience, what advice can you give regarding this aspect of
CSAs/subscription gardens?  What are the pros and cons to your produce
pickup protocols?  Thanks for your input.



Susan Truxell Sauter
ssauter2@wvu.edu


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