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Re: produce pick-up



A durned good topic!

I also do the farm thing and the full-time job thing.  On Saturday mornings
members may pick up their produce at one of my two farmer's market sites (one
of them manned by an adult volunteer from the core group and a teen hired
through a local agency, one of them manned by me).  On Sundays and Wednesday
evenings members may pick up at the farm; on Wednesday it's picked fresh for
them while they wait.

I used to deliver to people's houses -- then noticed I was spending more time
driving around than I was spending in the garden.  Used coolers and delivered
several shares to one member's house once; at their invitation I took the
coolers right into their kitchen with the agreement that they would drop them
at another member's house closer to me within a couple of days so I'd have
them for market day.

Five days later I drove back over there to get the coolers -- where they still
sat in the kitchen, the produce rotted in them.  Oh, yeah, well, they got
busy.

After eight years of doing this CSA thing I just don't extend myself for
people the way I used to.  I have other members who drive out to the farm from
Rochester, fer cryin' out loud -- 125 miles -- and are overjoyed to have
access to a real farm for their kids to see before they're all gone. They pick
up a double share every other week.   _Those_ are the people I want to grow
for; the rest of them are perfect as they are and don't need any fixing but I
sure don't need them cluttering up my life.

I've solved this for me by extending my CSA "region" to include a larger area.
I'm now revising my member application and contract; will post them at my
website as woon as they're done (after Christmas).  The application, the
member handbook, and the contract all make it very clear that picking up their
produce or arranging to have it picked up is the responsibility of the member
and they pay for it whether or not it is picked up.

Some people just won't be happy unless the good organic produce is delivered
to their door already cooked, at suppertime.   Some would probably be pleased
to have us chew it for them, too.  Those folks, I say again, are just perfect.
But they are not for CSA and CSA is not for them.

We want and need people who Get It that what we're offering is rare and
beautiful and should be cherished and treasured.  Right?  <G>  Next topic:
where and how do we find those people who accept and even enjoy going to a
small degree of effort?  Shall we call that topic "Getting People Connected"?

Dori Green
Ash Grove Community Farm & Center for Sustainable Living
Corning, NY

http://www.agrove.com