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Re: produce pick-up



You are wise to try to get people trained in a system that works for you.
I will describe our system.
We use plastic rubbermaid tubs.  10 g. for small shares and 14 g. for large
shares. Different colors for each size.  some times of the year the tubs
are light and relatively empty other times we can barely close them. The
tubs can generally be bought on sale for less than $5.  We own a least 2
for each member.  In the past we have asked people who were going to be
taking a tub home and bringing one back each week to put down a $5 deposit.
Folks who empty the tub on site do not have to pay the deposit.  At this
point I think the effort of keeping track of the bookkeeping on this
distinction may not be worth.  People are pretty much going to return them
if they know they are supposed to.
We generally deliver 15 to 30 boxes to a site.  A site is a members garage/
carport/ porch or whatever.  Protection from afternoon sun and maybe rain
is important.  We set up each site with a table and clipboard and a
schedule. Some people actively supervise their sites.  Others do not.  Its
self service.  the time limits are generally several hours.  We generally
deliver at 3 or 4 and people are not supposed to arrive after 7.  Each site
needs ground rules to suit the person whose house it is.  Our produce is in
our walk-in cooler on farm for several hours before we do delivery.  The
tubs seal in temperature well.  Its clearly in members interests to show up
sooner rather than later for their produce's sake.  On the hottest summer
days we sometimes hose down the tubs in the truck so that evaporation
cooling will slow the warmup process.
Some folks pick up direct from the farm but we live 25 from town so that
only works for locals.
ON our yearend surveys our members showed tremendous respect and
appreciation for the logistics.  We pack over 200 boxes a week and get food
to about 10 different sites.  Some people are Tuesday people and some are
Friday. (Friday was hard for people but that is another discussion)
We sometimes wish we had fewer larger sites but that is a lot to ask of the
volunteer sites and I think it would move us into needing to pay for people
to watch over them which would not work.
Hope this helps
Mary Jo
>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

Winter Green Farm
89762 Poodle Creek Road
Noti, Or 97461

541-935-1920