Your Choices for CSA’s in Floyd County, Virginia
Invest in Local Farms This Season
Floyd farmers turn your pre-season investments into healthy food
This time of year many of us are desperately craving the flavors of local food abundance. Just the thought of sweet corn, leafy greens, canning extravaganzas, and mouthwatering local meals makes us eager for the first harvest. It will be a few months before local eating starts in earnest again but local farmers are already starting their first seeds of the season. During winter, farms plan and predict how much they will grow during the warm months and many of them also offer local food lovers the opportunity to pre-purchase a share of the future harvest through a ‘farm share’.
A Rivenwood Farm CSA Share- Corey and Christine are expanding into the Floyd Ecovillage Farm Property this season
CSA Origins
These ‘farm shares’, also known as ‘community supported agriculture programs” (CSA’s) are a marketing method that allow community members a chance to purchase a number of shares directly from a farmer in advance for the food they will receive later in the season. This sales model was introduced in the 1970’s by innovative horticulturalist and agriculture professor Booker T. Whatley. He developed and championed this model as a way for black farmers to finance their operations on the community level at a time when traditional loans were being denied to them. Among his many contributions to regenerative agriculture are his small farms’ ‘10 commandments’, which included what he originally called a “clientele membership club”.
In regard to small farms Whatley said, “The clientele membership club is the lifeblood of the whole setup. It enables the farmer to plan production, anticipate demand, and, of course, have a guaranteed market. However, that means the grower had better work just as diligently at establishing and maintaining the club as at producing the crops.”
Therefore it seems appropriate that the small farmers of Floyd take this opportunity to share with you the local options for the upcoming growing season. Because the farm share model is ideal for small farms, like those in Floyd, our local food lovers in the county have a wide array of choices for which farms to invest in for the 2022 growing season.
What does a farm share look like?
Floyd farmers typically offer a weekly portion of freshly harvested vegetables, eggs, and or meats. Farm shares are delivered to you or picked up at the farm or another central location. Tiffany Thompson, of Riverstone Organic Farm, is launching the farm’s fourth season of growing for markets, CSA, and wholesale. She says “Our members get the first pick of our fresh weekly offerings and we get the security of having a guaranteed market for our produce year-round.”
Riverstone Organic Farm owners Tiffany & Alex at their market stand which also serves as a CSA pick up site for them.
It’s worth noting that most farmers offering CSA’s this season are growing without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides which speaks to the quality of our local growers and the dedication they have to keeping Floyd water and food clean. However, not every farm offers a pre-sale program like a CSA so be sure to check out the Guide to Floyd Food (floydfoodguide.org) for a full list of local producers serving our county and you’ll be surprised by how many kitchen staples are being grown right here at home.
Why join a CSA?
Because you get the best, freshest, most interesting and nourishing foods available anywhere!
Kat The Farmer offers a Free Choice CSA option, where credit is added to a card in the spring, and you shop with it debit style at market throughout the season.
Plus, local dollars spent on food within the county go directly to the farmers that grow it. This enables those dollars to stay closer to home by employing local folks, who then spend their dollars within the county. This is called the ‘multiplier effect’, and according to FairFood.org ‘Studies show that the multiplier effect of a locally owned business is two or three times higher than that of a non-local business.’ That’s worth shaking a carrot stick at!
Another reason to consider a CSA is for the community connections. Those who love food tend to appreciate it even more when they have a relationship with the person that grew it. Farm share members can choose to support farms that have shared values such as organic farming and ethical labor practices. The relationship developed between farmer and consumer is unique. At weekly pick up sites customers get the opportunity to exchange recipes and learn about the skill and effort that goes into each serving of cabbage. According to Christine Mann, the cofounder of the new Rivenwood Gardens at Floyd Ecovillage, ”The CSA model is an important way for us to connect with our customers and share our love and passion for growing tasty and sustainable food!”
Most of our local farmers offer an incentive to buy-in early too, sometimes offering discounts for early enrollment, or fun sign up bonuses.
You may think all this fresh food is starting to sounds expensive. If so, you'll be delighted to know that CSA shares in Floyd range from $15 - 40 per week and many farmers offer ways to make the purchase easier for the consumer through payment plans, by accepting SNAP, or simply getting creative. The first CSA in Floyd County was started 32 years ago by Polly Heiser of Seven Springs Farm CSA, her dedication to local food is evident in the creative ways she structures the investment in her farm’s harvest: “We have working memberships for those who want to come and help out for one or two mornings per season. We offer surplus, when we have it, at no extra charge. We have a fund to subsidize families with low incomes."
How it benefits the farmers
An example of Yarrow Springs Farm and Florist Flower CSA Bouquets
For Liza Dobson, owner of Yarrow Springs Farm, offering a CSA helps solve the cash flow problem that many farms have. “Selling CSA subscriptions helps put cash in the bank account during the winter months when farmers are planning and buying inputs for the upcoming growing season.” This problem is especially acute for flower farmers like Dobson who explains “As flower growers, we have to purchase spring bulbs like tulips, which are the most expensive of all flowers, to be planted in the fall. That means planning and paying over a year in advance, well before we even get to sell the upcoming crop! So, when you buy a CSA, you are helping ease the financial burden of farmers as they prepare to provide you with the season's bounty! And you're guaranteed to enjoy it!”.
Starting up a new produce farm can be both exciting and risky business. Morgan Martin from Fools Hill Farm, which is starting its first season in Meadows of Dan after relocating the farm from Tupelo, Mississippi, shared that “It can be terrifying bringing the perishable produce we have worked so hard to grow to markets without assured sales of a CSA. Pre-sales help ease that stress by assuring us of some amount of success and allowing us to tailor our harvest to our customer’s needs.”
Kat with a harvest of Tomatoes
So, if you find yourself daydreaming about delicious local food, or you are seeking fresher food for health reasons I encourage you to explore the option of purchasing a farm share in Floyd County. After all, it’s an investment you can really sink your teeth into.
Your Local Options that Serve Floyd County:
Yarrow Springs Farm & Florist
@yarrow.springs
Flower CSA is 12 weeks of fresh seasonal blossoms for pick up in Meadows of Dan or at the Floyd Country Store.
https://www.yarrowsprings.com/the-flower-shop/p/2021csa12week
Rivenwood Gardens at Floyd Ecovillage
@rivenwoodgardens
fully customizable boxes ( $25 - $35/week), mid-May-first week of Nov, and multiple payment plans!
Riverstone Organic Farm
@riverstoneorganicfarm
Fully customizable, Certified Organic CSA. Produce shares and online ordering for pick-up in Floyd and Blacksburg.
Weathertop Farm
Reservations & orders for our pasture-raised whole & half hogs, lamb,& beef. Also fresh bulk chicken dates and turkey orders.
@weathertopfarm
www.weathertopfarm.com
Seven Springs Farm
@sevenspringscsa
CSA offers vegetable, herb, and egg shares. Mid-May to early December.
www.7springscsa.com
Fools Hill Farm
@foolshillfarm
Two size CSA shares for $15 or $25/week as well as flexible presale gift card options!
Kat The Farmer
@kat.the.farmer
Free Choice Membership & Weekly Prepared Salad. April-November. Pick up at Floyd Farmers Market or on the farm.
Did I forget someone? shout them out in the comments and I will get them added!