Worcester Woods Farm

  Over the past couple of months, I’ve been trying to think of how we could make the CSA more efficient for everyone.  There are a million little things that work well to make the farm run smoothly, but in thinking of all of us together as a whole (meaning the farm and you thirty shareholders) it always comes down to you buying only what you really want to eat, or are able to eat.  To me, this is the one glaring flaw in the average CSA setup.  If we were running a restaurant, and you all liked to come and eat our food, you would be a little surprised to find out that we were deciding what you were all going to be eating for supper.  Granted, it might be wicked good and exactly what you were looking for, but still… 
  A farm should be a viable business just as any other, and although I believe there should be incentive in place encouraging agriculture to be a healthy part of our local economy, it seems we should be as practical and “customer-friendly” as anybody else.  In order to make real changes in our ability to bring local food to the largest amount of people, I think the small farm has to make it as easy as possible for the person buying the food.  While we certainly applaud you all for having the foresight and sense of responsibility for participating in a group like this, the truth is that Joe Blow, who goes to Shaw’s or wherever, is not going to be a part of this unless we make it easy and economical for him to do so.  And those are the people who are really going to make the difference, because they are by far the majority. 
  So this is the tentative plan I have come up with for next year’s CSA program : We will be switching to a weekly ordering format.  You will be paying a determined amount at the beginning of the season, but it will work as a sort of running tab that will be kept until you have used up all of your money.  This would seem to make a reasonable compromise between grower and eater, and the basis from which a sustainable CSA program could run.  It helps us by getting money when we really need it most, and you by having the freedom to buy what you like.  We would either use a website or email, and say, on Sunday we would post a list of what’s available for the upcoming week, and you would have a few days to order before a Thursday or Friday deliver.  If you don’t get around to ordering, then you could either skip the week or get a regular assortment in the way that you do now.  Phone orders would be fine too, mostly because I don’t think there would be too many to handle.  You could also order chicken, eggs, turkey, flowers, or whatever else we have going on as part of your tab. 
  A program like this could also be expanded to us including other farmers, craftspeople or service providers.  If one of you were keeping bees or making syrup or whatever, it would be a great way to distribute your stuff on a small level.  This could also lessen our need to try to focus on so many different crops.  Wouldn’t it be great to be able to get some strawberries, cheese, and a good loaf of bread with your order each week?  I’m sure there are many people who have the ability or desire to grow or produce something of excellent quality that don’t also have the urge to try to make a living at it.  Someone could make a little money or barter their stuff for other food.  There are many ideas coming into my head, but I think I must be getting close to taking up Bonnie’s recipe space on the backside of the page, so I will leave it for another time. 
  I would like to say though, that this will be tricky for us to figure out.  How much of this do I grow, and how much of that?  It’s easy to know that you probably won’t buy all my kohlrabi in one week, but what if you all order 3 pounds of tomatoes and we don’t have enough to fill the order?  First come first serve, and maybe have the option of substitutions for people who order late?  That sounds like a mess.  What if I post broccoli as available for ordering, and then it bolts during hot weather in the middle of the week?  What if you don’t use much of your tab through the summer and have to buy a hundred pounds of potatoes at the end of the year because you need to use up your balance?  And what if I grow something I think you will all buy and nobody ends up wanting any?  It wouldn’t hurt my feelings but it would hurt my bottom line! 
  Anyway…that’s the idea.  I should try to put it all down on paper sometime and figure it out, instead of daydreaming about it while moving hose around in the field.  If you have input or want to hear more, give a call, stop by, or write us an email.  We like hearing from you.