Sign-up for 2024 Summer CSA Program starts in January!
2024 Summer CSA Program Overview
If you enjoy eating fresh, delicious, locally-grown produce, then consider signing up for our 2024 Summer CSA program. Traditionally, our CSA sharers receive significantly more value for their money than buying from the grocery store.
At the beginning of each growing season, CSA sharers purchase a “share” of the upcoming produce, which helps the farm cover a substantial portion of the costs of our agricultural operations. In return, NCF provides sharers with a supply of sustainably grown, fresh vegetables and herbs each week throughout the farm season.
We have the equivalent of 80 weekly shares available. Some of our sharers enroll for an alternate-week share, which means they pick up produce every other week. Other sharers enroll for a weekly share for their family or else they split their share with another friend or family (or two!).
See below for more information about the application process, program structure, and produce.
Program Duration and Prices
Our 2024 Summer CSA program will run from June 5 through October 17. As with all things agricultural, these dates are dependent on weather and other growing considerations. NCF’s farm manager will contact sharers in the event that the program’s start and end dates need to change.
A weekly share costs $850 and an alternate-week share costs $460.
Application and Payment
Completed forms and checks must be received at NCF (mail or drop off) by the due dates (see below) for consideration in each phase. Mailing instructions, prices, and other information are included on the form.
* All applicants must be a current Friend of the Farm to apply for a CSA share. Please note, you have been automatically enrolled as a FoF if you made a donation of $50 or more since November 1, 2023. If you are not currently a Friend of the Farm, click here. Donations are nonrefundable.
Dates
Phase 1a: January 22–February 4 (due date) for returning Summer 2023 CSA Sharers
Reenrollment period for Summer 2023 CSA sharers who wish to return. If you were a Summer CSA sharer in 2023, you will be emailed the re-enrollment form for 2024 the morning of January 22, 2024. Sharers who do not reenroll during this period may still apply for a 2024 share by participating in the lottery in Phase 2 or the general enrollment process in Phase 3 as noted below. Applications with payment must be received at the Farm by the due date.
Phase 1b: January 22–February 4 (due date) for Late Fall 2023 CSA Sharers
Enrollment period for Late Fall 2023 CSA sharers on a space-available basis. Late Fall 2023 CSA sharers will be enrolled after returning Summer 2023 CSA sharers if there are spaces remaining. If you were a Late Fall CSA sharer in 2023, you will be emailed the reenrollment form for 2024 the morning of January 22, 2024. Sharers who do not enroll during this period may still apply for a 2024 share by participating in the lottery in Phase 2 or the general enrollment process in Phase 3 as noted below. Applications with payment must be received at the Farm by the due date.
Phase 1c: February 5–February 11 (due date) for 2023 waiting-list names
NCF’s farm manager will contact the individuals who put their names on the 2023 Summer CSA waiting list. Contact will be made in order of the names on the list until all remaining shares are sold or until the farm manager reaches the last name on the list. Interested residents will have until Sunday, February 11, to submit a completed application with payment to the farm manager (must be received on the farm by the due date).
Phase 2: February 5–February 25 (due date) for Newton residents
General enrollment for Newton residents. Applications will be accepted from Newton residents only. Click on this link: 2024 Summer CSA Enrollment Form to access the form. At the end of this period NCF will hold a lottery to select as many new participants as we have shares available. The lottery will be random, with no preference given for when the application is received before the due date. To participate in the lottery, we must receive your CSA enrollment application along with payment. (CSA checks will be returned to those who we cannot accommodate). Please note, you must be a current Friend of the Farm to apply for the CSA. Donations are not refundable. Applications are due at the farm by the due date. We will notify all applicants by Sunday, March 5, as to whether or not they were selected in the lottery. Anyone who does not get in during Phase 2 has the option of adding their name to the 2024 Summer CSA wait list by the deadline of MARCH 11, 2024.
Phase 3: February 26 until full for general public
In the event there are remaining shares available after Phase 2, we will accept applications from the general public on a first-come, first-served basis until we are full. Phase 3 will end when all of the shares are sold. Applicants who do not get a share in the 2024 program by the end of Phase 3 (or March 11, whichever comes later) will be given an opportunity to sign up for the 2023 Summer CSA wait list by the deadline of MARCH 11, 2024.
These deadlines are intended to make the process equitable and they are firm. We’re sorry but we cannot make any exceptions.
Produce
Newton Community Farm grows most of the produce distributed in the CSA. Some crops require more space than our modest site allows so we supplement the CSA shares with potatoes and winter squash from a local partner farm. We also purchase nonorganic sweet corn from Massachusetts farms for our CSA. CSA sharers participate in the bounty of the farm, and also the risk. While we have confidence that we will meet our production goals, growing vegetables always involves a certain amount of uncertainty, and quantities may vary week to week, season to season.
Weekly Share
$850 per share. Sharers come to the farm once a week to pick up vegetables. Shares may include some pick-your-own (PYO) crops such as peas, beans, cherry tomatoes, and herbs. Share size varies throughout the season. At the height of the season (Aug–Sept) a typical week might include: 1 bunch roots crop (carrots or beets); 2 bunches of greens (changing selection); 1 bunch of herbs (basil, cilantro, dill, or parsley); 1 eggplant; 1/2 pound bell peppers; 1 hot pepper; 2 pounds of potatoes; 1 pound of summer squash or zucchini; 5 pounds of tomatoes; 1 pint PYO cherry tomatoes; 6 ears of corn; 1 quart PYO beans; PYO herbs (separate from bunched herbs listed above).
Alternate Week Share
$460 per alternate-week share. For people who find that our weekly shares are too much food to eat in a week. Participants pick up a full share of produce every other week during the season. When you enroll please carefully select your preference for a starting week, as this will put you on an alternating week schedule for the rest of the summer. We strive to give everyone their choice of starting dates but need to balance the harvest between the two groups, so your assigned starting date will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Like the weekly share, this share may include some pick-your-own (PYO) items.
Pick-Up Days and Times
CSA pickups take place at the Farm on the bottom level of the barn on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2–7 pm. If you can’t come then, help bring new people to the Farm by having a friend or neighbor pick up your share. Shares are not available before or after these times or on other days of the week. If you don’t have time for the PYO options during the week, you are welcome to come back on Saturdays before 3 pm for those items. NCF will donate any unclaimed shares to a local food pantry.
Sharing Your Share
If you would like to split a CSA share with friends or neighbors, that is fine with us. Please be aware, however, that this is something you are doing on your own. The Farm will have one person on record as the sharer. That person will be financially responsible for payment. When picking up your share either have only one party come each week, or if both parties come, please be sure to come together to avoid taking more than your share’s worth of vegetables.
Other CSA Programs
In addition to our Summer CSA program, we also offer separate Fruit Share and Late Fall CSA programs. Information, including enrollment forms and deadlines, will be available on our website by midsummer for the Fruit Share Program and mid-fall for the Late Fall CSA.
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