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Dear Farm Friends,
Let me tell you a story about the farm. Once upon a time, 28 years ago, a ragtag bunch of
hardworking idealists began growing vegetables in the hills of Nevada County. Over the
years, the local community came to enjoy the food they produced, the farm grew and
improved in many ways, and eventually Mountain Bounty Farm became somewhat of a
local institution.
However, It was a fragile enterprise, like most small farms it swam against powerful
currents. The economics of growing food have always been tough. Nevertheless, due to
hard work, creativity, and your support, the farm experienced a long period of relative
success.
Now, the farm is at a crossroads. Intensifying economic currents are catching up to this
upstream swimming creature, and we are beginning to sink. Put simply, our costs (like
everyone’s!), are way up. And income has not kept up. CSA membership has dropped from
a pandemic high of 850 to now around 600. In 2023, for the first time ever, we lost money.
We operate close to bone: we fix most broken things ourselves, and there is not much more
we can cut. Our crew, which is by far our biggest cost, is also our biggest treasure, and
what makes Mountain Bounty unique. Because of the incredible skill and effort of our
crew, and despite the economic challenges, the farm is operating at its highest level and
growing food better than ever before.
So what are we going to do? We are going to make a big ask for your help and make some
changes that nobody is going to like. We are going to raise our prices by 5%, and will raise
them again in 6 months. Also, we are going to limit the amount of members’ box holds to 2
holds per 6 months, which was our practice before 2020. We introduced unlimited box
holds in 2020 and the program has been very popular. In any given week there are around
120 boxes on hold. We cannot sustain this. We understand that we may lose some members
due to these changes. But if we don’t do this...things aren’t going to work out anyway, so
we are left with this choice. Please stick with us, if you want us to continue, we need your
help. It’ll mean a few dollars more per box, and the effort of finding a neighbor or friend to
pickup your box while you are away (or you can choose to donate it). Thank you in
advance, we know this isn’t the best news, but we gotta give it to you straight.
Another thing we can do is gather more members! We are doing our best to toot our own
horns, and you can help us by continuing to tell your friends. Word of mouth, that beautiful
proof of a functioning community, has always been the way people have come to us.
Please consider your options, and consider how much you value your local farms, the
produce we bring to your table, but also the many other ways we build and add to the
community. Mountain Bounty is not and has never been easy, but together, we can keep
this story going.
As always, thank you for your support!
John Tecklin
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