2024 Farm Share Memberships Are Now Available!

Today Is National CSA Signup Day!

by Vincent Frary February 24, 2017

Prior to heading inside to write today's blog post I glanced at the thermometer at the farm and it read 50 degrees! At 7:00 am! In February! Although the warmer winter weather can mean a myriad of problems for farmers in the coming season, today we're choosing to view the unseasonable temperatures as a harbinger of the forthcoming spring. And that means that it's time to sign up for your local CSA or Farm Share program! We know that our Farm Share program has been a critical factor in our farm's ability to survive the difficult first years, and the support shown by our farm share members continues to motivate and inspire us. We're especially excited to roll out our farm share program this year, as we've made some changes that we hope will go a long way in improving the affordability of becoming a member and flexibility in redeeming your share throughout the farm season.

For those of you that are prior farm share members, we hope that you'll visit our farm share page and sign back up! For those of you that have not been members of a local CSA or farm share, we thought we'd provide some details about what exactly a farm share or CSA program is, and why you might want to consider joining.

A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) or Farm Share program is one in which a "member" purchases a "share" of a farm prior to the growing season, and picks up their share as the farm harvests their products. These programs are critical for many farms, as they provide a means for raising capital in the spring when it is most needed and the farmer doesn't yet have anything to sell. The reasons that consumers choose to join a CSA or farm share are numerous, but here are a few of the most important:

You know the person who grows the food that you feed your family. There is no middleman. Most CSA farmers are more than willing to answer your questions in regards to their farming practices. Some farms even offer tours or work shares where you can witness and even participate in the day to day operation of the farm!
You'll be voting for the food production practices that you believe in. The most powerful way a consumer can influence the way that their food is raised is to vote with their dollars by purchasing food from farmers who engage in food production practices that they support and value.
You'll be directly supporting Massachusetts farms and all the benefits they provide. Aside from the wonderful, healthy food think of the conserved open space, the natural resource biodiversity that farms maintain, and the 28,000 workers in the Commonwealth that are employed by farms.
You'll be supporting your local economy. Last year Massachusetts farms produced $492 million dollars of agricultural products! Each dollar that you spend at a local, independent business returns three times more money to your local economy than a dollar spent at a chain store.
You will eat healthier! The care that small farmers put into growing and raising their products means that the food they distribute is more nutritious than anything you can find in the grocery store.
You will cook more! An abundance of fresh, tasty raw ingredients filling your kitchen means that it will be impossible to resist experimenting with new recipes and making meals from scratch at home.

Seems like a no-brainer, eh? So go out and find a CSA or Farm Share today. Please stop by and see if Copicut Farms' Share Program may be for you, or contact another of our favorite CSA farms to see what they have to offer.