ABOUT:

A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a way for community members to connect with farmers and local, fresh food through a weekly veggie box, or “farm share” of produce. CSA customers pay upfront for their vegetables and then pick up a box every week or every other week throughout the season. 

Choosing a CSA from City Sprouts gives you the unique opportunity to source your veggies VERY locally and to visit our urban farm and see it grow each week! By participating in our CSA, you are supporting our sustainable agriculture educational programming, and our efforts to increase food access in our community!  Also, when you sign up for our CSA, you participate in a sliding scale payment system; a tool which works towards economic justice, regardless of the amount you pay. This system expands accessibility to the community while ensuring fair compensation for growers. 

 

DATES: 

Wednesdays: Mid-June thru October. 3pm-6pm

Depending on whether you pick up weekly or every-other week, the pick up dates will range between June 17-October 28th. 

 

BOX OPTIONS:

We grow over 80 varieties of vegetables on one half acre of land for our CSA program. CSAs are a great way to embark on new culinary adventures and try veggies you have never tasted! Each box or “share” will have 7-10 items. An item= a bunch of something (carrots, or cilantro etc) or a unit/serving of something (a big head of broccoli, or 2 summer squash, etc.)

If 7-10 items seems like too much produce for you, consider splitting the share with a friend, or choosing to pick up every other week.

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You can choose to pick up:

• Weekly (June 17 thru Oct. 28. A total of 20 weeks) or

• Every other week (Mid June thru mid-October. A total of 10 pick-up days)

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In the early part of the season (June-Mid July) there may be fewer items in your box (get ready for greens!!) and in the peak season we will make up for that by loading you up with all the bounty of the harvest.

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​PICKUP

CSA pickup will be at City Sprouts Farm, which is centrally located in the Birchwood neighborhood. Due to a new housing development on the property where the farm is located, vehicle access to the farm has changed and we have to request that CSA members park at Birchwood Elementary School and choose to either walk over to the farm (about ½ a block away) or request a curb-side pick-up at Birchwood Elementary School. Picking up at the farm requires walking about 1/2 a block up a small hill and navigating uneven ground. We are happy to pre-pack your CSA and walk it over to you at Birchwood elementary school to meet your mobility needs and preferences. 

We love showing people the farm and where their food is grown! Feel free to bring your kids and let them explore the veggie rows (under adult supervision.) Pets must stay on leash on farm premises. 

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***Please note that if you forget to pick up your CSA share, it will be donated.

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COST 

We offer our CSA on a sliding scale in an effort to do our part to create a more economically inclusive food system. That means we’ll ask you to do some active participation to decide what your CSA share cost will be. We hope that a sliding scale will enable more members of our community to participate in the CSA while also ensuring fair compensation for us. The scale is based on income and what percentage your household income is in relation to median income in Bellingham. We understand that there are factors outside of income that would determine your cost so we encourage you to consider what is reasonable for you or your family considering factors outside of income.  See the steps below:

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1. See where you are on the sliding scale:  

 

 

 

 

 

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2. Consider contributing more when you:

• own your home

• have retirement accounts, investments, or inherited money;

• have access to family money and resources in times of need;

• have significant discretionary expenses like travel, dining out, entertainment, etc.

• have a relatively high degree of earning power due to your education level (or other privileges you may have associated with race, gender, citizenship status, class background, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical ability, etc.

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3. Consider contributing less when you:

• are supporting more children, other dependents, or sending remittances,

•  have significant debt

• have medical expenses not covered by insurance,

• are on a fixed income, such as senior citizens,

• are impacted by state violence (e.g. refugees, asylees and injustice in our criminal system)

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PAYMENT

After you submit your form (see below) we will send you a confirmation email once you are accepted into the CSA. This may take a couple weeks. Payments are to be made by credit/debit card on April 4th or 5th, at our spring CSA registration celebration event, which will happen at City Sprouts Farm. This will be a chance for you to see the farm and meet some of the student farmers who grow your food! Once you are accepted into the CSA, we will send you more details. Please reach out to Ellie at duncan29@wwu.edu for mobility accommodations. 

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IS A CSA A GOOD FIT FOR YOU?​

As a CSA member, you will have to come to the same place at the same time either every week or every-other week. This might mean you will have to adjust your schedule to make your pick-up fit into your routine. This schedule adjustment is a trade off for the ability to eat freshly picked vegetables each week without having the hassle of the grocery store. 

Our CSA will only include vegetables that are freshly picked on the farm that day. This means you will receive what is in season. For example, don't expect tomatoes until late July or peppers until August. Another thing to consider is whether or not you are willing to eat vegetables that might be unfamiliar to you. We will offer recipe suggestions but you will also have the opportunity to be creative and adventurous in the kitchen. 

​To sign up for a CSA please fill out the form below. We will send you a confirmation email once you are accepted. This may take a couple weeks. Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis until all shares are filled.