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Community Supported Agriculture
Welcome to Home Grown Wisconsin's FIFTH Community Supported Agriculture Program, serving the Chicago area! As of June 4, 2008, our CSA is filled and we are sorry to say we cannot take any additional sign-ups for our 2008 summer season. For those of you who joined this year, here is where you will find your weekly newsletter to download.
SPECIAL NOTE TO OUR CSA MEMBERS: The July 23rd (Week A) and July 30th (Week B) CSA deliveries have been rescheduled until the end of the season. Our next regular CSA pick-up will resume on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 (which is an A Week). Call Katrina Pine, CSA Coordinator (608) 333-1227, or Deb Hansen, General Manager (608) 347-3054 with any questions.
DOWNLOAD CSA Newsletter for Wednesday, July 16, 2008
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DOWNLOAD CSA Newsletter for Wednesday, July 9, 2008
DOWNLOAD CSA Newsletter for Wednesday, July 1, 2008
DOWNLOAD CSA Newsletter for Wednesday, June 25, 2008
DOWNLOAD CSA Newsletter for Wednesday, June 18, 2008
DOWNLOAD CSA Newsletter for Wednesday, June 11, 2008
We are now accepting sign-ups for our 2008 Winter Share - our sites fill up fast, so the sooner you join us, the sooner you know you'll have produce from Home Grown Wisconsin during the winter months! The winter share consists of one delivery per month (3/4 bushel to full bushel box each) in November, December, and January. The November and December boxes will contain items to help make any family feast a celebration, and the January box is packed with produce to prepare comfort foods for those cold January days - soups, stews, and casseroles. Farm fresh egg shares and organic cheese shares will also be available for the Winter Share.
Download 2008 Winter Share Brochure
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What is Community Supported Agriculture?
Community supported agriculture is a unique approach to growing, selling, buying, and consuming food. CSA is an economic model that allows you to consciously place your food dollar directly in the hands of family farms. CSA farmers grow a wide variety of flavorful, nutritional produce and provide members with a weekly bounty for an average of a 20-week season. Many CSA members realize significant financial savings, as the hidden costs of retail produce are eliminated. Your money goes directly to the farm (rather than to distributors and trucking companies) and stays in the local economy.
Yet CSA buys you more than just fresh produce-it's an investment in building community, a social experience that allows you to connect to your food, the land, and those who tend the soil. CSA farms engage their members in agriculture through newsletters, harvest days, and farm celebrations. Throughout the season, members get to know the farmers who grow their food, learn how that food is grown, and experience the joys of cooking with the seasons! By joining a CSA, you also improve the safety of your food supply, help to preserve the environment, and enjoy the vast genetic diversity of local fruits and vegetables
Why Home Grown Wisconsin's CSA?
Our CSA farmers work together to share responsibility in producing high-quality, organic vegetables delivered conveniently to you throughout the season. All of our farms are certified organic and adopt sustainable practices to reduce the impact of agriculture on the environment. Also, our farms deeply respect the health, taste, and nutritional value of your food.
The variety and quality of Home Grown Wisconsin's CSA is unmatched. Throughout the season, you will experience a wide array of the freshest, most flavorful produce, picked in season at peak ripeness and nutritional value. With over twenty growers located throughout southern Wisconsin supplying your produce, you are guaranteed an impressive selection of fruits, vegetables, and even novelty items such as fruit preserves and honey in every box - even when Mother Nature takes an unfavorable toll. At Home Grown Wisconsin, we pride ourselves on variety all season long! (See below for a list of what you can expect throughout the season)
Here's what some of last year's members have to say:
"We subscribed to another CSA last year, and we are so much happier with Home Grown Wisconsin! We love the half share, the pick-up location is so convenient, and variety of produce is great, and the newsletter is great! You also have excellent customer service."
"The CSA has been run very well. I feel like it has been well worth it, not just for the quality and value, but also because there were very few glitches, and we were always well informed about events and status."
"You guys are great. We now have a connection to not just one, but multiple farms. The produce as well as the community participation is wonderful. I feel like we are doing something great for the plan and for human beings. I hope this helped the farmers as much as it helped us."
"We loved the CSA so much that I signed my parents up for one in Utah. Of course, ours was better. We had such variety; they were jealous!"
| Typical Produce Availability | Early | Mid | Late |
| Apples | X | X | |
| Arugula (baby) | X | X | X |
| Arugula (large) | X | X | |
| Asparagus | X | ||
| Beans (dry) | X | ||
| Beans (green, yellow) | X | X | |
| Beets (baby) | X | ||
| Beets | X | X | |
| Bok Choy | X | X | X |
| Broccoli | X | X | X |
| Brussel Sprouts | X | ||
| Cabbage | X | X | |
| Cantaloupe | X | ||
| Carrots | X | X | X |
| Cauliflower | X | X | |
| Celeriac | X | ||
| Celery | X | ||
| Chard | X | X | X |
| Collards | X | X | |
| Cucumbers | X | X | |
| Currants | X | X | |
| Edamame | X | ||
| Eggplant | X | ||
| Fennel | X | X | |
| Fresh Herbs | X | X | X |
| Garlic (fresh & dry) | X | X | |
| Kale | X | X | |
| Kohlrabi | X | ||
| Leeks | X | X | |
| Lettuce (heads) | X | X | X |
| Mache | X | ||
| Mesclun Mix | X | X | X |
| Onions (fresh & dry) | X | X | X |
| Parsnips | X | ||
| Pears | X | ||
| Peas | X | ||
| Peppers | X | ||
| Potatoes | X | X | X |
| Raspberries | X | ||
| Rhubarb | X | ||
| Romanesco Broccoli | X | ||
| Rutabaga | X | ||
| Scapes | X | ||
| Spinach (baby, bulk, bunched) | X | X | X |
| Radish | X | X | |
| Strawberries | X | X | |
| Summer Squash | X | ||
| Sunchokes | X | ||
| Sweet Corn | X | ||
| Sweet Potatoes | X | ||
| Tomatillos | X | ||
| Tomatoes | X | ||
| Turnips | X | X | |
| Watercress | X | X | |
| Watermelon | X | ||
| Winter Squash | X | X | |
| Zucchini | X | X |
How does the CSA work?
Members of Home Grown Wisconsin's CSA program receive a plentiful variety of fresh, organic produce-carefully harvested, cleaned, and delivered weekly or bi-weekly to several locations in Chicago and surrounding communities. Only the ripest, most delicious vegetables and fruits go into your box each week. You will experience over 100 varieties of vegetables, fruits, and herbs throughout the 20-week season. You will also sample some of our wild foraged fruits and nuts, raw honey, and delectable apple and pear butters. We always include a substantial quantity of your favorite staples in every box, as well as novelty items.
CSA members will also receive an informative newsletter to compliment each box, filled with delicious recipes (many from our incredible farmers and well-known Chicago-area chefs we are honored to work with. See our farm and restaurant lists on our website!), storage tips, preparation hints, and farm news. We will also keep you informed of special farm events throughout the season, such as Strawberry U-Picks and Harvest Festivals
Download the newsletter to see an example of the information you will receive each delivery!
Download Sample of CSA Summer Share Newsletter
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The Specifics
The 2008 CSA summer season is 20 weeks long, and will run from June 11-October 22. This year we are offering full shares, half shares, egg shares, and NEW FOR 2008, a cheese share! The full share, delivered every week, costs $575 for the season, and the half share (every other week delivery) costs $325 for the season. There is enough produce in each box to feed two adults, or a family with two small children, who consume a lot of vegetables, for one week. Our CSA is designed to bring you a cornucopia of produce from our 21 certified organic family farms. We will keep you supplied with plenty of staples (such as carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and salad greens) to last even the heartiest vegetable eater through the week. You will NEVER end up with an entire box of rutabagas or "six weeks of nothing but beets." Other produce that will be included throughout the season are: asparagus, apples, strawberries, melons (all your favorite kinds!), fresh cut herbs, beans, broccoli, sweet corn, parsnips, potatoes, radishes, turnips, and several varieties of peas, tomatoes (including heirlooms!), squash and zucchini, salad greens and lettuce-just to name a few! Egg shares are also available for $40 - one dozen farm fresh eggs delivered every other week, for a total of ten dozen eggs throughout the season - order as many egg shares as you wish to make sure you have enough eggs during the summer! Our cheese share offers you the chance to purchase award-winning organic Wisconsin cheese every other week. The cost is $150.00 - you will receive 1# of seasonal raw cheddar as well as 1/2# of a specialty cheese (pesto, mozzerella, muenster, and more) every other week.
We have several drop-off/pick-up sites for our 2008 Winter Share season:
CHICAGO SITES
Lincoln Square Neighborhood (5061 N. Claremont Ave.)
2418 W. Grace St.
737 W. Gordon Terrace
1815 W. Thomas Street - THIS LOCATION IS NOW FULL FOR 2008
5056 N. Ravenswood - THIS LOCATION IS NOW FULL FOR 2008
SUBURB SITES
Evanston - North/Central (1428 Noyes)
Northbrook (2924 Woodmere Dr.)
*Note: We are not currently adding any additional sites for 2008, however, please contact our CSA Coordinator, Katrina Pine at (608) 333-1227 if you are interested in serving as a site coordinator for 2009.
To get onto Home Grown Wisconsin' CSA member list for the 2008 season or to find out more about the CSA program contact our CSA Coordinator, Katrina Pine at (608) 333-1227 or csa@homegrownwisconsin.com
We hope you will join us for another great season!
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