[Market-farming] CSA Prep

Marie Kamphefner kampy at grm.net
Sun Jan 18 11:41:38 EST 2009


Regards to the list:

 

I agree with Tom (below) but not for the same reason. We included things in
the shares that weren't on our market tables. When the market customers saw
what the CSA was getting, they wanted to buy them. At a nearby stand, the
CSA owner had to explain why something she was selling wasn't in the share
(because there wasn't enough for everyone). We are going back to delivery on
a week day this year because people would forget to pick up their shares at
the market, wanted to go out of town on weekends or had to work during
market hours - then lots of times wanted us to make up the share they
missed. And, even if we sold out of things for market, we had to stay and
wait for shareholders to come.

 

But, to answer your question, Frank, about keeping things cool at the
market. We used several of the big white coolers, each holding five to seven
shares in reusable grocery bags. The night before market, the bags were
stored in the refrigerator. We put the blue things that you freeze in the
bottoms of the coolers, put towels over them to keep from damaging tender
veggies and packed them in the coolers early in the morning just before
leaving for market. For non heat sensitive things like potatoes, winter
squash, pumpkins etc, they were put in big corn type bags and added to the
shares as they were picked up. We kept a box behind the tables for things
that shareholders didn't want and offered them to the rest of the
shareholders.

 

One of our shareholders got the bags for us for about 70 cents each. They're
the green bags that look like shopping bags and some grocery stores have
them for sale by the checkout.  

 

Marie in Missouri

 

A word of caution -- you might want to be a little careful about
distributing your shares at a farmers market. I found that shareholders
sometimes want an explanation when they see stuff your selling at the market
is not included in their share boxes. You try to keep everything even-up,
but in the thick of the summer battle sometimes it's hard to give everybody
some of everything. At the market, you often don't have enough time to do a
lot of talking to people who aren't your immediate, cash-laden customers.

 

--Tom

 

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