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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] CSA worker payment

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  • From: Richard Stewart <rstewart AT zoomtown.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] CSA worker payment
  • Date: Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:19:27 -0500

I agree with you Todd.

Yes it is legal. You are trading services not paying for labor.

I can understand that in many cases the workshares are simply a hassle
because you have to train everyone each season and thus look at this as more
of a cost....I know I huge curve to fight.

I experimented with a workshare CSA program this year. Started with 10 and
am inviting 3 back. For their work they got anything I got. My goal was not
to get as much work out of them as possible but get useful labor when, at the
time I could afford none and did not know how to start.

They got to take what ever their family NEEDED to be fed in return for 3 to 4
hours of work a week. I figure even at minimum wage they would be getting
paid between 22 and 30 per hour which equals about 15 pounds of produce. My
break-even is 2.00 a pound for produce. I only had two of them REALLY make
an effort to harvest that much for themselves. One of them was a juicer and
loved the dandelions that I wanted gone as much as what I was growing for
restaurants.

In 2010 I will be hiring two part-time people for produce production, 2 to 3
Workshare folks, possibly an intern from a local University, and if the stars
aline correctly will be doing a local food bootcamp with a restaurant groups
that will rotate 4 fledgling cooks for 4 hours a week (1 chef does 1 day a
month) to get a real understanding on how the food gets to them.

I think workshares, especially in this day and age, have their place. One
member was talking to me about how she quit the gym and brought her kids down
each day was as rewarding as the food she got.

In the end I have been discussing that if local consumers paid a fair price,
that means I as a farmer make a fair wage. That also means that I have a
responsibility to either pay a fair wage OR trade a fair food weight for work
given.

It also lets me look at myself in the mirror. :)

Richard Stewart
rstewart AT zoomtown.com



On Dec 12, 2009, at 3:54 PM, Todd Lister wrote:

> I can't pay labor $2.50 an hour and sleep at night.
> ???????????????????????????????????????????????
> What's up with that? Are they legal?





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