Frequently Asked Questions for CSA Shareholders and Prospective Shareholders
- What types of shares are available from Waltham Fields Community Farm?
- What is a shareholder? What is a member and what does my membership fee pay for?
- What is included in a summer share?
- Is WFCF's produce organic?
- What do CSA shares cost and how do I pay for them?
- How many people does a Summer CSA share feed?
- Can I buy a half-share?
- Can I split a share?
- Is share distribution ever cancelled due to weather?
- What if I'm late to the pick-up site? What happens to my share if I forget to pick it up?
- What happens if the pick-up is on a holiday?
- What happens to my share if I go on vacation?
- Can CSA shareholders pick their own vegetables?
- Do I get fruit in my share?
- Can another person pick up my share?
- Are there any other benefits to being a member of Waltham Fields Community Farm CSA?
- Can I work for my vegetables?
What types of shares are available from Waltham Fields Community Farm?
We currently offer summer and winter shares. Our Summer CSA share includes 20 weeks of seasonal produce harvested from mid-June through October. Our Winter CSA share includes several distributions of the best vegetables of the season, including root crops, winter squash, and greens. Winter shares are available to Summer CSA shareholders only, on a first-come, first-served basis.
What is a shareholder? What is a member and what does my membership fee pay for?
CSA shareholders of Waltham Fields Community Farm are ‘investors’ with our farm, paying up front for a part of our harvest, sharing in both the risk and the bounty of our farming season. Shareholders are those that particpate in our CSA program. All shareholders are required to be current members of our nonprofit organization. Tax-deductible membership fees of $25 per household are used to support the charitable programs of our non-profit organization, including our food access and education and outreach programs.
What is included in a summer share?
The farm grows more than forty different kinds of vegetables for the CSA and our food access program. Each week shareholders receive a variety of freshly harvested vegetables as well as some pick-your-own produce such as peas, beans and cherry tomatoes. Later in the summer, shares include a pick-your-own bouquet of flowers. Some items, such as summer squash, salad greens and tomatoes, will be available for several weeks, while other crops, like fennel, parsnips, or rutabaga, might only be harvested for one or two weeks. Each week, shareholders also receive a newsletter, which includes farm news and food preparation tips. See our harvest schedule and produce information and recipes page for a list of produce that is grown for the Summer CSA.
Our partnership with Jenny and Bruce Wooster, who grow excellent certified organic produce at Picadilly Farm in Winchester, New Hampshire allows us to offer additional CSA shares than our own leased land can support. Jenny and Bruce have been growing potatoes and winter squash for Waltham Fields since 2007, and in 2011 we expanded our relationship with them to supply us with the bulk of the produce needed for 100 of our shares. We also buy in sweet corn grown using integrated pest management techniques for our shareholders from local growers we know and respect. Corn, potatoes, and winter squash are high-input, relatively low-value crops that take up lots of space, and it benefits our farm and our partner farms to have them grown on a larger scale on farms where space is not at such a premium.
If you’d like more information about the farms we partner with, please don’t hesitate to email our , give us a call at (781)-899-2403, or talk to us during CSA share distributions.
Is WFCF’s produce organic?
Since 1995, we have grown our crops at Waltham Fields Community Farm using organic practices. We use only materials approved by the Organic Materials Review Institute for pest control and fertility management. We manage our soil for long-term fertility and health in order to grow nutritious, vital food without the use of synthetic chemicals. While we are not certified organic, our commitment to sustainability in and out of the fields is ongoing. We are committed to working towards the principles of sustainability outlined in the Farmer’s Pledge that has been developed by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York. At Waltham Fields Community Farm, we believe that knowing your farmer and being engaged with your farm as a consumer is the best way to ensure that your food is produced responsibly. We encourage our CSA shareholders to ask our farm staff about our farming practices, and we make it a habit to communicate those practices through our CSA newsletter and on-farm educational events. We invite all our shareholders to join us in the fields for a firsthand taste of sustainable farming practices.
What do CSA shares cost and how do I pay for them?
Our Summer CSA share costs $625 (plus $25 membership if not already a member). Our Winter CSA share costs $200 for 4 distributions in Nov. and Dec.
Your choice of shares can be purchased all at once, or paid for in installments: the first when you first sign up, with your final installment due no later than June 1.
How many people does a Summer CSA share feed?
That really depends on your eating and cooking habits. Some things to think about: How often do you cook at home? Are you really into veggies, or are you a "beginner"? Are you feeding small children or growing teenagers? Generally, a Summer CSA share is the right amount for two vegetable loving adults that really enjoy cooking with fresh produce, or an "average" family of two adults with two small children. We aim to grow ample amounts of the basics along with a generous selection of more unusual crops each season. However, you should definitely plan to supplement pantry essentials item like onions and garlic with purchases from your local farmers’ markets and farm stands.
Can I buy a half-share?
Waltham Fields Community Farm only sells full shares. If you would like to split a share with a friend, you may arrange to do so (see below).
Can I split a share?
WFCF shares are designed for one household. Sharing a share among two or more households is fine with us, with attention to one consideration: we ask shareholders to take the entire weekly share in one visit to the farm; please do not come to the farm and take a partial or half share. Most folks who share a share do so by coming to the farm together, alternating pick-up weeks, or splitting the share at home.
Keep in mind that the quantities of vegetables in the shares may not always be conducive to splitting (for example, you might receive one butternut squash or one head of cabbage in a given week and have to decide with your share partner how to divvy up your veggies). Please also remember that if you are splitting a share among several adults, you will almost definitely find that you need to supplement your vegetables with trips to the farmers’ market or a local farm stand.
If you do split a share, we will list the share in our database under one name and address (the primary shareholder), though we are happy to email the weekly newsletter to multiple people for each share. We require that each household splitting a share be a dues-paying member of Waltham Fields Community Farm.
Is share distribution ever cancelled due to weather?
Yes. The CSA distribution site at the farm will remain open during rain or snow, but will be cancelled during electrical storms or severe winter storms for reasons of safety.
What if I’m late to the pick-up site? What happens to my share if I forget to pick it up?
Any food that is not picked up at the end of the day that is still in prime condition is donated to our hunger relief partners in addition to the produce we are harvesting specifically for this cause. We close our CSA promptly at the end of the distribution. If you arrive late, we will do our best to accommodate you, but we can’t make any promises!
What happens if the pick-up is on a holiday?
Our pick-up schedule will be the same each week throughout the season. Vegetables don’t take a vacation!
What happens to my share if I go on vacation?
We encourage you to share the harvest and make arrangements with friends to pick up your share while you are gone. You do not need to let the distribution coordinator or farm staff know that someone else will be picking up your share; just make sure that whoever will pick up your share checks in with the distribution coordinator under your name.
Can CSA shareholders pick their own vegetables?
Most vegetables are picked and made available to shareholders in a distribution area. A few crops, such as peas, beans and cherry tomatoes, must be picked by shareholders themselves. When you get to the farm, you’ll check the Pick-Your-Own white board for a list of pick-your-own crops and amounts to be harvested per share. Ask the distribution coordinator or farm staff for any questions about finding or harvesting pick-your-own crops.
Pick your own crops include cherry tomatoes, snap beans, wax beans, fava beans, fresh soybeans, plum tomatoes, hot peppers, strawberries, tomatilloes, husk cherries, fresh herbs, a few berries and fresh flowers.
The farm is open for pick-your-own from during daylight hours of any week that a CSA distributions takes place. For more information about pick-your-own crops, see tips to make your farm pick-up go smoothly.
Do I get fruit in my share?
You can expect watermelons, cantaloupe, strawberries and raspberries grown on our farm in your share. We plan to offer additional local fruit for sale at our distributions from about Labor Day through our winter CSA distribution in December.
Can another person pick up my share?
Yes. We don’t need to know that someone else will pick up your share! Just make sure that your friend checks in with our distribution coordinator under your name. If they are not familiar with our CSA, please ask them to read these Frequently Asked Questions.
Are there any other benefits to being a member of Waltham Fields Community Farm CSA?
As a CSA shareholder you will enjoy five months of fresh, locally and sustainably grown produce. As a member of Waltham Fields Community Farm you will also be part of a vibrant agricultural and altruistic community that works to support and promote local agriculture, provide hands-on education to children and adults about how food is grown, and donate fresh vegetables to local hunger relief programs. There are events and gatherings, volunteer opportunities, newsletters and an end of the year potluck that our members, friends and neighbors are invited to enjoy.
We also invite all our shareholders to visit the farm during our volunteer drop-in hours to work in the fields. You may also visit at other times to stroll, picnic, or play on the grounds. Please stay out of planted fields and work spaces unless you are doing pick-your-own or volunteering with a farm staff member.
Can I work for my vegetables?
Waltham Fields Community Farm offers a limited number of workshares each season. Visit our job opportunities page to see if any work share positions are available. For more information, contact our farm manager at .
