It's that time! Time to remember not to forget to grab your CSA box! Mark (above) is one of our new crew this year and he'll be packing your boxes and at market with us this week. We plan to have a rotation for our crew at the market this season so that everyone will get to come and spend time with the CSA members and customers that we're all working hard to feed through the rest of the week. Pick ups are definitely one of the most rewarding times to work on a CSA farm as it links up the hard work that we put in with the value that people we care about get out of it. Aww, shucks!
So, a couple of notes for you this week... First off, what happens if I can't pick up my box? Well, best case scenario is that you KNOW before the market that you will not be able to use your box for the week. If you know that and let us know, then we will donate it to someone in need at the market. There have been over 700 people at the last several markets, and many of them are coming to access fresh and nutritious food, to stretch their dollars, or to utilize the market's double SNAP program. That means that while at the market, we have access to people who will most certainly benefit from a donated veggie box. BUT, there are other options... If you're before the customization cut off time (Mondays @ 1) then you can simply hold or reschedule your box in your Harvie profile. If you're past the cutoff and normal pick up is at the market, you can always send us a note or text that you'd like to do on farm pick up instead (Fridays 2-5 or vice versa) or contact us to arrange another time. If you go incommunicado and we hold your box for several days, we will eventually donate what can be utilized at the Food Pantry, but it is not as ideal as knowing ahead of time since items will not be fresh.
A final note is a repeat from last week, for those picking up their first box. If you are on our default payment plan and would like to know more about how that works, see below!
We look forward to seeing you at pick up, fingers crossed for sunshine and rainbows (well, maybe not the rainbows, that would mean rain, right?!).
Cheers, Bonnie & Rudy
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Hoot Owl Farm - Harvie Payment Plan
A reminder...Most of you are on the default payment plan for your CSA Share (unless you opted to pay all at once). The payment plan a-goes like-a-this: When you signed up, you were charged 25% of the total cost of the CSA share. At your first pick up, you'll be charged another 25%, and the remaining 50% will be spread across all of the pick ups in the season. So you'll see a larger charge this week because it's charging for that 25%.
Here's an example: Towanda signs up for an every other week CSA share in February (total cost $247.50), at that time her card on file is charged $61.89 (25%). She patiently waits until her first pick up in May when she is charged another $61.89, but it was worth it, those greens were great! Since Towanda gets 9 deliveries spread across the 18 week season, each delivery will have a portion of the rest of her season's cost. $247.50/2 = $123.75 this is the 50%, so divide that by 9 and each week will be charged $13.75. So for the very first pick up week, if Towanda is responsible and checks her account, she'll notice a charge of $75.64 ($61.89 + $13.75).
The payment plan is something we get a lot of questions on (so if you asked one, you're not alone!). It is a little confusing, but it offers us the chance to get some upfront payments (to buy seed!) and offers our members the option to not pay too much up front.
