2024 Summer CSA Signup open
Enrollment is January - April
Search Our Blog for Recipes and Past Articles Here
These photos show just a few of the huge variety of vegetables we grow here in Woodbury. Some are early season, mid and late. Our vegetables are all non-gmo varieties, some are also heirloom, and heritage varieties. To see a larger list click here. We take great pride in growing and providing super-fresh vitamin packed foods to our community.
The mission is simple…
… Grow delicious, healthy, FRESH, NON - GMO produce that our local families will love on their tables as much as we do at our farm dinner table.
Grown and sold without the middleman who takes a monetary chunk of what the farm should be getting to help with the costs of production and farm improvements. Meal Kits or Grocery Store produce can have high amounts of food miles associated with it. Food Miles are the miles in which foods travel to get to your table; the higher the miles, the higher the carbon footprint- global environmental impacts.
C.S.A. Programs go to DIRECTLY supporting a farm operation; keeping the farm viable.
Summer Variety of Locally Grown Produce
Enrollment January - April 1st
ONE SIZE CSA OF ULTRA FRESH PRODUCE!
ADD MEATS - FRUITS - PANTRY ITEMS - DAIRY - BAKERY & MORE WITH YOUR CSA MEMBERSHIP CARD now included with each CSA share.
Conveniently add that missing ingredient to your share, or shop anytime our farm is open.
16 Weeks of Fresh Vegetables raised for you grown with your support of our farm! A fun way to find something new you may like and take home of some ultra fresh produce!
A great way to eat healthy and support the local agricultural scene! Get to know your farmer, discover new vegetables you might not otherwise try, and of course, have a direct connection with the farm where your produce comes from.
One Size CSA Basket
You can expect to find 5-8 different varieties of produce in your weekly share. Should you need to swap out any items you may do so; however some restrictions will apply. You may only exchange for other items included in that week’s share. Swapping for items off of the farm stand is not permitted. A Harvest Card is Included in your membership this year should you need to supplement your share. As a member, you will continue to receive 10% off of your purchases for the duration of the CSA period
Our 11th Summer offering CSA.
Going on our 11 th year offering our CSA. Thank you for your support and we look forward to having you along for the 2024 growing season.
Harvest Card
For use at our Farm stands all season long, on any food items.
From April - December Shop the Farmstands on your schedule and amounts you will use
CSA Card - FARM-STAND support
For the individual or family that has a busy schedule and just wants what they want with no surprises in a CSA basket; but still want to support our farm upfront and have the ease of one form of payment at our stands. Buy as much or as little as you like each week. The Harvest Card comes with an extra 10% value built into any purchased amount; a thank you for your support upfront to help our farm run smoothly. Harvest Card members will only receive an email letting them know what we are picking for the stand each week, and any other special CSA events & promotions. This card can be purchased by any CSA member or vegetable stand customer. Purchase online or in-store. Your card will await you for pick-up at The Farmstand 281 Weekeepeemee Road RT 132 during regular farmstand hours - Woodbury CT. Cards will not be mailed and should be treated like cash.
WHAT IS A HARVEST CARD?
A Harvest Card is a preloaded card that you can use wherever we directly sell our goods to purchase them.
WHY SHOULD I CONSIDER GETTING ONE?
Purchase Farm Goods Year Round.
Maple Syrup, Honey, Dried Pasta, Tomato Sauce, Salsa, Dried Herbs, Frozen Meats, Chocolate, Tea, etc.… These are always in stock located within Woodbury Floral Designs - 15 Hollow Road- Woodbury. Not just during the summer but year-round! Mon-Sat. Call for hours 203.266.9149
We add a 10% value to your balance.
For your kindness in supporting our farm directly, we thank you with 10% more. For example: you pay $100; we load the card with $110 of purchasing power.
Have all food goods available to purchase - not just produce!
Vegetables, Fruits, Farmer to Farmer Tropical Items, Meats, Dairy, Dried, and Pantry Items.. anything food and farm!
Join “the club”- Ultra Fresh Local Farm Grown
The coolest club around! - the food aware crowd! Cardholders receive reduced farm admission to Events, Pick Your Own, Fall Farm Fest, and also receive The Farm Beet Newsletter; keep up with all sorts of farm happenings and offerings.
Flexible shopping hours - Get what you want, when you want it.
CSA pickup is 2 days a week for a few hours each day. The Harvest Cardholders have the flexibility of coming in to purchase all sorts of goods throughout the farm-stand hours.
Have a CSA Share, but need a bit more.
This card adds to a base CSA share; enabling the ease of picking up meats, dairy, eggs, fruit at CSA pickup. It also lets our CSA members keep track of how much they spend each year with our farm.
Harvest Cards make Terrific Gifts!
Give a thoughtful and unique gift and show them how community savvy you really are… Locavore Love.
Cost of farming
Farming isn’t cheap; we need your help to keep farming! Have you ever tried growing vegetables? Did your gardening experience leave you with a terrific feeling of raising your own food? Did you taste the difference from store bought produce? Was it a great experience but, a lot of work for what you got back? Did it rain too much? Or maybe it was dry and things shriveled? We listen to many of our customers talk about their growing experiences like these mentioned. At the end of the conversation we frequently mention; “that’s farming; now imagine doing that and trying to make a living doing it. We’re either crazy or love what we do, maybe both who knows!”
Farming has all the regular business expenses like, insurances, capital investments, labor, shipping fees, utilities, excreta. Unfortunately, farms in most cases, have even more operating costs than most “regular businesses”. Cost of Goods (COGS) are frequently much higher or simply not applicable for other industries such as, equipment repairs, tractor fuel & oils, seeds, fertilizers, Mother Nature’s fury impacting yields (yes, these are not Made in China inventory items by far!), extra long days working 7 days a week… it keeps going. HOWEVER! We love what we do, yet it isn’t as easy as “planting seeds and picking things” as the general public may think. We love to help educate on an agricultural basis to whomever is willing to listen to the plight of the American farm vs. what the public may think happens.
Farm in sync with Community
Our farm family has lived in Woodbury, CT since the early 70’s. Before moving here a large part of our family was dairy farming in Newtown, CT. When the 80’s came and land values and costs spiked it pressured our family to sell off the farm and move to New York & Vermont to continue farming; it was in their blood to continue farming. A small part of the family moved to Woodbury where we once again became “employees to regular 9-5 jobs" while raising 4 boys. There was something missing… In the late 80’s The Farm began in Woodbury, CT, leasing a base farm and land in north Woodbury. It’s been a roller coaster of physical, emotional, financial adventures over the past years, yet we farmed on somehow. Now that the four sons are a bit older (30-40-ish) the farm has grown a bit larger. We aren’t becoming larger to be the biggest. We are becoming bigger to survive financially for our growing families living in the town in which we love, Woodbury. Taxes, mortgages, salaries all need to be derived from the earth in the form of our agricultural crops.
Over these past years we’ve hired many Agri- Science students from Nonnewaug High School, giving them a part of the hands on experience requested in their high school course. We also have been frequent donors to local Non- Profit Groups & Fundraisers; Lions Club, Firehouse, Food Bank, Educational, Health Groups, and even Locally based International Organizations. We believe in giving back when and where we can. However, our number one way of giving back is to continue growing FRESH produce for those in and around Woodbury to enjoy!
Do you think when you eat something?
We do all the time! We talk about it all the time.
Where was this grown? Is this even in season here? Did the farmer get what they should for the product in front of us? Who was the farmer? Do they like what they do, can you tell by the quality of the product? How far did it travel to your plate? Who touched our foods? Is it really NON- GMO or a label someone paid for? Can we talk to them? How did they grow that? YUP! We ask a TON of food related questions at the dinner table (and our daughter even asks more than us)! We think you may want too as well. We all need to eat to stay healthy - nourishment for living well. Isn’t it important to know what we are putting in our bodies? We think so.
CSA SUPPORT - YOU have the power to change the food chain
“Back in my day”… an often heard phrase from our elders.
“Back in my day… I went by horse and wagon to Waterbury to sell live chickens, milk, and produce.”, our beloved old farmer friend Tony, whom had farmed with his family where we farm today in Woodbury. Before he passed at the age of 97 he had left us with many terrific stories of the olden days over many coffee break stories. Seems to us now that much of how our food is produced, where, and why it’s grown has changed. These changes aren’t always for the good; but for money and convenience. We would love to bring back the fresh, local, family farm of yester-year with a 21st century twist of communication and improved agricultural knowledge.
By joining a CSA YOU start that wheel rolling! Learn how to eat seasonally again, we are New Englander’s after all. Learn how to use things you might not thought of trying. Learn how things grow. Learn from other members and their experiences. Just learn about agriculture; the source for all of humanity to survive.
"We strive to supply our quality produce and products in all our share commitment levels. Please take a few moments to look at all the options below to help find one that may suit your requirements best. Our goal after all is happy CSA members = a happy smooth running farm. Without your commitment to CSA where would our local farms be after all? Building lots?" - The Farm Crew
What is a CSA?
Learn a bit more about The Farm, Woodbury CT through this brief video. Eating seasonally grown fruits and vegetables, know where and who grew the foods you are consuming. Supporting your local economy directly to boot!
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a unique relationship of mutual support and commitment between a farm and community members for an entire growing season. CSA members purchase a share for the growing season before the harvest begins. The price of the share enables the farm to cover yearly costs, almost all of which are incurred before the crops are ready for harvest. This entitles the member to a share of the harvest thought out the season, grown and delivered by a farm they know and trust.
Farmer Stephen; Face Behind The Food
Why should I Consider being a Member?
As a CSA member you know where, when and how your food is being produced. A major factor missing in the supermarkets these days. As a CSA member you are actively participating in regional agriculture by directly supporting a small family farm, your community and eating seasonally, locally, sustainable & most important, healthy! There are so many great reasons to join and experience what others too are raving about.
On the economic side of things, a CSA is a great value for the dollar put in. Since you are paying up front we like say that the vegetables are the dividends of putting money upfront. The funds raised during the CSA share selling time of year help off set the costs of raising these crops. Labor, Rent - Mortgage, Equipment Repairs - Purchase, Crop supplies, Fuel Oil for tractors, Nutrient soil improvement, and so on. These things mentioned didn't even touch the capital improvements required to be a 21st century farm. Being three young farmers, this CSA means a lot to us and our growing farm and families. We appreciate our CSA members and consider them extended family. As we say often, from our family to yours.
Who is the Farmer?
The Farm, is located in north Woodbury.
Our farm is roughly 180 acres made up of rolling hills, and flat fields of rich river bottom soils, ideal for vegetables.. We have been an active farm for over 28 years.
We have been growing vegetables, hay crops, acres of sweet corn, and all sorts of pumpkins. For over 23 years. Most of our product has been shipped to grocery stores, restaurants, and wholesalers, as well as some farmers markets. We are now focusing on farm to customer based initiatives, i.e. farm stand, CSA, and direct restaurant use. We have greenhouses that we use to grow our vegetable transplants. We also use the greenhouses to grow many types of spring flowering plants which we sell to garden centers, landscapers, and various organizations plant sale fundraiser's.
On our farm, we also have active bee hives, and in the spring we have a sugarbush for maple syrup production.
The Farm, is a family run farm, all 6 family members partake in their areas of expertise, adding to the farm's diversity We also hire local high school agri- science students for summer employment and experience.
What can I expect in a Weekly Share?
A Swap Out Table is Provided each week, just in case you want to switch out a certain selection
As the season progresses so will the shares. Earlier weeks will contain more leafy green items. Mid-Season shares will contain longer day to ripen produce items, like various tomatoes, and eggplants. The late Season share will have more items of a long storage period. Garlic, onions, winter squashes. Every week for the past CSA years we have made a video titled "What's In This Week's Basket", these can be viewed to give a better idea of the quality, quantity, and type of items in the baskets. Access and subscribe to our YouTube Channel below.