Dear Farm Family,
Our Spring 2010 season is beginning to wind down, and we couldn’t be happier with our membership levels and the support we have received from all of you. Our CSA membership grew over 71% between last Fall and this Spring, and we nearly doubled the number of drop sites for our deliveries. We are very thankful for our successes, and we appreciate all of your efforts thus far in helping us whether by spreading the word to friends and family, locating potential new drop sites for us, or giving us critical feedback on your experiences. All of these elements combined make us very proud of the Farm Family we have assembled under the banner of our small farm in Holly Hill. Together, we are providing critical momentum for the local foods movement in South Carolina.
We are excited to report that further expansion is expected for this Fall, and we have made several changes to the program in anticipation of this growth. This summer, we will be trading in our Pinckney’s Produce Sprinter van for a box truck that can hold up to 400 shares of produce. This change is especially beneficial as it will allow us to reduce our current 5 day delivery schedule to 4 days. A 4 day delivery schedule comes with many benefits including fresher produce at the beginning of the week and at least one day off a week for our farmers. Under our current schedule, produce that is picked on Friday sits in the cooler through the weekend, and it’s freshness begins to fade. Under our new system, we will be able to harvest produce on Monday morning and pack it that afternoon for our Tuesday deliveries. The downside to our 4 day delivery schedule is that the delivery day has changed for some of our drop sites. When you sign up for the Fall season, please note these delivery schedule changes within our drop site selector.
For those of you unfamiliar with our Fall harvest, our season is somewhat like the Spring season in reverse. I’ve included a list of our Fall produce at the bottom of this email for your review. Many people are surprised to find such a variety of vegetables available through October and November. We are fortunate to have such a long, mild growing season.
And now on to very important news….our website is now ready to receive Fall sign ups! Please note that our Fall season is 11 weeks long lasting from September 7th to November 22nd. We have already added 2 important new drop sites to our line up, Ted’s Butcherblock in Downtown Charleston and IC Toys on Hilton Head Island. We are working on several new sites at the moment, and we will keep you updated as we receive further developments.
To enroll for the Fall season, click on this link, and you will be redirected to our sign up page. The enrollment page is very similar to last year’s. We have included a Secondary Email Address line within the contact info. If you are splitting your share with another person, please include their email address here, so we can make sure they are receiving weekly communications.
We are very excited to launch our Fall season membership drive. Please let us know if you have any questions about the new schedule or need further information. We hope you will join us for the upcoming season!
Best,
Jody and Pinckney
Fall Harvest: Butter beans, Field Peas, Winter Squash (Acorn, Spaghetti, Butternut), Sweet Potatoes, Pumpkins, String Beans, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Lettuces, Spinach, Swiss Card, Kale, Mustards, Collards, Rutabaga, Turnips, Green Peanuts, Carrots, Beets, Watermelon, Sweet Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Peppers (Banana, Green, Yellow, Red), Tomatoes (Cherry, Slicers, and Roma), Squash, Zucchini, and other surprises.
