When you arrive at the farm, please park in the parking lot in a diagonal fashion and then head to the pick up pavilion. The produce will be arranged under the pavilion, market style, with the exception of pick-your-own berries, herbs or flowers. The quantities of each crop for Farmer’s Choice and Classic Harvest shares will be indicated on chalk boards. Your share will range from 5-15 lbs. per week, depending on the the season and your share option. Check out the harvest chart for an overview of what you can expect in your share at different times.
Pickup runs from 10am-6pm on Tuesdays and Fridays. Allow at least half an hour to collect all of your produce. You may need additional time to harvest pick-your-own crops. If these are available, please plan to finish harvesting them no later than 5:45pm so that the farmer who stays to close up is able to head home shortly after 6pm.
Please double check your confirmation email to see what day you selected to pick up your share. If you can’t find your confirmation email, please contact Barbara at admin@stearnsfarmcsa.org.
We do not provide any bags, baskets or containers for transporting your produce home. We recommend that you bring:
- Plastic bags to put individual vegetables in (save your produce bags from the supermarket). Be sure to bring bags for loose greens like spinach and salad mix, even if you put other produce into a basket or a box.
- Shopping bags, baskets or boxes in which to carry your produce to your car.
- Pint containers for the Pick-Your-Own crops. Save containers from supermarket produce and bring them with you to the farm.
- A travel cup or other container that holds water to put your cut flowers into (beginning in July, when the flower garden opens for picking). We have water available so your flowers can make it home in the best shape possible.
- Scissors or small shears for cutting flowers.
Weights and Measures
Please weigh your produce very carefully. Your share each week is carefully calculated based on the harvest. If you weigh “over” by a few ounces, it impacts everyone. Please honor this essential component of your CSA community and your commitment to sustainable agriculture.
Weight vs. volume: Please note that pick up under the pavilion is by weight or each (e.g., one head of lettuce, one bunch of scallions). PYO in the field is by volume. Click here for information about PYO
What happens if I am unable to pick-up on my assigned day?
For a one time schedule change (vacation, travel, etc.), email Farm Manager Ember Fleming at farmer@stearnsfarmcsa.org by 8PM on Sunday evening of the week you wish to switch your pickup day. You may only pick up your share once in a calendar week. For additional details, please see our Farm Policies.
For a permanent change to your pick-up day contact Barbara Ward at admin@stearnsfarmcsa.org. Keep in mind that we may not be able to accommodate switch requests because we have to keep the number of sharers picking up on each day balanced to ensure sufficient produce for everyone.
Can a friend pick up my share if I am going to be away?
If possible, we encourage you to have a friend, neighbor or family member come to get your share if you can’t make it. It’s a great way to pay it forward and share the farm with others! It would be helpful if they accompanied you the week before so that they will understand the procedures for picking up at Stearns Farm.
All produce that is left over at the end of the pick-up day is taken to one of our community partners that assist those with food insecurity.
What about rainy days?
Farm pickups happen rain or shine. If it’s wet and you don’t want to do the PYO portion of your pickup, you can come back the next day (or the next dry day). If there’s thunder/lightning around we may close the fields to PYO until the thunderstorm passes, but you can still come get your share under the tent. It is extremely rare for the farm to cancel a pickup due to bad weather. You will be notified via email if a pickup is cancelled.
Updated on October 23rd, 2024