The Clearwater Farm is a small, family-run farm. As such, we face even more risks, obstacles, and burdens than the average large-scale farmer. Uncertain customer demand, fluctuating source prices, and the ever-changing weather make it extremely hard to plan and execute planting and harvesting each year. To address this, we have created our Community-supported Agriculture (CSA) and Subscription Farming programs.
These programs involve community members pre-purchasing “shares” in a local farm (ours, in this case) and then receiving regular deliveries of produce, meat, etc from that farm. By having a dedicated, paying customer base, we are able to better plan our crops and animal husbandry while reducing our risk. Additionally, we believe that CSA programs foster a greater sense of interconnected-ness and environmental awareness by bringing communities together around a common goal and by eliminating barriers between consumers and farmers. This is further facilitated by the fact that many CSAs, ours included, offer workshops and educational opportunities, such as herb walks and cooking classes.
Additionally, with the idea that farming and food production are communal efforts, our CSA involves “Work Days” periodically throughout the season. These are opportunities for our members to get a truly hands-on appreciation of farming and experience that unique sense of accomplishment that comes with harvesting your own food. The “Work Days” are scattered throughout the season and no one is forced to attend any of them, but we do ask that each member attend at least one per season in the true spirit of community-supported agriculture.
The full details of our current CSAs and Subscription Farming programs are below. If you still have questions, please see our CSA FAQ for more help.