Below are some frequently asked questions about CSAs in general, as well as our Farmer Residency CSA offering. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us.
What is a CSA?
CSA stands for community supported agriculture. Most simply this is a community based economic model where local food consumers and local food producers provide each other with mutual support and share in the risk and benefits of food production.
This support can manifest in many ways. Typically, CSA members pay up front for a share of the farm vegetables, and then receive a box of the crop each week throughout the growing season.
By becoming a member of the Tilian CSA you can help take this relationship a bit further, by intentionally investing in the development of new farmers and new farm business in our Ann Arbor community. Tilian CSA managers are participants in our Farmer Residency Program. They run the CSA for two years with support from mentor farmers in our area, building the experience and confidence they need to go out and start their own farms.
Your membership in the Tilian CSA supports this program and the Farm Incubator Program at Tilian. By removing the barriers to new farm start up, together we can build a healthy and strong local community food system!
How do I join?
The Tilian CSA is offered in three 16-week sessions:
Summer Share: May through August
Fall Share: September through December
Winter Share: January through April
We are currently accepting members for the 2012 Summer Share. Membership is offered on a first come, first serve basis and we have space only for 60 shares this year.
To reserve your spot today, please download our Tilian CSA Agreement and return your completed form with a check to:
Tilian Farmer Residency CSA
c/o: Food System Economic Partnership
P.O. Box 8645 Ann Arbor, MI 48107-8645.
You may also pay online using pay pal. Note, however, that with pay pal service fees the total payment due would be $615.50. To pay online please submit your payment via our donation page and let us know as a comment that this is a CSA payment. The membership agreement may also be submitted electronically to csa@tiliancenter.org.
What will be in the share?
Between 6 and 12 different seasonal items will be offered at distribution each week, enough to feed a family of four, or 2 serious vegetable eaters. Depending on how the season goes and what certain varieties yield, there may be more or less of particular items but we plan overall so that members can enjoy plenty of familiar favorites while also exploring the taste of new vegetables and herbs.
Summer members can expect things from the first tender offerings of spring, like lettuce and radishes as well as the bounty of summer, like crisp cucumbers and juicy watermelons.
Fall members can expect to enjoy the final weeks of summer fruit, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, as well as the beginnings of the autumn crops, like winter squash, sweet potatoes and the return of cool season greens.
Winter members will continue to enjoy to the harvest of fall with root storage crops, like carrots, beets, and rutabaga, as well as the freshest greens from out hoop houses, things like salad mix, kale, chard, spinach, tatsoi, and more.
How much do shares cost?
For each 16-week session, shares are priced on a sliding scale starting at $600 and going up to $1000 or as much as you are able to contribute. Any amount contributed over $600 will be considered a tax-deductible charitable donation to the Tilian Farm Development Center through the Food System Economic Partnership, its 501(c)3 Fiscal Sponsor.
At $600, this share price breaks down to $37.50/week— only $9.38 per person per week or $1.34 per person per day. For a family of four, this is a great value for fresh, local, year round, organic produce!
Where is the farm located? When is pick-up?
The Residency Farm is located at: 4400 Pontiac Trail Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Tilian CSA members are always welcome to come out and explore the farm where their food is grown.
There are two options for share pick-up. Members can either pick up a packed share at the Wednesday Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market or come to the farm from 5:00-7:00pm on Thursday for a buffet style distribution upstairs in the barn. If in an emergency you are unable to make it to distribution, members will be able to pick up their shares from the farm cooler within seven days. Otherwise shares that are not picked up will be donated to Food Gathers.
