From Traditional CSA to Buyer’s Choice CSA

Roots & Wings Family Farm is located in Cherry Creek, NY. We serve our surrounding communities as well as the Jamestown area. Everything grown on our farm—vegetables, herbs, chickens, pigs, heritage grains, and more—is USDA Certified Organic.

For four years, we offered a traditional Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program to our farm supporters. We loved the program, and our shareholders. In 2012, we started welcoming foster children into our home. Committing to the kids (and the expectations of DSS) plus growing for twenty-some other families was more than we could fit onto our plate. That year, we pushed the farm to the backburner, but we did grow enough produce to trial a new, more flexible CSA system that could allow us to meet the needs of everyone in our farm family. The new system was well received by our trial members due to the lower initial cost, more options, custom-picked shares, and ease of use. Though there is more risk for us, we’re quite happy, too, and are sticking with the “new” system. Welcome to our CSA’s reservation website!

HOW IT WORKS

Our Buyer’s Choice CSA program allows you to order what you want, when you want via an online reservation system (this website).

  • We no longer ask for large sums of money to be paid before the season starts. Instead, there is a non-refundable $40 membership fee, good until the end of 2014. The membership fee is the very basic “CSA share” and indicates that you are serious about supporting our farm for the season. Please join early! This helps us estimate how many people to grow for, how much seed to order, how much of what to plant, and the entire rest of the year.
  • To join the CSA, please follow the directions listed below, and on the Q&A page.
  • You can make one trial order before paying the membership fee. If this type of CSA isn’t for you, just delete your account on the website.
  • You receive only the produce you want. Each week, the produce ready to be harvested is listed on this website in “The Market” section. You can simply click on the item you’d like and add it to your virtual shopping cart. If you don’t like fennel, don’t reserve it. If you love fennel, reserve as many as you want! You do not have to order every week, though we truly appreciate regular, committed customers!
  • The website keeps a live tally of orders, and it is first-reserved, first-served. Please note that there will be a deadline for ordering. The ordering system is operative from Friday morning until 9am the following Monday.
  • Pay only for what you reserve and take home. Use a credit card online, or pay with cash or SNAP benefits in person.
  • Choose your distribution site—either the new farmers market at Chautauqua Mall on Wednesdays from 11am to 4pm (though I will stay until 6pm if necessary for those with traditional work hours), or the farm in Cherry Creek on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30pm to 6:30pm, or by appointment. We are also in the process of organizing a pick-up site at Jamestown Community College for 2014. You’ll need to bring your own bags or boxes.*DURING WINTER WE ARE OFFERING HOME OR WORK DELIVERIES IN THE GREATER JAMESTOWN REGION.*
  • The season will begin when the first crops are ready, which depends on the weather. Early June is the ideal. We typically go until the end of October, perhaps longer if weather permits and our fall and storage crops do well. We do carry some crops, as well as eggs, through the winter.
  • All of the products from our farm are certified organic: vegetables, herbs, eggs, pork. We also offer certified organic berries, sweet corn, and grapes from partner farms, as well as other non-organic-but-local fruits and specialty items.
HOW TO GET STARTED
  • Go to “Sign In” to create an account (it’s quick and easy). You may peruse the website without an account, but you must have an account to reserve farm products.
  • If you have questions, call or email. The “Q and A” section is also a good place to visit.
  • If you would like to be added to our email list, please call or email us. We send weekly email newsletters about what’s happening on the farm and to notify our members that the market is officially open for orders. You can find us on Facebook, but we don’t use it much due to our foster care adventures. Our Facebook page is here: Facebook.
  • If you’re looking for a hands-in-the-dirt experience, come join us! Please call or email to arrange a time to help us feed you.
HOW TO CONTACT US

Our contact info is available in the “Q & A” section, and you can also learn more about our farm by visiting
www.rootsandwingsfamilyfarm.com,
finding us on Facebook,
or just calling.

We look forward to sharing the fruits—and veggies—of our labor with you!