CSAs
community supported agriculture
aka farm shares
Brookfield Farm, Amherst
-Pick-up Points in Arlington, Cambridge, Lexington, Jamaica Plain & Newton
-$490
-Runs 1st week of June through Thanksgiving
-All the usual suspects plus the opportunity to buy Brookfield Farm's
beef & pork.
Bay End Farm, Buzzard's Bay
-Pick-up in Cambridge
-$500
-Mid-June through the end of October
-In addition to fruits and vegetables, Bay End Farm includes herbs
and fresh flowers in their CSA.
Parker Farms, Lunenburg
-Pick-up points in Cambridge & Somerville
-$300 half share; $475 full share
-Runs 1st week of June through 1st week of November
-Share includes peaches & apples from neighboring Flat Hill Orchard and miataki ("hen of the woods") mushrooms.
Farmer Dave's, Dracut
-Pick-up in Somerville, Dracut, Gloucester + Lawrence
-$360 for half share; $540 for full; $30 admin fee
-New England fare, Brazilian or Central American -- your choice!
-Fruit, flower shares available too
The Farm School, Athol
-Pick-up in Cambridge and Watertown
-$600
-Runs 20 weeks
-The Farm School has a pretty kickin' mission: teaching kids how to
farm and be environmental stewards.
Drumlin Farm, Lincoln
-Pick-up in Cambridge, Jamaica Plain, Quincy and Dorchester
-$575
-June through October
-Drumlin Farm, a non-profit that farms Mass Audubon land, also offers
a winter CSA share for $200 (half share) and $400 (full share)
In Season, regional
-Pick-up in Salem, pending pick-up spots in Cambridge/Somerville
-You pay for what you order only! Meat, dairy, eggs, cheese, pasta, sweets, fruits and veggies available
-Year round, works with farms + producers in Massachusetts, around New England
The Food Project
-Pick-up in Arlington, Cambridge & Jamaica Plain
-$450
-Early June through late October
-The Food Project is very bad ass indeed, growing not only at their
farm in Lincoln, but in Boston and on the roof of the Boston Medical
Center. They grow nearly a quarter million pounds of food every year
with the help of many urban teens and donate piles of it to shelters.
Red Fire Farm, Granby
-Pick-up in Somerville, Cambridge, Jamaica Plain & Brighton
-$525-$650 (full share sliding scale)
-24 weeks (June 11 - Dec 17)
-Red Fire Farm offers both a fruit share ($180) and a cut flower
share ($100), but also the brand-new, totally cool Boston home
delivery share ($260). A person pedals a tricycle truck from the
distribution point in the city to your home. It's extra convenient and
environmentally friendly!
Stillman's Farm, Lunenburg
-Pick-up in Jamaica Plain & Brookline
-$300 (half), $450 (full)
-June through October
-Stillman's at the Turkey Farm is a new meat CSA in Hardwick. They
offer pork, beef, poultry and lamb and also have delivery points in
the city
Stone Soup Farm, Belchertown
-Pick-up in Cambridge & Boston
-$225-$275 (half share sliding scale); $400-$500 (full share sliding scale)
-June through October
-In addition to full and half shares, Stone Soup Farm also offers
flower shares, egg shares and winter shares.
Carraig Farm, Ashby
-Pick-up in Dedham
-$240 half share; $400 full share
-June through October
-CSA includes all the usual suspects, plus Thai and Chinese veggies,
one bar of homemade goat's milk soap per month, first dibs on lamb and
poultry and bread and eggs available for purchase. Also, they have a
retired Boston Police horse there!
Heaven's Harvest, New Braintree
-On farm + surrounding towns + TBD
-$350 for half share; $550 for full/15 weeks
-Organic veggies and fruit. We're waiting to hear back from the farmers, but according to one article we found online, this is an all-vegan operation. Which is to say, no cow manure?
These farms offer on-farm pick-up only.
Waltham Fields, Waltham
-$560
-20 weeks.
-Waltham Fields offers an apple share ($75) which includes a
smattering of other fruit like plums and peaches and a
two-distribution winter share including root crops, winter squash and
greens for $110.
Belmont CSA, Belmont
- $600
-Mid May through late October
-Belmont CSA is very small and very new, but offers a summer share, a
preservation share (for canning and putting food up) for $150 and a
winter share for $225. Farmer Gretta Anderson partners with bigger
farms to help grow the crops she can't because of space
considerations.
Newton Community Farm, Newton
-$525 or $275 for alternate week shares
-20 weeks
-Newton Community Farm is open primarily to Newton residents (they
are served first and the shares usually sell out). The CSA has a work
commitment of 12 hours for the season (6 hours for the alternate week
share). Because only one acre is in production, farmer Greg Maslowe
tills with a walk-behind tractor.
Busa Farm, Lexington
-$250, worth $280 "Busa Bucks"
-All season or until your money runs out
-Busa Farm uses a slightly different CSA model than most. Instead of
box pick-up or delivery, you're given their currency to use at your
leisure at a savings of 12 percent.
Moose Hill Community Farm, Sharon
-$350 half share, $600 full share
-22 weeks
-Moose Hill Community Farm is a non-profit that is associated with
MassAudubon, like Drumlin Farm in Lincoln. It also offers pick-you-own
flowers, cherry tomatoes and green beans.
Farm Direct Co-op, North Shore-based
-
Pick-up in Salem, Marblehead & Melrose
-$50 Membership fee, $180 single vegetable share, $300 family vegetable share
-19 week
-The Farm Direct Co-op also offers fruit, herb, cheese and extended
season shares.
