by Keirstan Kure, Student Farm Club president

“Great work everyone! With the crop harvested, packaged and sorted for delivery, let’s get this place cleaned up and deliver to our customers.”

On the morning of Friday, November 20th, the Student Farm Club Production Committee harvested and delivered the first student run CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) on campus to 19 faculty and staff. CSA programs are very popular among small farms. In a CSA, customers pay an upfront cost and receive deliveries of product from the farm on a regular basis throughout the growing season. CSA programs are a great way to receive local and in-season produce while getting to know your farmer and how your food is grown.

Students with their first CSA harvest, packed and ready to deliver.

Students with their first CSA harvest, packed and ready to deliver.

For this harvest, we decided to test the CSA model with the goals of working out the logistics, estimating future interest in a campus CSA program, gauging future income, and raising awareness and excitement around campus for the Student Farm Club and Initiative. This was the second round of production in the hydroponic pilot student farm, the first of which was sold to Food Services for Local Foods Night.

Throughout the months of October and November, we worked to gain customers and develop a system in which we could receive and process orders. Using email and google forms, 19 out of the total 20 possible shares were sold to customers who supported our small CSA program. For $18, each customer received four heads of romaine lettuce and one basil plant harvested that morning and had their share delivered to their office anywhere on campus. To communicate our thanks and appreciation for their support, we also created a thank you card that the production committee signed and a brief update on the Student Farm Club. These shares were based on what we could grow in our small production system and the timing of the semester.

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Compared to the first harvest, these plants had an extra week and a half in the system and yielded fifteen more pounds of lettuce and 1.2 pounds of basil more than the first harvest. In total, we grew 39 pounds of lettuce and 1.8 pounds of basil, with plants that were even larger and more luscious than the first time around.

Student Farm Club members harvested and bagged whole basil plants. Check out the size of the leaves!

Student Farm Club members harvested and bagged whole basil plants. Check out the size of the leaves!

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After two months of planning and seven weeks of growing time, the harvest and delivery date was upon us. At 8:30 in the morning, eight club members helped with harvesting, weighing, and packaging the produce. This time around, we all knew the harvest system and worked like a well-oiled machine. By 10:00 the produce was packed up and ready for delivery, right on time. We prepared the delivery lists and made our way around campus delivering to the 19 CSA members. The feedback we received was so positive and encouraging:

“I wanted to let you know that my son and I enjoyed some of the lettuce and basil last night, and it is delicious, tender and so fresh!

The hydroponic lettuce and fantastic student club will be an inspiring topic of conversation with my family this Thanksgiving.” – Dr. Heather Karsten

Not only did the CSA provide us with a substantial income that we will use to expand our production next semester, it created a memorable and tangible product that demonstrates the success of the Student Farm Club and Initiative. This spring semester, we will continue our CSA program out of our new greenhouse space in the Tyson greenhouses.

Harvest and packing went very smoothly.

Harvest and packing went very smoothly.

We will also grow our produce in soil so that we can grow a greater variety of produce such as herbs, tomatoes, beans and kale. We will also expand our CSA member base by offering a variety of vegetables more frequently throughout the semester. We learned a great deal about ordering logistics, delivery, communication with customers and managing the farm’s finances from this first CSA and will be working throughout the semester to improve our system so we can provide a consistent and high quality CSA share to our customers. We are so excited to see our new greenhouse space full of growing vegetables and club members excited about farming. Thank you to our CSA members for your support and enthusiasm!