F.A. Farm

Here in Washington, there are efforts to get produce to consumers via sailboats across Puget Sound and using pedicabs to get from the dock to the farmers market. I am thinking on similar lines for my CSA program. We are only 12.5 miles from downtown Bellingham, the big college town that drives the markets here in Whatcom County. My proposal is to give bicyclists a $100 discount if they promise to cycle out to pick up their box each week. Since my season is 20 weeks, this is a discount of $5 per box. There are two salutary effects that I see right now.

My price for a share in 2010 will be $500, as in 2009. Early payment discounts will be $425 in January, $450 in February, $475 in March and then full price of $500 on April 1st and later. For this price, you get a minimum of $500 of produce during the 20-week season, June through October. With a bicycle discount of $100, the comparable price in January would be $325, for example. So, this is a big discount and should be educational in promoting the advantages of doing a little legwork to save money. It gets people thinking along the right track.

The second salutary effect is more subtle. At some point people will realize that I am not making money at this price. The next progression in their thinking should be to consider that I am not making a living at ANY price for my CSA program. From my perspective, I am doing this for political/social/community reasons, so it is irrelevant if I lose an extra $100 per CSA share. Just as we promote backyard gardening so people know how much work it takes to grow food sustainably, so a direct-discounted cashflow advantage should educate people to the real costs of farming sustainably.

I will roll this idea around in my brain for awhile and see how the rough edges get smoothed out.