Thornbury Farm CSA

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Terrible CSA - Absolutley the worst!
By: Thornbury CSA Member (Oct 18, 2009)
If I could give Thornbury Farms zero (0) stars I would. Thornbury Farms falsely advertises their CSA. They promise upwards of 40 vegetables, but have delivered just a few. The produce is consistently extremely tiny (e.g. eggplant the size of a tennis ball and 2 inch carrots), Much (but certainly not all) of the produce is put out rotten. If you arrive late in the day, you get leftovers. However, the worst thing about them is their customer service. It is non-existent. Once they collect your money (in advance), they couldn't care less about you. They don't bother to communicate with their shareholders except for once a week when they send an email that states the same thing, "We hope you are enjoying your lovely vegetables". The problem is, there are no vegetables to speak of. Each week my pickup can fit into a lunch bag. A typical pickup includes 1 banana pepper, 1 dwarf eggplant, 3 oz. of rubbery spinach, 1 squash, 1 sprig of wilted parsley, and 4 ears of corn. During peak season you might get 4 or 5 bell peppers the size of a tennis ball and several squash. From September forward, I picked up my produce then drove immediately to another farm to purchase produce for the upcoming week. After spending about $35 per week for Thornbury which is the approximate share cost, I would have to go elsewhere for broccoli, peppers, onions, lettuce, and pretty much everything else and spend another $30. They never email to explain why the produce is so poor. Instead, they pretend that you are getting an abundance of the best produce on earth. They are in complete denial, and they just don't care about you as a customer. The first time I emailed them to ask what is happening, I received a reply several days later that thanked me for my interest in the 2010 season. Several weeks later when I emailed again to get some answers, they replied that they can't please everyone! Stay far away from this farm or you will regret it. There are many other CSAs in the area that produce an abundance of top quality organic produce. CSAs that genuinely care about you, the customer who is helping to fund them.
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Thornbury CSA Member ( Oct 22, 2009 )

Randell - Finally, finally, finally you personally reply to a comment. For once you didn't send Marylisa to do your PR work for you. I challenge you to refute any FACT stated in my review. What you wrote is your opinion. The FACT is there are no turnips or salad greens, nor were there EVER. The FACT is your eggplant was the size of a tennis ball; the FACT is the 1 cantaloupe available when I picked up was completely rotten; the FACT is your carrots were 1.5 inches long (I measured them); the FACT is many of my banana peppers were rotten in the basket; the FACT is Maylisa said broccoli would be available 4 weeks ago and it still is not; the FACT is NOWHERE ON YOUR WEBSITE DO YOU DISCLOSE THAT YOU ARE A NEW CSA; the FACT is no one ever answers the phone when I call; the FACT is you haven't had the decency to answer emails with HONEST answers. ALL I ASKED FOR WAS A LITTLE HONESTY AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT WHICH YOU FAILED TO PROVIDE OR EVEN ADDRESS. I am a vegetarian and only eat organic food. I would have gladly made a donation to your farm had I known you were a startup. Instead, this FACT was never disclosed. Please read your own website, and for the sake of other potential customers be honest and disclose that you are a startup and as such you cannot produce as much as an established CSA. JUST BE OPEN AND HONEST. IS THIS TOO MUCH TO ASK?

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By:
Stephanie Malloy ( Oct 21, 2009 )

I am also a member of Thornbury Farm CSA...I do not agree with this comment. I feel that I did not expect too many vegetables each week as this is the first year for this CSA. What was put out each week was far beyond expected. A friend of mine belongs to a nearby CSA that is in its 2nd year and recieved half of the produce I received each week, she has joined Thornbury for the 2010 season. I'm also not sure where this person put their vegetables for them to be rotten by the time they got home, I never had an issue with freshness. As far as customer sevice I am also very confused as to what this person was talking about. There is a large pickup window from 12 to 6, but sometimes I was just unable to get there at those times, there was always someone willing to meet me over there whenever was convenient for me to pick up. They really do make it feel like a close community and do not deserve a bad review from someone who isn't even willing to post their name...shame on you name witheld, Thornbury deserves every star they get.

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By:
Randell Spackman ( Oct 21, 2009 )

This man requested his season for free, and would be fine if he got that! - The ONLY member EVER to try this. It is a shame that he started in July and missed much of the Great produce and is missing some Great crops now for our fall season. ( Cabbage, Beets, Turnips, Salad Greens Tec.) Organic Farming is a careful science and crops rotations mean that not every crop is in season every time every week. Part of a CSA is to educate the public. Our weekly emails showed and explained what crops are coming next this some useful ways to us the crops. Everything is picked that morning by our Amish farmer. They also explained the Tomatoes Blite that hit the East Coast this year. Our current membership is enjoying many classes that we offer and have told us how happy they are to send in deposits for our 2010 season. Comments like these sadden us because they are not fair and not professional or helpful in anyway but to try to hurt. We have multiple emails and other items showing how we try to work with our members. We look to our members, as a big family and we see our members at the store and local events. It is great to see and meet so many wonderful people. Thank you for your time and contact us with any questions and we can give you the details