Reviews for: Capella Farm

This will be our 4th year doing the summer and fall shares at Capella. We return each year because one good year's experience has been followed by an even better one the following year. Farmers Jennifer and Dave Kangas are committed to offering organic produce with lots of information for us about how they grow despite the challenges of weather and pest or disease possibilities. For those challenges, they use different varieties of each vegetable which I now understand is part of sustainability but as a consumer makes for a very exciting selection of produce. For example, there are weeks when we can choose among hot to mild peppers, maybe 10 varieties in one week. The heirloom tomatoes come in many colors and sizes, with taste that is out of this world! The greens, lettuces, and herbs are picked the day of pick up and are aromatic and beautiful. The garlic is wonderfully pungent and keeps for months, as do the root vegetables. I like being able to select the offerings each week as compared to a packed box, too, as then I know what is in the box. The fall share and Thanksgiving box will make your holiday memorable. The pie pumpkins are dense, not watery, and so sweet. Potatoes including fingerlings are great in fall stews and roasting. To conclude, Capella grows great food!

I began my relationship with the farm Summer 2012 when I decided to try a CSA; I split with a friend of mine who had previously participated in Capella's summer share.

The variety and quantity of vegetables I received every other week was joyfully overwhelming. I found myself eating healthier all summer long, and experimenting more frequently in the kitchen. I was glad to have a chest freezer, as the quantity was so fruitful that freezing was necessary (I welcomed these frozen greens in the winter). When I still had too much to eat myself, my co-workers and friends were pleasantly surprised with raw and baked goodies.

My experience Summer 2012 was so positive that I convinced my friend to split a Fall share. This past Jan. Capella started a Heart of the Winter share, and I jumped on that as well (as it was an every other week pick up to begin with, I did not split this share). I only "took a break" from the Spring share because I was traveling too much and wanted to clear my freezer of summer veggies.

Regardless of the weather, the drive to and from the farm is extremely relaxing. I get excited like a child for Christmas Day as I approach the farm...what delicious vegetables will I take home today?

Lastly, Jennifer, her family, and everyone else you encounter working on the farm are extremely kind, thoughtful people. If you are not sure how to use a particular vegetable, visit the farm's site for recipes or ask Jennifer during pick up. Jennifer is extremely receptive to emails and phone calls, too.

You will not regret participating in a CSA, especially with Capella Farm.

My relationship with Capella Farm started in January when I signed up for the winter share. It was very affordable and I thought it would be a good experiment that wouldn't cost me very much if I decided it wasn't for me. But it is absolutely the best! I just wrapped up my first spring season and have signed up for summer. The variety of vegetables is great. They are mostly veggies that I already used in the kitchen, but once in a while there's something wonderful that I've never cooked with before. Their greens are always top notch quality, and I can't get enough of their carrots! Jennifer is always very interested in feedback, and checks in with members on a regular basis. I am so excited to see what summer and fall bring!

We love our summer share at Capella Farm (we split a full share with another couple). The variety is awesome, they are larger than other farm shares we've gotten in the past, and quality is very important to Jennifer and the others at the farm. We particularly love experiencing new veggies. It keeps healthy eating interesting! Highly recommend.

My family and I look forward to the Summer CSA each year. Each week is filled with new foods to try out. Jennifer and company are great to work with and are easy to just stop by the farm, pick up, and say hello. We enjoy the variety of vegetables we get each week and can't wait to see what comes next week. You won't regret working with Capella.

For many years my husband and I wanted to join a CSA. But with three kids 5 years old and younger we were a bit overwhelmed by the whole idea. But we did know that we wanted our kids to be able to "go to the farm" to pick up our food.

From the beginning Jennifer has been so very helpful. She responded quickly to my email for more information (many farms never returned my phone calls/emails). She always has suggestions for how to prepare the food. She has even held my youngest while I've packed up my share!

We joined Capella Farms in the summer of 2011, extended our share into the fall session, and are now planning to participate in the spring, summer and fall sessions this year.

One aspect that I love about Capella is the way they do distribution. I love that I "build my own box". By following the instructions on the white board I am able to bag my own food from the pre-labeled tables. This helps me to know what it is that I'm getting (rather than emptying a pre-packed box at home and wondering what the different leafy greens are!).

My kids love to come with me to pick up our share. There are goats to see, chickens to look at, and Jennifer's kids to run around with. All-in-all a great time!

But let's not forget about the food! Everything tastes so good and looks so beautiful. There have been times when I have clapped my hands in delight (rhubard, beets) and even brought a tear to my eye (some of the greens truly are beautiful!). I love the food and don't know if I could ever return to produce shopping at the grocery store!

I am a dietitian and when I looked for a CSA for my household I had a few requirements- variety in produce, hot peppers for DH, and plenty of fresh tomatoes and greens. This CSA has more than met our needs and Jennifer is always friendly and ready to help with ideas for how to prep some of the more varied produce. I have gotten ideas from her and elsewhere and its inspired me in my own food related blog, as well as modifying existing recipes to use some of that produce.

We are a household of 3 adults and a # of sugar gliders, and between our own eating, and canning, dehydrating and freezing for winter, we use most of the produce (I occasionally gift items to friends when I know we just won't get to them).

The gliders eat small amounts of produce daily, year round, so feeding them uses small amounts of many of the same items I feed us. Total- they eat maybe 1/2 a cup a day, but a lot of that is fruit. It's the one thing this CSA doesn't have a lot of, so I do buy that elsewhere, but there is some from the CSA as well.

We tend to do Summer and Fall sessions as those have more of what we eat. My husband and daughter aren't huge on greens, and I wind up dehydrating a lot of them if I am not going to eat them, so the spring session of mostly greens is not as important to OUR household.

My husband and I joined Capella Farm CSA in mid-August 2010. Before joining a CSA I had thought that it wasn't practical for a family of 2, we couldn't afford it and it wasn't convenient. As our values have undergone that subtle shift that occurs as you get older we decided to give it a try. We decided to eat more plant stuff, more organic and also more local. I discovered LocalHarvest and sent out emails to more than 25 CSAs in the area.

Enter Jennifer Kangas at Capella Farm. She responded to my email within a day telling me there was a spot available for Saturday pickup and it would cost such and such $. Perhaps because it was August and harvest was in full swing, hardly any other CSAs responded to my request. For those that did reply tit took 1-2 weeks to hear back or not at all. So that gets me around to the reasons we love Capella Farm CSA:

1. Great communication: Jennifer answers any questions/concerns you have at lightening speed and is very strong with the administrative side of a farm's workings. She is open and genuinely interested in all feedback. The farm's website is always updated with the latest, "What's in the box?" And she strives to provide recipe suggestions, especially for veggies that are unfamiliar to us. Like pan-fried okra. Who knew it could be as decadent as French fries?

2. Great location: Some prefer Farmer's Market pick up but we prefer going to the farm. Capella is MUCH closer to A2 than almost all other farms in the area. Plus have you tried to find a parking space at the Farmer's Market in the summer? Also, we don't hazard spending more $. Capella has 3 really sweet and friendly cats who sometimes emerge and it's just lovely to smell the gardens, see the chickens and goats, and just soak in the Zen of the outside during growing season.

3. And last but not least - Amazing variety/good quality: We enjoy the adventure of becoming acquainted with gourmet/heirloom varieties in addition to the staples. We visited another summer CSA in September last year and were generously given a sample that contained about half the variety compared to Capella. And WOW the flavors do not compare to grocery store equivalents. Her egg yolks are vibrant orange and oh so flavorful. Eggs are extra $ and upon availability but we are able to purchase on most days. You also get lots of fresh herbs, lots of fresh flowers. Often, there is also a table of 'seconds' you can help yourself to if you want even more. And if we are last to pick up there is always enough bounty, we are never left feeling like the options are picked over. And if a full share is too much abundance for you Jennifer will help match you with someone else for a 1/2 share.

I also have to mention the value-added activites we get such as using less petroleum, supporting local economy, and gaining a sense of comminity. Oh, and I heard a Sand Hill Crane the other day!

Thank you Capella Farm!

Sincerely and gratefully, Kristen Boardman

My husband and I were members last summer, and Capella also offers spring and winter shares.

We were impressed with the food itself (large quantities! great variety!) and also with how Jennifer and her family welcomed members into their lives. We felt included in the process of growing the food (and could have been more if we'd found more time in our lives), and we really appreciated their efforts.

We joined Capella Farm's summer CSA in June 2010. We were new to the CSA community and I personally was quite new to cooking and preserving vegetables. We are a family of 6 (2 adults and 2 children who are veggie lovers, 2 children who aren't quite sure about veggies) and bought a full share. The quantity was perfect for our family, and I thought the price for the share was great. I also bought extra things throughout the summer and found the prices to be exceedingly reasonable. We enjoyed a wonderful variety of produce all summer long, as well as tons of herbs and fresh flowers. The produce was clean and well organized (greens tied with colored rubber bands) and the pick-up system at the farm was very well organized.

I found the Capella website, w/ recipes and preserving tips, to be very helpful. Jennifer posted a "what's in the box" note each week, explaining what was in each weekly box, how to identify it, how to cook/prepare it and how to preserve it - VERY helpful. Jennifer is a wealth of knowledge about cooking and preserving, and she displayed nothing but patience and encouragement in response to my never-ending questions about how to cook and preserve this, that or the other vegetable.

I know that other CSAs have pick-up in town, but my kids and I loved driving out to the farm each week to fetch our CSA box. Jennifer and/or Dave were always outside to greet us and discuss the week's produce, and their lovely children were also frequent greeters. I liked the weekly connection to our farmer and produce and think it was good for my kids; for that reason alone, I love the at-farm pick-up system at Capella more than I would like an in-town delivery.

We will be back at Capella next summer, and look forward to many more summers of wonderful produce from a wonderful family.

I joined the Capella Farm CSA after reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Eating Animals and looking to learn to use more vegetables. I wanted to be more purposeful about what I was cooking (or not cooking) for my husband and I and about how I was spending our food dollars. We were interested in eating more locally and organically.

I so appreciate having the opportunity to know those who are growing our food. The website, recipes, and weekly information about what to expect "in the box" are so helpful. Jennifer helps with greens identification, storage, what to do to eliminate little bugs (though I've yet to see one), etc. I've tried to email other farmers different times, and understandably, I suppose, they often don't seem to be too good on the communication end of things. Jennifer is very good about responding.

The vegetables have been amazing. Kale is my new favorite vegetable! It is quite fun to figure out how to use the items in the box each time. I have also been able to reserve some bushels of tomatoes for canning as well as other bulk items, when the harvest allows. Their eggs are just wonderful too.

I live about 40 minutes away and was initially a little concerned that I wouldn't want to commit to driving out every other week (we have a half share). I have really enjoyed coming out to the farm. Sometimes I combine it with a stop to the farmers' market and pick up some fruit or extra lettuce if needed, or run into Zingerman's or Whole Foods for dry goods or olive oil. Jennifer always posts the box contents a day or so in advance which helps me with planning meals. I always try to bring a friend or family member, both to have a companion as well as pass on information about CSAs.

This has been a completely positive experience and one that I am planning to continue in the future. Thank you Capella Farm!

We had an amazing time during our first year being a shareholder in '09. I was a little uncertain going into the venture last year (my wife was the driving force). After meeting with Jennifer/Dave and other members, we could definitely tell this was the right thing for us. They answered any and all questions that we had - and if they were unsure - they would check with their vast number of resources on a variety of topics from farming methods, pesticides, and recipes. There's plenty of opportunity to do some work on the farm so you can see how the food is grown. It was very enlightening and gave me a greater appreciation of what goes into it. If all that isn't enough, the taste of the locally produced items just blows away what you purchase at grocery stores. Picking up the box each week forces you to figure out how you're going to use everything - similar to Chopped/Iron Chef. Their motto of "Know Your Farmer. Know Your Food. Connect with the Land" is very appropriate and definitely comes across. The end of season share for Thanksgiving was superb, as well as the option to be able to access farm fresh eggs and meats - throughout the year - is a real bonus. As you can tell, we were very pleased and anxiously look forward to this season's crops.

Jennifer and Dave have a wonderful family farm run with integrity and consciousness for a sustainable local food culture. I love visiting their homestead farm and I have enjoyed many tasty eats as well. The kitchen is always brimming with food and life much like the garden and barn areas. The kids help put and it feels like the old days. This is a local farm to support !!! Their CSA is growing fast so get in while you can. Scio Church Rd. is a farming community with many options: Poultry, Beef, Goats, Vegetables, hay and so much more. Capella Farms has taken it to a whole new level. By the way they have the best eggs I have ever tasted!

Jennifer and her family have done an outstanding job in her first season as a CSA. Weekly pickups were always organized and boxes were always full. Capella Farm continually offered a wide and varied selection of herbs, greens, vegetables, beautiful flowers, and some fruits (eggs too) . Jennifer is extremely cooperative and a wealth of information and kept us up to date (via her accurate and entertaining blog) on issues that pertained to weather, specific crops and individual harvesting. She even offered U-picks and bulk packaging for specific crops . It was a fabulous season and we are looking forward to next year!

This is our first time ever joining a CSA. I had read 'Animal Vegetable Miracle' and got inspired to eat more locally. Capella farm has been great for us. The share has been very generous. The greens have been abundant and very fresh each week. We have had plenty to use each week and have even put some back in the freezer (blanching) for later down the road. Jennifer is wonderful and always thinking about her customers and her plants. We have also purchased eggs from Capella as well and they are fantastic. I look forward to the rest of the growing season and will update my review after that as well.