CSA: Waltham Fields Community Farm

In 2020 in response to the COVID pandemic, our CSA model transitioned to a boxed program so that we may deliver the harvest in the safest method possible for our shareholders, staff and workshares. WFCF?s mission to promote access to fresh food and local agriculture is stronger than ever, and we are committed to adhering to all CDC guidance for social distancing, social gathering, hand washing and sanitation, food safety and employee wellness.

Due to state guidance regarding gathering size and our own space limitations and large size of our CSA shareholdership, we currently anticipate offering a boxed share on assigned distribution days at the start of the 2021 CSA season. As we progress further into the year, we will continue to stay abreast of local and state guidance. If there is a feasible and safe way to adapt back to market-style at some point in the season, we expect to do so. And we are fully committed to reinstituting our choice-based, market-style model when we have moved fully through our current public health crisis.

CSA vegetable selection:

The summer CSA begins in June, with shareholders visiting the farm to pick up their vegetables. Each week, our farmers harvest 6-12 items fresh for your share box. Some crops may be limited, and others abundant, depending on the week and weather. Early summer brings shares rich in greens, scallions, and radishes; soon we move into baby carrots, cabbages, beets, and onions; and full summer arrives with cucumbers, summer squash, eggplant, peppers, bountiful tomatoes and more. The season is rounded out in the fall with hearty roots, zesty greens, potatoes, and winter squashes. We have partnered with Picadilly Farm, a certified-organic family farm based in New Hampshire, for many years. In 2020, they provided the CSA with sweet and bell peppers, melons, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and leeks.

Our weekly CSA newsletters keep shareholders updated on the progress of the crops and the ups and downs of the season. In-person interactions at CSA distributions are more limited than ever with the pandemic, so the emailed CSA newsletter is the primary way that our farmers communicate with shareholders and keep them informed about our systems, techniques, and challenges. We ask all shareholders to read the newsletters each week and feel free to chat with our farm staff at distributions.

Pick-Your-Own Crops:

While our farmers harvest the majority of crops for pickup in the barn, shareholders can round out their weekly share with an array of Pick-Your-Own crops. Pick-Your-Own maps and lists of quantities are made available to shareholders each week, and the farm is open every day during daylight hours for shareholders to pick these crops. In 2020, PYO crops were limited due to COVID precautions, but included herbs, cherry and plum tomatoes, chilies, and beans. We anticipate including more of our traditional PYO crops into the 2021 plan, including tomatillos and more beans. We ask all shareholders follow all COVID safety protocols when on the farm and picking in the fields. In 2021, we plan to increase in-field signage to manage the number of people picking in the beds and support our more vulnerable populations who wish to engage in PYO.