CSA
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA for short) is a partnership with a farm and the community eating from it. You sign up at the start of the growing season to essentially buy a share of our farm’s bounty. We get money at the start of the season to buy seeds, compost, and pay wages and in return you get fresh produce or flowers each week from a place you know grown by farmers you trust.ย
Our CSA is more than fresh produce โ itโs a way for you to experience the seasons and abundance of life on a local farm.
Vegetable & Herb CSA
Our 2023 CSA is a 22-week harvest season offering over 200 varieties of vegetables, herbs, and some add-ons.
Timing
June 2 to October 27, come to our farm in South Surrey Fridays between 1-7pm or to an accessible East Vancouver pick-up site 2-7pm.
How it Works
New: Members fill a large canvas tote bag (18″) with anything from our farm’s harvest each Friday. You decide what goes in your bag! Get what you want and can use. You’ll sign up based on the adults in your household eating the produce together each weekย (kids ride free):
- One-adult household – $30/week
- Two-adult household – $45/week
- Three+ adult household – $60/week [get two totes!]
Think a farmer’s market that is just for you!
Choose your share size on the number of adults in your household who will be eating from your share each week, not by the quantity of vegetables you think you need. All households get access to what you can eat all season (the bag is your weekly upper limit).
Your large canvas tote bag fits over $50 of produce. U-pick bulk crops or large items like melons, squash, flowers are the cherry on top and don’t have to fit in your bag.
Want more info? See our drop-down questions to the right.
In addition to our farm bounty, we partner with other local producers offer add-ons of tree fruit, mushrooms, eggs, etc. These will be an additional cost to the price of your share but can be picked up at the same time as your vegetables.
Frequently Asked Questions
Each adult in your household regularly consuming food from your share should be included in the size you select with kids riding free. When you sign up to become a member of the farm this year, your fee is paying for a relationship to our farm with a weekly free-choice share of our harvests, access to u-pick crops, and other perks (see the list to the left!).
Choose your share size based on the number of adults in your household who will be eating from your share each week, not by the quantity of vegetables you think you need. All sizes get full access to what you can eat all season.
Each week, you’ll have your choice from around 10-20 vegetables and herbs. Take what you’d like! As the season changes, so will the selection.
In the spring, there will be crops like leafy greens, beets, radishes, and peas. In the summer, there will be tomatoes, peppers, summer squash, and carrots. In the fall, there will be root vegetables and winter squash. By the end of the season, you will have had access to over 50 crops and 200 varieties! Here’s a seasonality chart estimating what is available each month.
Is there something you really want to make sure we’ll have? Send us an e-mail to ask at csa@arocha.ca.
Yes! If you signed up for the appropriate share size (one-adult, two-adult, etc.), then you’ll take what you need. There may be some weeks we have a limit on some crops to make sure everyone gets some, such as tomatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower. Otherwise, take your pick!
We’ve decided to trial this fill your own bag system because of how well it has worked for other farms and how much customers loved it!
We’ll have a staff member present at each pick-up and will make sure there’s enough for everyone to get the full value of their share each week no matter what time you arrive in the pick up window. When favorites are in seasons โ like tomatoes, broccoli, etc. โ there will be a cap on quantities for each person so that there’s enough for everyone. Otherwise, fill your bag with anything you’ll use for the week.
For the 2023 season, we will have two locations available:
- Our farm on 1620 192 Street, Surrey
- A pick-up location in East Vancouver near Commercial & 1st.ย
You’ll choose your pick-up location when you sign up.
Hear’s what our 2022 members loved about our CSA!
“Fresh, organic vegetables that taste like they should.”
“Itโs really important to me that my kids are connected to the land and where our food comes from. Participating in the CSA is a great way to do this.”
“The biggest benefit to being a CSA member is having that sense of belonging to a community that cares about God’s creation and is wanting to do agriculture in a different way (i.e. with support from all members). I love being part of the change that I want to see happen!“
“I love the variety and the chance to try something different. But, to know that you are eating food grown just down the road from where you live is the best part of CSA.”
“We eat what is in season and I love that we can eat local food and avoid buying food that has to travel long distances to get to us.”
If you will be away during the harvest season, feel free to have friends or family pick up your share. Vacations are a great way to share the CSA experience with someone else!
Share Price Assistance. To request assistance, please e-mail csa@arocha.ca.
If you’re able to give a little extra on top of your share fees, consider making a donation toward CSA Programย Fund, which goes directly toward:
- Subsidized shares for other CSA members who need a reduced price in order to access our local produce.
- Farm to Families shares that fully cover the costs for local families with the greatest need.
We grow melons each year and will offer add-ons of tree fruits through partnerships with other farms. Any fruit from other farms will be an additional cost to the price of your share.
Your share is meant to give you enough produce for the cooking needs of your house including visitors, potlucks, and dinner parties.ย Any adult regularly eating from your share should be counted as an adult member of your household when you sign-up. However, taking extra produce each week to give away fresh to friends not included in the share you signed up for is not an appropriate use of our model.
No, membership is for the full 22-week harvest season.
With our take-what-you-want system, it’s harder to plan quantities for every other week pick-ups. Do consider joining with another family of equal adults to split a share. Just make sure to coordinate and alternate your pick-up weeks. If you do this, give us everyone’s names when you sign-up so we know who to expect and get everyone on the farm newsletter for any updates.
If you’d like to join with another person but don’t know who to do it with, let us know at csa@arocha.ca so we can connect you with each other.
Yes, if there is space. Once the harvest season is underway in June, we can pro-rate the cost.
Membership costs are not refundable. This is because we use the money early in the year to pay for our upfront costs (seeds, compost, labor, etc.) in order to plant your food and flowers. If you would like to end your membership mid-season, we ask that you find someone to take over your share.
Exceptions made for unforeseen circumstances such as illness, life-changes, etc.
Membership Perks (included in the price of your CSA share)
- Farm Tour* for CSA members in June.
- Weekly Recipes and the inside scoop from the farmย in your CSA newsletters.
- U-pick* to pick your own snap peas, green beans, zinnias, and cherry tomatoes.
- CSA Picnic* in July to join other members in a bring-your-own picnic on the farm.
- Pumpkin Harvestย before our annual October Harvest Celebration (choose your own to take home!).
- First Access & Discounts on On-Farm Workshops offer through the summer.
* = new for 2023!
See our CSA Member Handbook for more information.
Flower CSA
New for 2023! We’re offering a stand-alone flower CSA! From mid-July through September, pick up a seasonal mixed bouquet on Fridays weekly for 10 weeks. Same locations as our main CSA (our farm or East Van). Cost is $200. Click the sign up button to snag your spot!
Did you know that Canada imports close to $100 million of cut flowers annually. Most of these are shipped over 6,000 km from Colombia and Ecuador. The environmental impact of purchasing imported cut flowers is massive.
Our flowers have a negligible carbon footprint thanks to regenerative practices. Consider buying local for flowers!
See our Flower CSA Member Handbook for more info!
Growing Practices
We use regenerative practices including the use of cover crops, crop rotations, and planting habitat for beneficial insects. We’re transitioning to no-till production to minimize the physical disturbance of our soil to increase soil organic matter content. This sequesters carbon into the ground to mitigate carbon emissions and increase our resilience to climate change.
While we are not certified organic, our practices are considered organic so you can rest assured no synthetic chemicals are applied to the land or your food.
Our farm is part of A Rocha Canada’s Brooksdale Environmental Centre. With our colleagues, we work for stewardship in the Taโtalu River watershed (Little Campbell River) within the Metro Vancouver area. Learn more about our conservation science work.
Our Team
Here are our leading ladies!
We also have a team of conservation residents, summer workers, and volunteers. If you join our CSA, you’ll get to know this year’s crew in our CSA newsletters.
Want to learn more about regenerative agriculture? We’re hiring for the summer!
Or, come join us as a volunteer,ย conservation resident,ย or stop by the market to ask about a tour.
Farm Stand
During the growing season, we have farm fresh produce available at our cafรฉ & farm stand + at the Langley Community Farmer’s Market.
We also have dried herbs from the farm, seasonal jams, coffee, and a selection of locally made and fair trade gifts. Follow our farm on Instagram for hours.
Subscribe to the Friends of the Farm newsletter below to get notified for CSA sign up + monthly farm happenings during the growing season!
Workshops
This year, we’re planning several summer workshops. Come back to check the website here or watch our newsletters for the 2023 schedule. Our CSA members get a discount on workshops. Follow links to register on Eventbrite.
Natural Dyes: Curious about natural dyes? We have two options in July!
- Natural Dye Bandanas | July 22, 10:30-11:30am | Shaped resist (tie-dye) techniques. Go home with TWO bandanas.
- Natural Dye Half-Day | July 29, 9:30-noon | A full experience! We’ll dye cotton bandanas, napkins, tea towels, and wool yarn with dye plants grown on our farm.
Seed Saving 101:ย Join a workshop at our annual Harvest Celebration in October to learn about seed saving. Gather seeds of your own from our farm!
Dried Flower Crowns: Make crowns for gifts or yourself with our farm grown and dried flowers.
Have a workshop idea or request? Send us an e-mail.
Farm to Families
We donate shares to newcomer immigrant and refugee families, seniors, and school kids through local partners in our Farm to Families Program.ย We also send extra produce to Sources to distribute to food banks. Last year, we gave over 5,000 poundsย of vegetables.
We also provide hands-on training in gardening, food preparation, and nutrition. Monetary gifts toward our agriculture program make it possible to grow with giving in mind.
$250 will support a household (3+ people) this year. Join us to share with our community!
Help us extend our harvest to others!
Our Community Shared Agriculture Programย Fund goes to two things:
- Giving free CSA shares to local newcomer families who need full assistance to obtain vegetables.
- Offering discounted CSA shares to those would would find it difficult to otherwise access local produce through our CSA.