Growing Gardens CSA
The Growing Gardens CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program is run by our hardworking Cultiva Youth Project participants. Each CSA share contributes to the youth’s cultivation of life, leadership and professional skills through the Cultiva program. Youth ages 14-18 plant, tend, and harvest crops from the 2-acre farm in Boulder, then prepare and distribute CSA shares at weekly pickups throughout the growing season.
What does it mean to purchase a CSA share?
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, which is a farming model that connects people to their local farming community.
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CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, which is a farming model that connects people to their local farming community. In this model, members of the community purchase a “share” of the farm’s produce before a growing season begins. This gives the farmer added financial flexibility to purchase supplies and seeds, as well as the ability to plan for the number of shares they will need to grow for. It’s a great deal for CSA members as well because they will receive more produce over the entire growing season than they paid for. Support of our CSA includes the additional bonus of supporting the teens in our Cultiva Youth Project.
Each week during the growing season, community members pick up their “share,” which includes an assortment of fresh, organically grown produce harvested that week. Our CSA pick-up is “market style”, meaning that members will get to choose items from set choices each week.
Through joining a CSA, members enter into an agreement with the farmer, acknowledging that they will share in the bounty of the harvest, but also may share in losses incurred due to poor weather, insects, or other unforeseen circumstances.
The Growing Gardens CSA is unique in that participants have the opportunity to meet and build relationships with the young farmers while they learn from them about the produce available each week. Each CSA member receives a weekly newsletter update with photos documenting the growth of the youth and the farm throughout the season, along with special insights and seasonal recipes. Your participation in our CSA program directly impacts the Cultiva Youth Project leadership program, as well as supplies you with fresh, organically grown produce every week!
Boulder CSA Vegetable Shares
Our 21 week CSA runs from June 5 – October 23, 2024, and feeds 2-4 people.
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The 2024 Cultiva CSA price of $725 includes $675 for the share and a $50 tax-deductible donation to Growing Gardens to support the Cultiva youth project and our food donation program.
Members can pay in full when they sign up or they can split the payment in half. $362.50 will be due at the time they sign up and $362.50 will be due March 1st(plus processing fees). If you need a payment plan with more than 2 payments, please contact info@growinggardens.org.
A limited number of CSA shares can be purchased using SNAP benefits. If you are interested in signing up for a CSA share and paying with SNAP, please click here to read more information and sign up on our interest form. We will reach out to folks for these shares starting March 15th.
Location
CSA pick up is Wednesday afternoons from 3:30-6:30pm at Growing Gardens, 1630 Hawthorn Ave in Boulder. If you can’t make it to pick up your share, you are welcome to send a friend on your behalf. We are unable to make arrangements for shares to be picked up outside of the regular pick-up hours. Any shares not picked up will be donated to our partners through the Growing Gardens Food Project.
Contact Information
If you have questions, please contact sarah@growinggardens.org or 303-443-9952.
Add On Shares
All add-on shares are picked up at the same time and location as the CSA veggie share.
Below are descriptions of the add-ons we hope to offer in 2024 Pricing and sign ups will be available to CSA members in early February 2024. Add-ons can only be purchased with a vegetable share. Add-on shares must be paid for in full at time of registration.
Mushrooms
A half pound of certified organic mixed mushrooms each week of our 21 week CSA from Hazel Dell in Fort Collins.
Eggs
One dozen eggs each week of our 21 week CSA from Bluebird Sky Farmstead in Longmont, CO. Their hens are raised free-range on pasture and free of GMOs.
Fruit
12 Weeks of certified organic fruit from Ela Family Farms in Hotchkiss, CO. We typically receive peaches, pears, plums, apples, and apple cider over the course of the season. Fruit share pick-ups begin in August.
We still have a few more spots open! Please email Sarah Kell at sarah@growinggardens.org to learn more and register.
Longmont CSA Vegetable Shares
Our Longmont CSA runs from June 17th – October 17, 2024 and focuses on providing a full farming season’s worth of produce. Feeds 2-4 people.
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The 2024 Longmont CSA is $540. This share is a $30/week value and is meant to provide enough produce for 2-4 people. We accept SNAP for these shares and are able to offer SNAP recipients a 50% discount as well as weekly payments instead of upfront payments. We will be launching this CSA as a waitlist first, and prioritizing SNAP and Boulder Fruit and Veg Bucks Vouchers participants for spots first. After community members utilizing these programs are given a chance to register, we will add participants on a first come-first served basis from the registration form.
Members can pay in full when they sign up or they can split the payment in half. $270 will be due at the time they sign up and $270.00 will be due one month later (plus processing fees). If you need a payment plan with more than 2 payments, please contact info@growinggardens.org.
Each week, your CSA share will include a mix of vegetables from each of the following categories based on seasonal availability:
Herbs: cilantro, basil, mint, dill, or parsley
Greens: chard, lettuce heads, bagged lettuce, kale, broccoli, or cabbage
Roots: carrots, beets, radishes, or potatoes
Fruits: zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers (sweet and/or spicy), melons, or winter squashes
Alliums: garlic, storage onions, scallions
Location
Pick up is at our Food Project Farm at the Ed & Ruth Lehman YMCA, 950 Lashley St, Longmont on Thursdays from 4 – 6:30pm.
Sign Up
Add your name to our waitlist here!
No payment is required to be added to this list! We will contact people in the order they appear on this form starting March 15, 2024.
Other Ways to Support Your Local Food System
Boulder Farm Stand
Open 3:30 – 6:30 pm on Wednesdays
May 29th – November 20th
Located at our Boulder Farm, 1630 Hawthorn Avenue
At the Farm Stand you’ll find fruits, flowers and veggies from our farms eggs from Bluebird Sky Farmstead, mushrooms from Hazel Dell Farm, fruit from First Fruits Organic Farms, pastries and bread from Shamane’s Bake Shop, pasta from Pastificio, meat from local ranchers, goat milk soap and salve from our Goat Dairy, honey when available, and other goods. CSA members will receive a 10% discount at the Farm Stand.
Longmont Farm Stand
Open Thursdays from 4:00 – 6:30 pm
July 11th – October 17th
Located at the Food Project Farm at the Ed & Ruth Lehman YMCA,
950 Lashley Street
At our Longmont Farm Stand we sell fresh produce from the farm at fair prices. We also accept many forms of payment including SNAP and Boulder County Fruit and Veg Bucks Vouchers. We also participate in Double Up Bucks, which provides a 50% discount to all shoppers who purchase produce with SNAP.
