How full should my box be?

CATEGORY: FAQ

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

We have had a couple of questions regarding how much food we are getting and if we have "extra" food to sell, why is it not automatically included in the box. The question goes something like this. "Aren′t we supposed to be sharing in the bounty?" I will try to explain our reasoning below.

A small share = 1/4 bushel of food.

A small box = 1/2 bushel of space (look at the label on the box)

This is done so we can ship larger items or special orders in the box too, however, we tend to like to deliver fuller boxes because it looks better.

QUESTION: Are the boxes being delivered pretty full?

If they are, then our members are getting twice as much as they are contractually supposed to get. Over a season, we usually provide at least 50% more food than people sign up for. This is historically true every year for the past 7 years.

The same logic applies with the big boxes.

Additionally we grow for restaurant, country club and caterer sales too. Sometimes they don′t always take what we anticipate they will take. We put these things up for extra sales.

Beyond this, we take any other overages that spoil and feed my livestock with it to recover part of the cash. Now we could deliver all of this food to the CSA customers, but then we would get complaints that people can′t eat that much food and to please stop delivering it. A person can only eat so much cabbage, and for that matter, so many strawberries. Very few people ever take those berries and actually make jam or jelly... they would probably rot and they would throw them away. People might feel like they are getting more value, but that would only be a feeling in most cases.

It′s a delicate balance and we find it difficult to please everyone. Most people would be surprised how many people quit because the amount of food they get is too much. At the same time we get people disappointed. We have yet how to figure out the dilemma of making everyone happy.

If we consistently provide boxes that are full then, in our minds, this fulfills our commitment to pass on "the bounty."

We hope this explanation meets everyone′s satisfaction and clears up any confusion. I there is something we haven′t considered, of course, we want to hear from you.

Regards,

Tim

Box Variety

CATEGORY: FAQ

We have had a few questions and comments about some lack of variety in boxes. We have had some interesting weather conditions and some disease this year that has effected some of the crops and I wanted to take a few minutes and explain some things. We want you to know that we are not ignorant of the situation and are not perfectly happy ourselves with the product mix.

Our strawberries just all gave up early this year and we have very little idea why. Last year we had strawberries through mid-June and we put back hundreds of quarts in the freezer. This year we only froze a handful. We were disappointed too. Being too dry the past week or two has caused the radishes to give out early. Last year we had some many we were scrambling to find enough recipes to get people to use them all. We were actually forgetting complaints about it. This year we are getting complaints that people did not get enough of the radishes.

We work as hard as we can to balance the boxes. This imbalance is part of the risk of going local for your vegetables. Unfortunately, we are sometimes constrained by nature and can only pack what happens to come to fruit. We try to plan as best we can, but there are many variables. That′s part of the nature of the CSA... we are not able to insulate ourselves from interruptions in supply of certain veggies by shipping them in from another state or country. We are constrained by what we produce locally. We are constantly learning how to do things better, though it′s never perfect.

When we don′t get enough of a certain crop to go across the entire customer base, then we have different ways to handle it. Sometimes we make distinctions between regular shares and family shares. Sometimes small boxes get something large shares don′t. Sometimes certain groups get something others don′t. It just depends. We do keep track and try and make sure in the end it is fair and equitable for everyone. A good example will be raspberries. We may have to rotate through different groups in an attempt to have everyone get at least one basket, if possible. Even so, it is not a guarantee on certain berries we have trouble getting enough of.

Hopefully this gives you a better appreciation for how a CSA works. Please understand that the boxes will change radically throughout the year as the seasons change. Hang in there and please know we are doing the best we can under the current conditions.

Tim Bodnar
Avalon Acres Farms