CSA FAQ’s

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Why Join a CSA?

What is a CSA?

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. When you join a CSA, you are buying a 'share' or becoming a ‘member’ for a farm's season before it begins. By becoming a CSA member, you’re supporting a small farm’s growing season with your upfront payment (whether it be a deposit, full payment, payment plan, it all helps). This model is extremely helpful for getting a small-scale farm like ours started up in the early spring when there aren’t vegetables or herbs to sell. Essentially you’re buying into the farm, and therefore investing in that year’s growing season. Upfront payments go directly to our organic seed costs (which can be $5k+), organic composted soil costs ($2k+), organic soil inputs (TBD $), and all of the other things that help us to get the season started. To be honest, there are far too many things to list….

What do you get as a CSA member?

You receive a weekly share of extremely fresh veggies and herbs. At Odd Crop, our CSA season typically begins mid-June and ends in late October. Everything you’ll receive is harvested fresh the day before or day of, which means it will be harvested, washed and packed within 24 hours.

Plus, all members have access to our additional CSA events (think natural dying with flowers, bonfires, cookouts!, drag shows!), additional celebrations, and access to bulk items and CSA specific discounts. Oh, and don’t forget full access to the pick your own flower and herb gardens!

Why is joining a CSA so helpful to a small farm?

It’s tough to have a small business in general, but can be especially challenging to start a small organic veggie farm. The reality is that the profit margins for organic veggies are slim even for a successful and established venture. We farmers are constantly crunching numbers on what makes sense for the longevity of our productions. Even calculating how much every kale leaf costs when harvested.

So for a small farm like Odd Crop to get started without existent infrastructure, thick wallets or well-funded backgrounds — it requires a decent amount of capital to build out the basics for a new location. Even if we are very scrappy like finding abandoned greenhouse hoops, used equipment, and diving hard into our sweat equity. At the end of the day, we spent many years working at other farms, where we at times made $14/hr. This leaves us with very tight budgets for our personal lives, and means we still find ourselves typically spending our few personal dollars on items for the farm anyways.


By joining our CSA or by getting our Friend of the Farm Card - you’re investing in this season of Odd Crop, which hopefully means investing in our long term future of growing food in Lebanon. Your early support helps us to receive the funds immediately and to directly re-invest those funds back into the farm. Our goals are to serve as not just a good local food resource, but a safe space and mutual aid connection for the larger community of Madison County.

Thank you to all that do sign up! Or show your support online, in person or at one of our markets. We understand that CSA’s aren’t for everyone <3

Frequently Asked Questions

  • We offer three different size shares. Small, Large & bi-weekly Flex share.

    • Small Shares (4-6 items)/weekly

    • Large Shares (7-9 items)/weekly

    • Flex Shares* (4 items)/bi-weekly

      **For flex shares, members will be able to pick their items. A Flex Member newsletter will be sent out every-other Tuesday morning before your pick-up to make a choice by 12pm that Wednesday *

  • We use a sliding scale system for our Small & Large Shares. This makes it easier for folks with different financial backgrounds to sign-up for a share, while still providing great deals for everyone involved. Consider your financial resources before choosing which tier best fits your needs.

    Small Share (4-6 items)

    • Tier 1 - Mutual Member
      $21.84/Week, $415/19 Weeks
      For people who have tight budgets, don’t have access to additional funds, etc.

    • Tier 2 - Regular Member
      $27.10/Week, $515/19 Weeks
      This is the base price for the year! And includes the overall CSA discount for the season.

    • Tier 3 - Contributor
      $32.37/Week, $615/19 Weeks
      For those who choose to contribute a bit more, and pay closer to our retail prices. Consider this if you own your home, can travel recreationally, have access to additional resources like generational wealth, additional investments, inheritances, etc.



    Large Share (7-9 items)

    • Tier 1 - Mutual Member
      $30.52/Week, $580/19 Weeks
      For people who have tight budgets, don’t have access to additional funds, etc.

    • Tier 2 - Regular Member
      $37.63/Week, $715/19 Weeks
      This is the base price for the year! And includes the overall CSA discount for the season.

    • Tier 3 - Contributor
      $44.74/Week, $850/19 Weeks
      For those who choose to contribute a bit more, and pay closer to our retail prices. Consider this if you own your home, can travel recreationally, have access to additional resources like generational wealth, additional investments, inheritances, etc.

  • Our growing practices and standards are organic (no chemicals used) at our farm. We are not certified because the process takes at least 2-3 years of business to qualify for certification. And to be honest the certification process can be quite costly. When the time comes, we will see if it is worth the hefty fee.

    We do not and will never use chemical pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers or non-food grade materials at the farm.

    To be fully transparent, we believe we do even more than the standards of organic certification with crop rotations, cover crops, minimal tilling, hand-tended beds, sacrificial beds, intercropping, and more.

    For us, we aren’t about just pretty looking and fast growing vegetables. It’s about the nutritional content, soil health, and the use of long-term practices to slowly improve the beautiful silty and sandy loams we are on now.

    Still curious? Read more about our practices here.

  • Typically our CSA begins the second to third week of June and ends in late October. Members can sign up for our full season now and experience 19 weeks of good food. Or sign up separately for our Summer Shares (13 weeks) and/or Fall Shares (6 weeks).

    Members will have access to bulk winter items, select vegetables and herbs for the holiday season, and first pick for next year’s CSA.

  • If you’re picking up at the farm, then all of the food will be out and ready for you to pick up and put into your carrier or bag of choice. Like a fresh farm stand, and you get to hang out, catch up, and meet other members. We always love the farm pick-up because it’s a good time to pick flowers and herbs too.

    For anyone with a pick up site: your share will be packed into a recycled paper bag and stored in one of our blue reusable farm totes. All freshly cut greens like salad mixes, microgreens and others like mustard greens will be stored in individual plastic bags. All salad mixes will be in sealed plastic bags.

    Other items that are more sensitive like tomatoes will be stored out of the bags until arrival so that they remain in prime condition.

    And best of all, these shares are delivered to you (at your pick-up location of choice).

  • Each week it’s different! But you can always expect peak season produce. So whatever is looking the best and in prime condition that week.

    In the Small Share, you will receive 4-6 different veggies and herbs. While the Large Share gets 7-9 items every week. For our bi-weekly Flex Shares, folks will receive 4 items every other week.

    The options will change every week so that you can experience the range of varieties that we grow, and to enjoy the seasonality of rich, peppery spring flavors, hot/bold summer foods, and the hearty comfort of fall roots, winter squash and greens.

    Spring:
    salad mixes, spinach, arugula, scallions, butter lettuce, baby bok choy, radishes, salad turnips, sugar snap peas, french breakfast radishes, dill, cilantro, carrots, kale, chard, and so much more.

    Summer:
    tomatoes (all types!), peppers (hot, sweet, you name it), herbs, fresh onions, fresh garlic, garlic scapes, summer squash, zucchini, green beans, cucumbers, carrots, beets, and all the beautiful zesty greens!

    Fall:
    potatoes, winter squash, beets, carrots, turnips, celeriac, onions, shallots, garlic, broccoli, cauliflower and all the comforting fall goods.

  • CSA Pickup will be every Thursday afternoon. Pickup at the farm from 4:30PM-7PM. Or choose one of the pickup locations that is closer to you.

    Pickup from the farm includes visiting the farm, picking out your veggies from the CSA set up on site. So still all veggies have been harvested and washed for you, but you get to choose your specific bag and bunch. Meet other members, and enjoy.

    Pickup Locations

    • Odd Crop Farm
      4820 South Lebanon Rd, Earlville NY 13332
      4:30PM-7PM

    • The Sherburne Inn
      2 W State St, Sherburne, NY 13460
      8AM-2PM

    • Morrisville Public Library
      83 Main St, Morrisville, NY 13408
      1PM-6PM

    • Loka Leaf Lounge
      53 Albany St, Cazenovia, NY 13035
      TBD

    • Oneida Public Library
      459 Main Street, Oneida, NY 13421
      1PM-7PM

    • Syracuse, NY
      Front Porch of CSA Member
      (Sedgwick Neighborhood)
      2PM-6PM

    • Manlius Location
      TBD

    • West Eaton, NY
      Garage of Odd Crop Farmers
      4871 Parsonage Road, Eaton, NY
      2PM-7PM

    • Lower Lake Brewery
      Hamilton, NY
      3pm-10pm

    All details regarding your chosen Pick-up Location will be sent out via email one week before pick-ups begin. Keep a lookout for our Tuesday newsletter! It will share details like: how to pick-up from that space, where it will be set up, etc. So it’s easy for you and the location!

  • If you can’t pick up, let us know ahead of time and we can pack it away for you to pick up the next day or save for later that week.

    Can’t pick it up that week?

    Feel free to have a friend or family member pick up and enjoy your share. If no one can pick up, let us know and we will deliver your share to a local community member on our Community Supported Shares list. Our Community Supported Shares are for folks that cannot currently afford their own share, and/or do not have transportation to pick-up a share.

  • Well, we truly hope not. But if one crop fails, our plan is already in motion to have multiple replacement options to move ahead with.

    If something extremely bizarre happens like our entire farm gets wiped out by extreme weather (tornadoes), flood or disease than we will replace your share items with local veggies and herbs from other nearby farms. The CSA would still follow, so you'd still receive your share every week. No loss for you!

  • Yes, absolutely!

    We currently off our Small & Large Shares on a Sliding Scale Plan based on your financial ability. No questions asked.

    We also offer a three-installment payment plan but are happy to adjust to a custom payment plan that fits your needs.

    If necessary, we do offer a few Community Supported Shares based on what we receive from the community throughout the season. Odd Crop will donate food whenever we can. If you’d like to chat more, please reach out to us via email at oddcropfarm@gmail.com.

    We are here to feed our neighbors.

Pickup Sites

All details regarding your chosen Pick-up Location will be sent out via email one week before pick-ups begin. Keep a lookout for our Tuesday newsletter! It will share details like: how to pick-up from that space, where it will be set up, etc. So it’s easy for you and the location!


  • Odd Crop Farm
    4820 South Lebanon Rd, Earlville NY 13332
    4:30PM-7PM

  • The Sherburne Inn
    2 W State St, Sherburne, NY 13460
    8AM-2PM

  • Morrisville Public Library
    83 Main St, Morrisville, NY 13408
    1PM-6PM

  • Loka Leaf Lounge
    53 Albany St, Cazenovia, NY 13035
    TBD

  • Oneida Public Library
    459 Main Street, Oneida, NY 13421
    1PM-7PM

  • West Eaton, NY
    Garage of Odd Crop Farmers
    5147 Parsonage Road, Eaton, NY
    2PM-7PM

  • Manlius Location
    TBD

  • Hamilton Location
    TBD


Pricing

How much does it cost?

We use a sliding scale system for our Small & Large Shares. This makes it easier for folks with different financial backgrounds to sign-up for a share, while still providing great deals for everyone involved. Consider your financial resources before choosing which tier best fits your needs. Pick the right Tier for you, we trust you to know what’s best for you. No questions asked.

How does it work?

It’s a three tier system!

  • Tier 1 - Mutual Member
    For people who have tight budgets, and don’t have easy access to additional funds or limited resources, etc.

  • Tier 2 - Regular Member
    This is the base price for the year! And includes the overall CSA discount for the season.

  • Tier 3 - Contributor
    Tier 3 helps us as a small farm to slowly build towards a better, hopefully more sustainable future in Lebanon - where we can pay ourselves a wage, keep up with rising costs, and still share our food with everyone.
    This is for those who choose to contribute a bit more, and pay closer to our retail prices. Consider this if you own your home, can travel recreationally, have access to additional resources like generational wealth, additional investments, inheritances, etc. Have a high degree of earning power (class background, gender, race, etc).

Payment Plans

3 -installment payment plans are available!

If a more custom payment plan is preferred, reach out to us at oddcropfarm@gmail.com and we can work something out.

Prefer to pay via cash or check?

We appreciate saving funds on the processing fees.
Send us a check to Odd Crop Farm at PO Box 114 West Eaton, NY 13484

Odd Crop Farm