Here is a letter from Evangeline, and below that a letter from Paul.
Greetings!
This is Evangeline writing to you. I hope this letter finds you doing well. I have decided to run the CSA this year. I am VERY excited about this. I have missed the farm and all of you so much. Paul and I still have the farm up for sale, and we are continuing to work with some wonderful potential buyers. However, the season is coming up, and its time to start up the greenhouses soon. This chance to run the farm again is an unexpected gift for me, and I am so grateful for it.
So, I am offering another year of Sweet Land CSA. I would love to share this farm year with you. Shall we?
The farm will be set up the same as in the past, and the share will be the same as well. That is, the distribution shed will still be divided in to the One Bag Side and the Free Choice Side, and the u-pick fruit and flowers will be the same. (I am excited to be surrounded by flowers again!). I have decided to only have about 20 chickens, so I will not be offering egg shares. There may be eggs for sale occasionally in the shed.
In the interest of having time with my kids, and taking care of my personal well being, I am going to scale back the size of the CSA a bit. With that in mind, and because early sign-ups are always helpful in general, (and especially to me this growing season), sign up soon if you would like to be part of the farm this year. I truly look forward to growing for you.
This year instead of raising the share price by a set increment, I am offering a Two Adult Share on a sliding scale of $540 through $650. The sliding payment scale works well for other CSA farmers, and I think there are inherent benefits in this system of pricing. I suggest that the price you decide to pay be a reflection of a combination of your finances and the value that a share holds for you. I am also offering a Single Person share on a sliding scale of $270-$325. The single person share is for one person, and is basically half of a bag from the One Bag Side, plus the amount of free choice that one person eats. The summer share will run for 23 weeks this year.
This year I am also offering the option of mailing in four checks dated with the installment due dates (listed below) upon joining. This way you don’t have to remember to send in your payments, and it renders book keeping straightforward. So, upon joining you may send in 4 checks, one with the current date, and 3 more dated with the installment due dates. I will process the current check, file the 3 subsequent checks, and then process them on the dated installment date. Of course you are always free to send in payment before the due dates if you have the finances to do so.
To join, go to the website, www.sweetlandfarm.csa, and fill out the join form. The join form contains more details about payment options.
As in past years, we are happy to continue to offer subsidized shares through the Healthy Food For All Program. I will send out an email announcing when those shares are available. The program, through farmer-run fundraising and grants, subsidizes half of the cost of a share. We are also delighted to be able to accept Food Stamps (SNAP benefits) in payment for the share. This payment option is described on the FAQs page of the website.
All right everyone, thanks for reading. I hope you join me in this year’s unfolding of a farm. I think that it will be beautiful. Please email me with any questions you have about the season.
Evangeline
Installment due dates:
First check – whenever you join.
2nd installment: June 16th
3rd installment – August 4thth
4th installment – September 1st
Hello Sweet Land Farm members,
This is Paul writing to you in the New Year. As you know, I've decided not to continue farming at Sweet Land Farm. I have taken employment with Renovus Energy in Ithaca as their Project Manager and I'm enjoying learning and participating in installing renewable energy systems on our neighborhood homes and businesses.
Evangeline and I are still talking with a potential buyer for the farm and we are hoping for a closing at the end of 2014. In the interim Evangeline will be operating the farm this season and I'm excited to be part of that venture as tech support and CSA member! Evangeline has a great crew lined up and the farm is prepped and ready to burst as always. After this 'real' winter we've been having, spring is going to look real good.
I thank you again for playing your community part as a member of Sweet Land Farm. Without you there would be no Community Supported Agriculture. It is my hope that the wheels keep turning at Sweet Land for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Paul Martin
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