Many of your neighbors are investing in seeds and farm equipment this spring. But most of them will never get their hands dirty. The farms they’re putting their money into offer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs that use annual subscription fees to help pay for the seeds and supplies needed at the start of the growing season. In exchange, the subscribers get regular weekly shares of the harvest.

Most CSA programs offer annual shares for a set fee, and the food is either delivered to the customer or picked up at the farm throughout the growing season, usually from May to October. The average weekly cost typically works out to about $25 to $35.

The first CSA program in Kitsap County, and possibly on this side of Puget Sound, was started by Rebecca Slattery of Persephone Farms back in 1991. Slattery’s fields are in Indianola, but she delivers CSA baskets to her subscribers on Bainbridge Island every week from June through October. The Johnson Farm (site of the annual Harvest Fair) is her pickup site; each week she greets her CSA members with carefully selected baskets of seasonal produce, along with recipes and advice on everything from cooking to farming.

“I like to encourage people to experiment with seasonal foods,” Slattery explains. She offers a very extensive and eclectic assortment of organic produce – all the standards plus hard-to-find treats like broccoli raab, lovage, sorrel, cardoons, and unusual varieties of peppers and tomatoes. “My subscribers love the surprise element of their CSA baskets; they often tell me it’s like Christmas every week,” she laughs. She heightens the sense of community in her CSA program by hosting gatherings at her farm, including annual garlic parties, a cider pressing in the fall, and garden tours.

Slattery’s CSA program is so popular that it sells out every year, but she still has shares available as of early March, Full shares in Persephone’s CSA program are $650, half shares are $500. She’s also offering “add-on” shares of flowers, eggs, raw milk and cheese, berries and fruit, and wine from Bainbridge Island Vineyards, which allows her CSA members to get weekly deliveries of those products along with the fresh vegetables. One especially popular add-on is a bread share, featuring bread baked by Judith Weinstock “that’s delivered still warm from the oven.”

Anne and Peter Weber of Farmhouse Organics in Poulsbo also offer a CSA program. Farmhouse Organics began as Anne’s Flower Farm in 1991. They started farming on an old strawberry field in Eagledale, Bainbridge Island. In 1999 they moved to Poulsbo so that they could expand their offerings. Theirs is one of the only WSDA Certified Organic farms in the area. Although most local farms use organic methods, the Webers have taken the extra step, at a significant cost in time and dollars, to be certified.

The Webers go to great lengths to customize the program for individual tastes. “Even our members think I am crazy to give them everything they want,” Anne said laughingly. “I set up our CSA the way I would want it if I was a customer. I think that people will eat more and waste less if they get to choose everything that goes into their box.” The Farmhouse Organic program allows subscribers to choose items from a seasonal list of products, and buy more than their share each week if they want to. Eggs, honey, culinary herbs and flowers are available each week in addition to all of veggies and fruit. A full share in the Farmhouse Organics program is $600, a half share $400.

Brian MacWhorter is a master farmer who, with his wife Amy, owns Butler Green Farms. For the past 23 years he has been farming on Bainbridge Island. Seven years ago, he began “sharing” his farm with a growing list of families who have signed up for the CSA program. It’s definitely a win-win arrangement. A full share for a family of four works out to about $20 per week for the summer months. Subscribers can take home as much or as little as they want each week; the appropriate dollar amount is deducted from their balance. Because MacWhorter is a genius at outwitting the weather, his “growing season” often lasts almost all year long. I’ve picked up bags of fresh salad greens in December, and again starting as early as February. He starts picking tomatoes before most island bushes have even flowered, and is always the first to bring fresh corn to market. I usually make additional deposits on my account so I can enjoy fresh produce throughout the year.

For MacWhorter, getting the CSA money at the beginning of each year enables him to cover expenses that hit him when he buys seeds and upgrades equipment. “By the time we begin selling at markets we have already accrued four months of expenses,” he explains.

Butler Green’s CSA program has 130 families, and has expanded this year to make room for more. MacWhorter is organically farming 17 acres on the Island. The farm "store" is on Lovgreen Road, west of 305, and subscribers stop by once or twice a week and choose whatever they want from the current selection. They can also pick up items at his booth at the Saturday Farmers' Market. A full CSA share, which is usually enough to keep a family of four in veggies through the summer, costs $500 at Butler Green. Half shares are available for two-person families, at $250. MacWhorter promises to have lists of current crops posted on his website this summer.

There are several other CSA programs on and around Bainbridge Island. Tani Creek Farms is a new biodynamic farm located on the south end of the island, near Blakely Harbor. Their program is a small one serving 20 or so families who live near the farm and stop by each week to pick up their shares. Residents of the south end who are interested can contact Max Sassenfeld to inquire about openings. Tani Creek shares are sold on a monthly basis, rather than for the entire season in advance.

John Chang of John’s Garden on Bainbridge Island also started a CSA program this year. Shares are $575/290 (full/half). Chang’s program is already fully subscribed for 2008. Most of the programs do fill up early in the season, so those interested in participating should secure their place as early as possible this spring.

Below is a list of CSA’s and their contact information. You can also look at the Sound Food Farm Map to see exact location and find additional information.

Butler Green Farms

Brian MacWhorter and Amy Kuhl

360-620-5181

22855 Sundown Ridge Lane, Poulsbo, WA 98370

Website: www.butlergreenfarms.com

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Farmhouse Organics

Anne and Peter Weber

360-394-7754

3785 Lincoln Road, Poulsbo, WA 98370

Website: www.farmhouseorganics.com

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John’s Gardens

John Chang

206-842-5958

217 Gideon Lane, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

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Persephone Farm

Rebecca Slattery

360-297-1877

PO Box 158, Indianola, WA 98342

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Tani Creek Farm

Max Sassenfeld

206-842 3217

3377 Tani Creek, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

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