Everyone needs a Farmer. We want to be yours! 3

Who’s your dentist? Who’s your accountant?

WHO’S YOUR FARMER?

We are blessed with such wonderful and inspiring farmers in our region (though we still need more with the average age of farmers close to 60). We strongly recommend everyone get to know them through both in-person and online connections (farm websites and blogs, farm facebook or twitter pages).

An impressive trend in the food movement has been for eaters to connect directly with local farmers. These connections have served to both empower farmers in the management of their livelihoods and to empower people in the nourishment of their bodies.

One of the ways to connect is through a relationship called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). This helps people develop a closer connection to a specific farm and get a feel for the seasonality and flavour of that farm.

Yep, each farm has a unique flavour!

After working on many different CSA farms, we decided that we wanted to try something a bit different at Broadfork Farm, while still emphasizing the relationship and partnership between a farmer and an eater.

We started a Market Food Club.

It’s similar to a typical CSA in that the members pay up front at the beginning of the season to show their commitment to the farm. In exchange, they receive fresh, high-quality produce, a way to maintain a balanced budget, and the knowledge of where their food is coming from and how it was grown. It offers us, the farmers, confidence that our hard work and passion is supported while we’re first planting the seeds in the ground.

Our Market Food Club is different than a typical CSA because members are reaping the bounty of the growing season on their own schedule (like having a tab or credit with us). Rather than receiving a box each week, members pick exactly what they want. If you love kale, you can take as many bunches as you want. If you hate kale, you have no obligation to ever take any.

As a member of the Market Food Club, you don’t need to worry about carrying cash for shopping at the market and it’s an easy gift to give. You invest any amount in $100 increments and use it all season, like cash (plus we add a 5% bonus as a thank you).

This system has worked well for us as farmers because it hasn’t increased our time doing administrative work while still allowing us to form wonderful relationships with our members and feel truly supported by them like in other CSA relationships.

We chose this model because we realized how much of a heartbreak it would be for us to have anyone take home something we grew that they didn’t want. After tending to our produce from seed to young plant to ready-to-eat, we really want it all to be enjoyed!

If you think that Bryan and I (Shannon) may be a good farmer match for you, please learn more about us by reading through this website/blog. We farm with strong visions and goals for the kind of world we’re working to create. And we want this Market Food Club relationship/partnership to feel right for everyone involved.

We’ve intentionally decided to keep the Club fairly small so signing up as soon as possible is a good idea. To do so, go to the Market Food Club page.

And you can always just shop at our Dieppe Market stand without being a member. Our goal is always to delight all of our customers with a variety of exciting, flavourful, and nutritious produce and fresh, unique flower bouquets.

This is how we bring our farm to you. Every week, our market stand is filled with the bounty from our farm that week. No week is ever exactly the same! We hope you get as excited about that adventure as we do.

Please share this blog post with anyone you know that you think might be interested. The gift of sharing is a positive force in the world!