Subscription Signup for
2008 -New
For ‘08-
Our ’08 Season will start Tuesday June 3
and end Friday Nov. 21—25 weeks. Delivery days again will be Tuesday through Friday,
depending on location. With the near total failure of our apple
crop last year, we made the acquaintance of some new organic apple growers,
the Oylers. The quality of their fruit was
outstanding. Since even in a normal
season we have a hard time supplying everyone with sufficient fruit, we plan
on getting apples from the Oylers again.
With blueberries in mid-season, and strawberries in June, we should
have a more steady supply of fruit. If you paper mail, write clearly on the
signup form, especially the e-mail address. Please list a home phone number.
If your veggies aren't picked up, the host can at least call to remind you.
You may e-mail the signup form, preferably as a Word attachment, and send the
deposit check via In listing favored and disfavored
veggies, list items most important to you first. We print these on your
box labels and if it’s a long list, it will scroll off the label. We try to
honor preferences, but don’t guarantee it because of the logistics. We tend
to look more closely at the disfavored list and use the favored list to plan
the proportions of what to plant. Consider hosting a dropoff site. We
are always on the lookout for dropoff sites because over the years, we have
used some sites repeatedly and sometimes existing sites are not quite as
centrally located to subscribers. Likewise new groups of subscribers have
developed in different locations. Hosting a drop off involves having a
suitable place (shaded porch or garage) large enough for 15-20 boxes, not too
far to carry boxes from the street or driveway. We try to minimize the impact
on hosts—subscribers have 4 hours to pick up and are asked to call hosts only in an emergency. At the suburban
sites, empty boxes are left for the week (they nest and stack easily-usually
in two tall stacks). In the city, empties are picked up the following day, so
they wouldn’t be on your porch but 24 hrs. Hosts are given a 1/3 discount in addition to door-to-door
delivery. We always reconfirm with you again prior to assigning you as a
drop off site, to see where you’d like boxes placed, etc. and to make sure
you are satisfied. If you’ll be out of town and not
able to pick up your weekly veggies during the season, you have two
options—take a credit, or indicate
you’d like your veggies donated when you are away. The recipient is usually
the Pittsburgh Food Bank. If you check this option, we’ll assume that when
you are away, veggies will be donated.
If you or someone you know needs and would
use the produce we grow, but cannot make the commitment for financial
reasons, please let us know. We
welcome the opportunity to serve everyone in the ‘burgh, and will
maintain confidentiality. If you’d rather not get any rhubarb,
indicate “no” because the supply is limited. We'll again offer shade grown coffee from Building New Hope (a farmers’
cooperative). Coffee is the number one
food crop grown in the world and for many When our regular season of weekly boxes
ends at Thanksgiving, we put together monthly boxes of "winter veggies". These
are mostly vegetables and fruits which store well, like potatoes, carrots,
onions, apples, cabbage...some heartier greens, like spinach and kale, and
some fresh greens grown in our unheated greenhouses. Since these boxes contain mostly items which
store very well, the amounts of veggies are increased. If you indicate you are interested, we will
contact you for the monthly winter dropoff--the first is usually in early
December. At that time (and for each winter box as they are available) we
will give you a specific list and amounts of items and the cost. This cost
will depend on what the season brings. The process has evolved this winter
into a rhythm where we e-mail the list of items and the cost to everyone a
week before the delivery. Interested people respond and pickups sites are
assigned. Boxes of these off-season veggies are possible in nearly any
month—until we run out of stored vegetables; one year we even had one in
early May. But it's nearly impossible to predict far in advance. Please
indicate if you want to be on this contact list. You are not obligated to get any winter month's box and can opt in or
out each time. We’d again like to connect you up with the grass
fed beef our neighbors grow. If you’d like to participate, indicate the
amounts and they will contact you directly when meat is available and with
prices. Checking that you are
interested in meats does not obligate you. With these efforts, we like to encourage
our neighbors and especially the young people with opportunities of marketing
fresh farm products directly to consumers. This will keep them on the farms,
preserve our farmland, and add to the food security of all. Timely response to signup for the season
would be greatly appreciated, since we
have a hard time scrambling to organize the stops in May if there are a lot
of last minute signups. We will let you know details of the location and time
of your pickup spot in May. If the assigned site is unsatisfactory, you can
request a change of locations or cancel entirely and receive a refund. You could also suggest the most convenient
site or neighborhood with your signup information. Check this website periodically because we
will update it as the season unfolds.
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