WHAT IS CSA?
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. When you join a CSA you are purchasing the food you eat directly from the farmer who grows it. No distributers, warehouses or flights from South America. Just fresh, local, organic fruits, herbs and vegetables grown by someone you have the chance to meet.

Generally you sign up for a CSA for a whole season, giving the farmer a known market for her or his food. In return, the customer knows the source of their food, receives fresh, local food, actively reduces greenhouse gas emmissions and supports the stewardship of the local environment.

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THE LOCAL CHOICE FOOD BOX?
The Local Choice Food Box is the only CSA in Washington that lets you choose EVERY item in your box each week. No surprises, no substitutions, only the food you choose. Each week the customers of the Local Choice Food Box hop on-line and fill their boxes with the fresh vegetable, fruits and herbs they want from the more than 100 crops we grow. We harvest the food you want and have it to your table in less than 36 hours. Taste the difference that fresh local organic produce makes!

Further, all of the food we provide comes from LOCAL growers. The majority of our food comes from our South 47 Farm in Redmond,WA--less than 20 miles from Seattle! Other things we can't grow, mostly perennial fruits, come from other organic growers in western Washington. Other Seattle CSA's buy food in from a distributer and put it in a box for their customers. That food can come from Oregon, California, even Chile! Everything we provide comes from a local, Washington farmer.

HOW MANY ITEMS COME IN A BOX?
You have several options to choose from:

Small Vegetable Box containing 8 items each week at a cost of $24 or $432 for an 18 week season.

Large Vegetable Box containing 12 items each week for $36 or $648 for the 18 week season.

Small Fruit Box of 4 items per week costing $16 or $228 for the 13 week season (mid-July-mid October).

Large Fruit Box of 6 items at a cost of $24 per week or $312 for the 13 week season.

Of course you are welcome to mix and match boxes (small veggie and large fruit, large veggie and small fruit, only veggie, only fruit, etc.) to meet the needs of your family.

HOW DO I SIGN UP?
Find the Sign-Up tab at the top of this page.

WHERE DOES YOUR FOOD COME FROM?
We provide over 100 different varieties of vegetables, fruits and herbs for our customers to choose from each week. Most of those are grown at our South 47 Farm in Redmond, WA. What we don't grow on that site--mostly perennial fruits--comes from one of our Washington partner farms. Alm Hill Gardens provides berries including their famous Toulameen raspberries. Apples, pears and stone fruits come from other organic growers in Washington.

WHERE DO I PICK UP MY FOOD?
Your food box can be picked up at neighborhood locations and farmers markets throughout Seattle. When you sign up for your food box, you will select the location that works for you. We try to provide enough locations to make pick-up as convenient as possible. If you don't see something that works for you on our Pick-Up Location page, feel free to give us a call or e-mail. We are always looking for more pick-up locations. Volunteer your home or business as a neighborhood drop-off location and save 10% on your CSA share.

WHEN DO I PICK UP MY FOOD?
Your pick up time is determined by the location you select. Check out the Pick-Up Location page to see when the sites closest to you are open for pick-up.

DO I NEED TO RETURN MY BOX?
Yes. Each week your food will come in a waxed cardboard box. We ask that members return their box from the previous week to their pick up location. Boxes need to be broken down flat and stacked to keep the pick-up sites clean. Customers will be charged $3 for un-returned boxes to cover the cost of the box and discourage waste.

CAN I GET ADDITIONAL ITEMS?
We are working with our technical support team to provide this option. Let's say you want to make salsa and you want more than two orders of tomatoes, or you have your in-laws in town and you really want them to finally like you, so you are concocting an extravagant dinner of a myriad of local, organic fruits and vegetables. Currently you have the ability to call or e-mail us and we will gladly bring you your extra food to your pick up location. Just pay when you pick up your food for the week. Of course, if your pick-up location is a farmers market, you can buy what you need when you pick up your box. Hopefully, before the season starts, we will have the ability to fill your request and take payment from our website.

CAN I GET MORE THAN ONE OF THE SAME ITEM?
Yes, you can. We do ask that you request no more than two of any item, so all customers have a reasonable choice of food and we don't create a lot of waste.

WHAT IF I WANT SOMETHING I DON'T SEE LISTED?
There are three possibilities…one is that the crop you desire is out of season. For example, we won't have melons in June. You can only get those from nearer the equator. Two is that we don't grow the crop. Give us a call and we will see if we can grow it for you or find someone who does. Third is that we have some of what you want, but not enough to offer to all of the people in the food box. When that happens, those crops will go to the farmers market. Again, give us a call and you can pick that crop up at the market stand when you pick up your box.

WHAT IF I DON'T WANT TO CHOOSE MY OWN FOOD EACH WEEK?
If you like surprises, are intimidated by making decisions, or want to fully test your culinary ability, we are happy to build a box for you each week of the best, freshest food on the farm. We call it the Farmers Choice box and it is the stuff we will be taking home to our families.

WHAT IF I FORGET TO ORDER?
We will send you a weekly e-mail reminding you to order your food. However, if you should forget, we will pack you a Farmers Choice box full of the best food on the farm that week. It might not be exactly the food you wanted, but you know it will be great food, because it is what we will be taking home to our families.

WHAT IF I FORGET TO PICK UP?
An e-mail will be sent to you reminding you to pick up your food box. However, should your forget to or be prevented from picking up your box, you can call and see if arrangements can be made for pick up at another drop-off location or at the farm the following day. You can pay a $10 fee to have the food delivered to your house the following day provided we have the time to make that delivery. In the event that none of these arrangements can be made, your food will be donated to our “Just Food” program and given to a needy family in the greater Seattle area.

WHAT IF I NEED TO SKIP A WEEK?
If you will be out of town or need to suspend your service for a week for any reason, please call and see what arrangements can be made. Generally, we will donate your food to a family in need through our “Just Food” program. However, we are willing to double your order the week previous to or following the week you need to suspend service. Also, feel free to have a friend or neighbor enjoy your box. If you are going to have them pick it up, let us know so we don't think some scoundrel is trying to eat your food.

To take effect for your next delivery, any changes to your order including suspensions or cancellations must be made by 8pm two days prior to your delivery day.

WHAT IF I NEED TO MAKE CHANGES TO MY ORDER?
Call or e-mail Food Box Manager Erik Gibson-Snyder to see if changes can be made. We want to do everything we can to get people exactly the food they want. However, late changes will depend on the amount of time we have for harvest and how many special needs we have to accommodate. Harvest will begin early in the morning the day prior to your pick up day. Please let Erik know of your need before then, otherwise we likely will not be able to accommodate your request. Example: If you have a Thursday pickup, you will need to notify Erik by Tuesday at 8:00 p.m.

WHAT IF SOMETHING I ORDERED IS MISSING FROM MY BOX?
If something you order is missing or does not meet your standards, we will replace it the next week.

We reserve right to substitute varieties.

We anticipate there will be rare occasions when we have the crop you would like, but not the variety. For example, you may want a yellow slicing tomato and we only have red, orange or purple. Or you want green leaf lettuce and we have only red. We do reserve the right to substitute varieties in these situations, after trying to get you exactly what you want from one of our partner farms.

What we will NOT do it substitute a different crop for something we don't have. You won't get a radish instead of a tomato. In fact, you won't even get a cherry tomato instead of a slicing tomato.

If we have any concerns about a possible substitution, we will contact you before it is made.

WHAT IF SOMETHING IN MY ORDER DOES NOT MEET MY STANDARD FOR QUALITY OR FRESHNESS?
We constantly strive to bring you the best local food possible. All of the food we harvest is at the height of freshness. However, if you receive something that does not meet your standards, please let us know. Your feedback will help us provide better service to all of our customers in the future. It will also allow us to make things right with you. Normally, an unsatisfactory item will be replaced the following week. However, if needed, other arrangements can be made.

WHAT CROPS DO YOU GROW?
We are very proud of the wide variety of local, organically grown crops we are able to provide our customers. Follow this link to see the great selection of wonderful food available to you in the Local Choice Food Box.