Support our mission of empowering youth and addressing community food insecurity by joining our CSA.
Things are changing in 2024! After two years of running a CSA where we pack out standard weekly boxes for all members, we are shifting to a model that fellow Washington County farmers introduced us to where members take as much as they want, and only what they want. We hope that this will both improve folks’ experience and reduce food waste, while having the added benefit of streamlining the farm’s systems.
WHAT IS A CSA?
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It is a system pioneered in the USA by black farmer and Tuskegee Institute horticulturalist Booker T. Whatley in the 1960s as a way for black owned farms to thrive despite discriminatory government loan practices. It enables farmers to plan production, anticipate demand, and have a guaranteed market for their products. Members commit to buying a “share” of the bounty of a farm for a season, and in return, the farmers commit to providing as much local, nutritious food as they can grow to their community members.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
We’ll offer 9 - 18 different kinds of vegetables each week. You can take as much as you would like and we just ask that you only take home as much as you will actually use fresh that same week. Don’t like chard? Don’t take any. We want you to go home with vegetables you love. Making a big meal for guests? Please take home extra vegetables for it!
Do you want to do some juicing, canning, freezing or preserving? Please ask about making a bulk purchase. Your CSA share is only meant to provide enough fresh vegetables to eat, not to drink or put up extra for the winter.
At times, we might set a limit for certain items — for example, when popular crops are first starting to ripen. However, we’ve planned for there to be enough for all members to be taking as much as they like when each crop is in full swing.
WHAT KINDS OF VEGETABLES CAN I EXPECT?
Below are photos of the types of vegetables you can expect over the course of the season.
Late Spring
Mid Summer
Early Autumn
Early Summer
Late Summer
Mid Autumn
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
The payment model for this vegetable buffet is based on household size. It costs $25 weekly for a single person to participate, with $10 for each additional person in the household over 12 years old. The CSA will run 22 Weeks, June through October, with a final “Thanksgiving” share at the end of November.
For example, a family made up of two adults and one teen would pay $45 per week for all the fresh vegetables they can eat. This would cost $990 over the course of the entire season. We require a $200 deposit to reserve your share, with the remainder amount paid in full by May 1, 2024.
Farm eggs will be available for purchase each week during CSA pickup for $7/dozen.
HOW DO I SIGN UP?
To sign up, please send an email to csa@workingtheoryfarm.com to indicate your interest and get the process started. We can accept the following payment options:
Check: Please mail a check made out to “Working Theory Farm" to Working Theory Farm, 5744 SE Davis Rd, Hillsboro, OR 97123.
Paypal: Pay henney@workingtheoryfarm.com.
Cash: Contact csa@workingtheoryfarm.com to arrange payment.
HOW DO I PICK UP MY SHARE?
Pickup will be on the farm every Thursday from 3:00-6:00pm. That way, CSA members can get to know the place that their food comes from and the people that grow it! Everything that isn’t taken by the end of the day will be donated the next day to our partners at Centro Cultural for their Free Food Mercado program.
MORE QUESTIONS?
Feel free to reach out to us with any questions at CSA@workingtheoryfarm.com