Terms of Service
GENERAL TERMS
Each order you place is a legally enforceable contract. If you fail to pickup your order, you are still obligated to pay for the items you order.
We will inspect and pack all orders prior to distribution. In the event that product gets damaged during packing, we will provide a replacement product to the customer, provided that the damaged goods are returned. If it is not possible to replace the product, a store credit will be provided.
Our goal is to provide the highest quality produce, and we require our producer to deliver market-grade products. The customer understands that since our farmers do not use pesticides or herbicides, fruits and vegetables may not look "perfect".
Wholesale customers must remit payment of received orders within 30 days of delivery.
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2022 MULTI-FARM CSA MEMBER INFORMATION & GUIDELINES
CSA Share Pick-up is June 23 - October 6, 2022 on Thursdays from 5-7pm in both Crested Butte and Gunnison. Upon subscribing you will choose your pick up town and pick up at that location each week. You are welcome to have a friend pick up your produce for you if you are unable to make pick up times, however, we recommend you let us know in advance if someone else will be collecting for you so we will release your goods to that person. Any shares not picked up by 7pm will be donated to low-income families. Refunds are not available for uncollected shares.
Participating Farms
The main goal of the Multi-Farm CSA is to boost markets for small-scale Gunnison Valley and other Southwest Colorado growers, giving economic support to their ecologically sound and socially responsible local food production. While our farms are not certified organic, none use synthetic or petroleum-based fertilizers or pesticides. Each farm grows their crops using the most sustainable methods possible for them. We encourage you to read the Meet Your Farmers tab in our main menu to learn more about their individual growing methods.
Community Supported Agriculture: What to Expect
Top-quality, seasonal produce, grown mostly in Gunnison Valley, with our fruit and supplemental vegetables coming from other areas of Southwest Colorado. As you go through a growing season with us, you’ll learn what foods can be grown here and when they are in season by what’s in your box. Remember, Gunnison Valley has a cold climate and short growing season, and while we are always pushing the boundaries on what can be grown here, there are limitations.
Responsibly raised pastured beef, lamb, pork, and chicken, all from the Gunnison Valley - Our meat producers (Calder Farms, Parker Pastures, Gunnison Gardens, and Mountain Roots) lovingly raise their animals and provide meat of the highest quality.
Washed or unwashed, fresh-from-the field produce with a low carbon footprint. Unwashed produce has a longer shelf life. You should always wash your produce before eating it.
Bulk and Recycled packaging – We will be packing bulk produce, mostly bare, in coolers and reused boxes and limiting our use of plastic bags as much as possible. Please come to share pick up with your own reusable bags or boxes. If you borrow boxes or bags from us, please return them the following week. Remember to store your produce properly when you get home.
Value – The full value of the CSA share will be spread across the 16-week season. Payments for the full season are made up front, before the season begins. Payment plans are available on some share types.
Additions and Opportunities – We know you love local food, so we’ll be keeping our eyes and ears open for terrific local products that you might be interested in. You might find a sample of something new in your box one week, information about a new product or farm, recipes from our growers and more. When special seasonal opportunities arise – such as bumper crops of fruit for canning, free-range chickens, maple syrup, or holiday turkeys – we’ll make sure you’re the first to know! We’ll also keep you informed about happenings on the farms, including workshops, tours, and volunteer opportunities.
Your Commitment
Farming is a seasonal and unpredictable business. CSA members join our farmers in the possible risk of farming (drought, pests, midsummer hailstorms) as well as the benefits (a bountiful season, complete transparency on the farms, a relationship built on trust, boosting the local food economy and helping to make a more positive impact on the environment.) To provide an abundant harvest, our farmers are as proactive as possible. By using water- conserving irrigation systems, season extension, and other good growing techniques that protect and nurture the crops, and by working in a variety of locations throughout the valley, we do our best to balance the risk and ensure consistency and quality of the food that you receive. Farmers plant and tend crops for months before you see them in your shares. Each share represents the work and attention to detail of dozens of people to seed, transplant, weed, grow, harvest, and distribute your prepaid shares.
As a member of a CSA, you are entering into a partnership with the farmers who grow your food. You:
share in the rewards of bountiful local harvests
recognize that farming is not without risk and that natural events beyond the control of the farmer may affect the availability of some items, but that the farmers will do their best to provide as much diversity as possible.
understand that the amount of produce that you receive in the first and last few weeks of the season may be less than at the height of the growing season, but will all even out to the average price of your share’s box.
understand that farmers rely on income from the CSA to operate the farm, so we cannot provide refunds.
are responsible to pick up your share during the pick up times or find a substitute to pick up your share for you. Unclaimed shares will be donated to low-income households directly through Mountain Roots Food Security programs or via the Gunnison Country Food Pantry.
are encouraged to maintain regular communication with us – read your emails, stay up to date with news from the farms, and contact us as frequently as you need with comments, questions, or concerns.
permit us to take and publish photos of you in our marketing and promotional materials (for example, at CSA pick up).
Communication
We communicate by email. Let us know if this does not work for you. In the extremely unlikely event that severe weather, disease/insect damage, or other natural disaster results in a level of crop damage that interrupts the weekly distributions, we will notify members immediately via e-mail and will communicate via e-mail frequently with members to ensure that you are apprised of any potential disruption to service.