START YOUR OWN CSA - Here In The Midst

Start Your Own Garden-to-Table Program!

Introducing our NEW book to help you build a thriving garden-to-table program of your own.

This book is for the passionate gardener, aspiring farmer, experienced grower, and anyone curious about starting a CSA program of any size–big or small. It’s a how-to guide that draws on our decade of experience and lessons learned, packed with inspiration, tools, and know-how to give you a running head start.

Creating this book was a special process for me. It required a lot of reflection and looking back over our years to see all that we’ve learned and truly how far we have come. When Denis and I bought our farm in 2016, with 5 kiddos in tow, we had big dreams—but we certainly didn’t have everything figured out.

We wanted to build a business that allowed us to grow good food, support our family, and serve our community well. Little by little, our small farm grew. Our CSA grew. Our customer list grew. And so did the lessons.

“Building a successful program isn’t just about growing great vegetables…”

There’s a LOT more to it, and this book covers it all.

My goal in writing it was to share everything we have learned in building our own thriving CSA program, to guide you in developing yours– so you can have the best success and save yourself loads of time, costs, and energy in the process. I want to see you thrive!

What’s Inside?

This book is not just inspirational– it’s practical help. Here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll find inside:

Step-by-step Guidance: Walking you through every step required to build your own successful garden-to-table program (Ex., designing your program from scratch, determining your numbers, finding customers, legal and licensing, and more!)
Questions to Consider: To help you think through the decisions before you make them
Helpful Tools: Checklists, FAQ, troubleshooting
Systems Shared: Learn how we kept things efficient and effective
Lessons Learned: Stories and firsthand experience shared to save you time, money, and energy
Beautiful Images: Packed with stunning visuals to inspire your own biz journey

“This is truly the resource I wish we’d had when we were starting out.”

-Denis Forstbauer, Grey Arrow Farm

Why You Should Read It

If you are at all interested in making a living with the produce you grow, a subscription program (CSA) is a fantastic way to do it. We far prefer it to selling at farmers markets or directly to stores. Here’s why ⤵

A CSA program provides you:

Financial + planning stability: You know your numbers upfront based on the number of signups
Stronger relationship with your customers: They literally walk through the season alongside you, experiencing the ups and downs and realities of growing food
Less food and energy waste: Everything is picked to order, so you’re harvesting only what’s needed when it’s needed (no excess)
Socially and economically strengthening: Garden-to-table programs build a sense of community, as neighbours come together to support a local farm
Customers get variety + unique local flavours: Members get to try new foods, enjoy the flavours of their region, eat with the seasons, and know exactly where their food comes from