CSA Members

CSA Members

What is a CSA? 

 CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  It is a growing movement of health conscious consumers who purchase a share of produce that is grown by local farmers.  The share is purchased in the spring so that the farmers have the cash they need to grow the produce.  As produce comes into season,  CSA members receive a share of what is grown.  It is distributed at a centrally located pick-up point for convenience and also to reduce the carbon foot print.

What are the Benefits of becoming a CSA Member?

• Enjoy locally grown produce that has not been trucked in from 1000’s of miles
  
• Convenient for your lifestyle
  
• Fresh picked and in season so that you get it at peak nutritional value
  
• Reduce the carbon foot print as you are joining with other CSA members for one centrally located pick-up point.
• You are supporting local farmers and the Colorado economy

How is Lora’s Nourishing Produce grown?

Our mission is to produce nutrient-dense, health-building produce, thus the name: Lora’s Nourishing Produce.  I am excited to have Marla Epps working with me in researching growing methods that maximize producing healthful food.  Marla has a Master’s degree in horticulture from CSU.  Her special focus is on all the factors that affect the soil in which the plants are grown.  The goal is to provide a healthy environment for the soil-based organisms that convert the elements in the soil into forms that can be absorbed and utilized by the roots to grow vitamin-, mineral-, enzyme-, nutrient-rich produce.  To accomplish this, a few of our methods will include the use of certified organic compost, OMRI approved soil enhancements and filtering irrigation water so that the chemicals in the water will not kill the good microbes in the soil.  This means we will not be using the typical petroleum-based, commercial N-P-K fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides or anything else that would disturb the natural balance of how food is supposed to be grown.  We will be getting any produce items that we are not able to grow, such as sweet corn, melons, winter squash, and potatoes, from Colorado organic farmers.

When will I begin to receive produce?

You will start to receiving produce mid to end of June and continuing for 18-20 consecutive weeks depending on the season and weather.

How much produce do I get with a CSA share? 

You will start off with leafy greens and as the season progresses the variety and amount increases as crops mature and are available.  Our goal is to provide you variety and in quantities for 2-3 adults or 2 adults and 2 younger children.  This season we are only able to offer one size of CSA.

What will be in my produce share?

The majority of your share will include a variety of vegetables.  When fruit from the western slope is available, we will include a sample of it for you to enjoy and you can add more fruit to your share just by going on-line and ordering the items in the quantity you want.  All CSA members will not be charged the $6 delivery fee, if they wish to order extra produce on-line in addition to their weekly CSA share.  The extra items will be packaged with your CSA share.

Here are some examples of what a weekly share might look like at different times of the season

(These are only examples and will vary according to growing conditions.)

Early July:  1 bunch spinach, ½ lb. baby lettuce, 1 lb. English peas, 1 bunch cilantro, and 1 lb. Bing Cherries (Morton’s Organic Orchard on the western slope)

End of August: 1 lb. green beans, 1 lb. Middle Eastern cucumbers, 1 head of leaf lettuce, 1 lb. onions, ½ lb. mini sweet bell peppers, 1 lb. beef steak tomatoes, 1 lb. summer squash, 1/8 lb. basil, and 1 lb. peaches (Ela’s Family Organic farms on the western slope.)

October:  1 bunch carrots, 1 bunch beets, 2 red bell peppers, 1 bunch scallions, 1 bunch rainbow Swiss chard, 1 butternut squash, 1lb. gold potatoes, and 1 lb. Swiss Gourmet Apples (Ela’s Family Organic farms on the western slope.)

What are the pick-up locations and times?

• Denver Pick-up location every Wednesday from 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
  It is near the corner of Holly and Evans in the parking lot of Holly Hills Bible Church: 2400 S. Holly Street, Denver,CO 80222 Get directions: Google Maps, or Yahoo Maps

• Aurora Pick-up location every Tuesday from 5:30p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
  It is near the corner of Buckley and Dartmouth Ave. at Meadowood Recreation Center:  3054 S Laredo St, Aurora, CO 80013  Get Directions:  Yahoo Maps  Meet in the upper parking lot (not the lower recreation center building parking lot) by the tennis courts off of Laredo St.

• Golden/Morison Pick-up location every Tuesday from 5p.m. - 6p.m.
  It is near the corner of Colfax and 6th Ave. in the Kohl's Department Store parking lot:  16700 West Colfax Ave., Golden, CO 80401  Get Directions:  Yahoo Maps

 You are responsible for picking up your produce at the location you selected during the stated times.  If you are not able to pick up, you can send a friend to get it for you.  If your share is not picked up for that week, it will be forfeited for that week.

How much does a CSA share cost?

"Early Bird Special" $525/share You save $40!   After April 1st, if shares are still available, $565/ share

How do I purchase a CSA share?

You can sign up on-line and pay with:  Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and PayPal.

Do I get to pick what is in my CSA package?

No, all CSA shares are created to contain what is in season for that week and is selected according to what is in peak production at for each week.  We will have recipes online to help introduce you to any new produce you may have never had before.  If there are quite a few items on the CSA produce list that you or your family does not like, we would suggest that you become a Custom Produce Member and order items weekly, that are on the website, and get exactly what you want.

Do we have working shares?  At this time. we do not.

Refunds  Because of planning reasons, there are no refunds for CSA’s.  If you are not able to continue, it is your responsibility to sell your share to someone else and notify us of the CSA share change.

Items that we are looking to have available this year are as follows:

• Basil
• Parsley
• Cilantro
• Other Herbs
• Micro Greens (I am excited about this salad addition to our line.  They are a little bigger than sprouts.  We will have different varieties for adding to your salad for a refreshing new flavor.  These micro greens may include: beets, broccoli, cress, radish, and cabbage)
• Leaf Lettuce Heads (green, red, romaine, green butterhead and red butterhead)
• Baby Salad Mixes
• Kale
• Swiss Chard
• Carrots (red, yellow, orange)
• Radishes
• Beets (2+ varieties)
• Scallions
• Tomatillos
• Tomatoes (3+ varieties)
• Cherry Tomatoes (3+ varieties)
• Peppers (20+ varieties)
• Cucumbers (4 variety)
• Kohlrabi
• Okra
• Onions (Sweet and red)
• Egg Plant (3+ varieties)
• Turnips
• Green Beans (3+ variety)
• Summer squash (4 verities)
• Zucchini  (green and yellow)
• Melons/Watermelons
• Cipollini Onions
• Potatoes (red, white, blue, fingerling)
• Pumpkins
• Winter Squash
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Leeks

Fruit from the western slope Certified Organic:

• Bing Cherries
• Apricots
• Peaches
• Plums
• Pears
• Apples (3+ varieties)

All produce items listed here is what we are planning on providing for CSA Members.  Due to the nature of weather and the possibility of crop failure, there may be a few items that are unavailable.