Community Supported Agriculture
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a risk-shared agreement between the farmer and the consumer. Shares of high quality local produce are pre-sold early in the year by the farmer to create a ready-made market in which to sell the season's harvest. The consumer purchases these shares and assumes a portion of the production risk and is rewarded with portions of the harvest, often on a weekly basis.
Not just limited to just fruits and vegetables, CSAs can include meat, preserves and any number of products grown and created by local farms. Here are just a few of the farms in this region offering CSAs. Please check with your favourite to see if they provide this service.
Roots and Shoots Farm
1004 Manotick Station Rd., Ottawa (613) 897-8975
www.rootsandshootsfarm.com
Certified organic produce, including loose specialty greens and colourful heirloom varieties. We work with the Ottawa Food Bank to provide thousands of pounds of vegetables to Ottawa's food insecure every year. We also host school groups on the farm through Canadian Organic Growers' Growing Up Organic program.
Rochon Garden
1101 Yorks Corners Rd., Ottawa (613) 821-3245
www.jardinrochongarden.ca
As an additional option to your CSA veggie box, we offer the “Eggs and more option” by teaming up with local farms in the Ottawa area to offer you more in the box. For an additional fee for this box, you will receive 1 dozen eggs from Beking Eggs as well as products from a different producer each week (on a 4 week rotation) from the following: Sheep cheeses, Maple syrup, Honey, Cranberry products
Juniper Farm
375 Shouldice Rd., La Peche, QC (819) 459-1630
www.juniperfarm.ca
Juniper Farm has been certified organic since 2006 and has also integrated some biodynamic principles into their farming methods. Many different CSA packages available.
Salt of the Earth Farm
1054 Hwy 2 East, Kingston, Ontario (613) 331-1078
www.saltofkingston.com
We are a community farm. We use draft horses for fieldwork and forestry, employ organic practices and inputs, and carry out pasture based animal husbandry. We have free-range chickens, pastured pork and grass fed beef.
Vicki's Veggies
81 Morrision Point Rd., Prince Edward Cty (613) 476-7241
www.vickisveggies.com
Purchase vouchers to redeem throughout the year for our CSA program. Throughout the season, customers redeem the vouchers for what they want, when they want it.
Bluegrass Farm
714 Kinch St., Jasper (613) 275-2639
www.bluegrassfarm.ca
Our heated greenhouses and extensive cold storage allow us to offer a unique Winter Share CSA. We are committed to protecting ecosystem health and growing a diversity of produce, focusing on heirloom seed varieties chosen for quality and flavour.
Upper Canada Heritage Farm
11351 Miller Road, Elizabethtown-Kitley (613) 924-1234
www.uppercanadaheritagemeat.ca
Animals roam outside year round and are free of hormones, steroids, antibiotics, growth stimulants or chemicals of any kind. We raise heirloom breeds of livestock - exclusively - using both traditional and modern farming methods. We have Large Black pigs, Lincoln Red beef, Chantecler and Silver Gray Dorking chickens.
To see a map of CSA farms throughout Ontario, please visit www.csafarms.ca
