Full share: Salad Mix, spinach, radish, green onions, baby bok choi
Half share: same, in smaller quantities
Hello Team!
As the apprentices and I picked spinach this morning, I told them to eat a couple of the huge leaves. I think they were stunned at the sweetness. It led to a discussion of how spinach like that is not available at the grocery store, and how baby spinach is the industry norm. Our spinach may not be “normal” size, but you can’t argue about the flavor. And I thought that was a very fitting discussion for the first harvest day of the 2015 CSA season. For those of you who are new to the CSA, what you might find most surprising about the produce you receive this season is the freshness and the flavor. We don’t much care for industry norms, but focus on growing the most beautiful, tasty, fresh, and nutritious food we can. Vegetables that you may not think you like (bok choi or brussel sprouts) may suddenly become some of your favorites. I’m sure after a long winter that you are all ready for some fresh food!
Burlap is the new black…..Week #1 CSA share.
So, to help this go smoothly, lets cover a couple of the key ground rules. First…farming keeps us quite busy, and so we’ve automated your CSA membership to take a bit of the administrative strain off of us. If you need to check your balance, vacation holds, change your pickup location, or add a friend to the newsletter/blog subscription, we ask that you attempt to do so yourself through your account. You can find your account through our twobearfarm.com website by clicking on member login along the left hand side. If you encounter any problems, feel free to call or email. Second, while your CSA Shares are packed in boxes for transport, you will need to transfer the contents into bags before you take them home. We will have some bags available, but we highly recommend you bring re-useable bags for this purpose. Third, we promise to show up every week with your share, and you have agreed to show up every week within the designated times to pick it up. If you happen to miss your CSA pickup, it will be your responsibility to come to the farm within a few days to get your share. We will keep it nice and cozy in the walk-in cooler for you, but we don’t make special trips to deliver. Because it is early season, the shares will start out on the smaller size (with less diversity), and will increase in both size and diversity as the season progresses (just in case your share looks small this week).
Some specifics for this week by pickup location:
Tuesday night in Whitefish (5-6:30pm): There is no farmer’s market this week (which typically runs from 5-7:30), so we will park our refrigerator truck on Central Ave between the O’Shaughnessy Center and Depot Park. To spare us from having to sit there for two and a half hours, we typically shorten the CSA pickup window for the first week until the market begins (May 26th) We will likely be the only refrigerator truck on the street, so we should be easy to find (Truck has Farm to Family mural on the side). We will be there from 5pm until 6:30 pm.
Wednesday night in West Glacier (after 5pm): Shares will be available in the garage at the McKeon Household any time after 5pm. They do live there, and have wonderful children who need sleep, so please be considerate and pickup at a reasonable time. To find them, turn off Highway 2 at Montana Raft. Take the first right onto Hewitt Homesites. Go straight up hill, and as road takes 90 degree turn to left, they are the first house (green) on the left. The shares will be in bagged and in the garage with a name label on them. Please verify the share you take has your name on it.
Thursday @ Exhale Pilates (4-7pm): Shares will be located in the back dressing/locker area. It’s best to enter the building through the back door in the alley. Shares will be boxed and labelled with your name. DO NOT TAKE THE BOX!!!! IF YOU TAKE THE BOX YOU HAVE TO DO SALLY’S. Bring a bag and empty the box contents into your own bag. We will leave a few bags around in case you forgot. We will be picking up any left over shares on our way back from Columbia Falls Community Market, so if you haven’t picked up by 7:30, you will likely have to come out to the farm to get your share (all excuses will be vetted by Glenna and punishment doled out accordingly).
Thursday @ Columbia Falls Community Market (5-7:30): This should be a super fun new market for Columbia Falls, and we’re excited to be a part of it. Our market stand will be located in the barn labelled “The Coop”, and we will have you shares there. If there is a line of customers, please come to the side of our setup where there will be a CSA sign so you don’t have to wait. If you don’t make it to market, there is a CSA drop location on the East side of O’briens Liquor where you can pickup your share ( look for the green CSA drop sign)
Friday @ Two Bear Farm (4-7pm): Please pardon the construction and trenching for water lines, I promise I’ll have it backfilled by week #2. The farm is located at 1978 KM Ranch Road, and as you come down the driveway, past the big greenhouse, there is a gravel parking lot on your left in front of a brown metal barn. Follow the walkway, and enter the brown “man door” on the right. Your shares will be in the front room. CSA shares will be labeled with your name. Bring your own bag to empty the shares into. We will walk you through the process on week one : ).
Saturday @ Kalispell Farmer’s Market At FVCC(9-am12:30) Come find Rebecca at our usual market location and she will have your CSA share ready to go!
Well, I think that covers it. We’re excited to you all on board this season and we hope you enjoy the experience. Please let us know if you have any questions, otherwise we’ll see you at your designated pickup location.
Two Bear Farm Crew
