Reduce Waste With Us This Year + A CSA Signup Bonus
As an organic farm whose mission is to develop and share practices that promote regenerative agriculture, we strive to farm in the way that is best for our land, our employees, and our community. We’ve created sustainability goals to work toward going beyond the organic certification standards.
In 2019, one of the things we’re focusing on is reducing waste, and each department is addressing it in a different way. Keep reading to find out a few things we have in store for this year, and for suggestions on how to reduce your own waste!
Frequent harvests, Fresher Produce
Our farmers are scaling down production in some areas this year – we’ll be growing smaller amounts of certain crops in the hopes of cutting back on waste. They’re also planning to adjust their harvest schedule to harvest smaller amounts more frequently. This means we’ll have even fresher produce in the farmstand and for our kitchen staff to work with.
Interested in joining our full season crew? Click here to apply.
CSA – Buy What You Need, Waste Less
One reason for switching to our current CSA model, debit-style CSA Cards, was a desire to reduce waste on both our end and yours. Members get to select the produce they want, in amounts that work best for their family week to week. With this free-choice model, we’re able to farm more sustainably. It allows us to increase crop diversity, create less produce waste, increase crop rotation and cover cropping, increase labor efficiency, and reduce packaging and administrative time.
Next Friday is CSA Day, a day to celebrate local agriculture! This year, anyone who signs up for a Produce Plus Card on Friday, February 22 also gets a set of five Cedar Circle Farm postcards. Learn more about our CSA options here.
Bring Your Own, Ditch the Straws
We encourage customers to bring their own mugs in the café and their own shopping bags in the farmstand by offering BYO discounts, and this year we’re going to introduce new reusable mug incentives (stay tuned!). For those who don’t have reusable produce bags, we’re looking into more eco-friendly alternatives.
We’re also hoping to transition to using paper straws in the cafe, and encourage people to choose not to use them.
Apply to work in our farmstand or cafe! We’re currently looking for full season staff.
Returnable jars
Our kitchen is focusing on cutting back on the use of plastic by using returnable jars as much as possible. Products like granola, and maybe even muesli and trail mix will be sold in glass jars, and we’re hoping to try making salads in them as well!
Biodegradable Pots
If you’ve been supporting the farm for the past decade, you may remember purchasing plants in fiber pots. We had stopped offering these containers because they weren’t organic, nor were they fully biodegradable due to a binding compound. Well, this year we’re experimenting with a new pot for some of our plants; herbs will be offered in a 100% biodegradable and compostable container that is certified organic! They’re made from recycled paper and other natural ingredients that gently break down over time. If you take home some of these plants this season, please provide us with feedback! It will be shared with the companies that produce these pots and will help us continue to offer more sustainable products into the future.
What else can you do?
Did you know that reducing wasted food not only saves money, but can also reduce methane emissions, conserve energy and resources, and support your community? In addition to making an effort to buy only what you need, you can preserve most excess produce in the freezer, use it in a soup or slow cooker meal, and, if you don’t use it in time, throw it in the compost or feed it to pigs or chickens. Get more planning, storage, and prep tips here. And check out these tips for how to store produce without plastic.
Upcoming
- February 22 – CSA Day *Get 5 CCF postcards when you sign up for a P+ CSA Card
- March 2 – Real Organic Project Symposium
- April 27 – Opening Day!
