When the growing season begins in the Skagit Valley, shoppers eagerly await their box of farm-fresh produce, vegetables, fruits, meats, or cheese. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) business models are a way for farmers to directly connect with their customers. Preparing fields and seeding crops are just one of many spring time activities for growers. CSA registration opens as well!
What is Community Supported Agriculture?
Otherwise known as a CSA, community supported agriculture is a business model in which customers pay up front for a “share” of the season’s harvest. When members join or subscribe to a CSA, they provide working capital while also guaranteeing a market for the farmer’s crops. Furthermore, 100% of the share revenue goes directly to the grower or food producer.
Know your Farmer
One of the most meaningful benefits for both the farmer and the customer is getting to know each other. Many farmers offer an annual farm tour or event for their members. Plus, on-farm pick-up allows for customers to see how their food is being grown or raised. Foods could not be fresher because crops are harvested and packed mere hours prior to pick-up.
“Operating our farm stand and CSA is as much about the food, the produce, and the farm as it is about community. I value that my farm is a place to gather and engage about the food that we grow. Both stewarding this piece of land and our connection to our community is what inspires us.” ~ Arielle Luckmann, Waxwing Farm
Where can I find a CSA?
Boldly Grown Farm specializes in growing high-quality, organic, fall and winter crops. Ten bi-weekly boxes are offered from November through March. Multiple drop-sites in Bellingham, Seattle, and the Skagit Valley inviting customers across the Puget Sound Region to participate.
Egbert Acres Beef & Lamb Shares
Humanely, sustainably grown USDA certified beef and lamb. The herds are rotated and pasture-raised on a 60-acre, fourth-generation farm in Bow, Washington. Both whole-animal and half-animal shares are available for summer butcher dates.
Purchase a weekly farm share box season pass and use like cash at their La Conner farm stand or any of their farmers’ market locations for anything they have available—their weekly farm share, fifteen wheels of Cougar Gold, or even a wheelbarrow full of sugar snap peas.
Waxwing Farm is a Certified Organic, small scale, diverse vegetable farm. Owners Arielle Luckmann and Taylor Barker focus on providing exceptional produce directly to their Skagit Valley community. From May through October, they offer a Farmstand CSA share option.
Local Farm Subscriptions
In addition to local CSA offerings, the following producers offer weekly, bi-weekly or monthly subscriptions for their products. From flowers to cheese, you can find everything you need while shopping locally!
Blackburn Gardens Bouquet Subscription
Lush and generous cuts from the field each week in both July and August. Locally grown with care on 3/4 of an acre. The bouquets are available for pick up in the heart of Mount Vernon, Washington. Best cuts and beautiful flowers!
Bow Hill Blueberries Juice Club Membership
Like no other, Bow Hill’s 100% pure organic blueberry juice is made right on the farm. It’s cold-pressed from two heirloom varieties; the closest cultivated blueberries to the wild ones. Also a Good Food Award winner 2019 & 2022. Sign up to receive fresh cold-pressed Organic Heirloom Blueberry Juice at your door, available in small, medium, or large bottles. Shipped from Bow, WA.
Golden Glen Creamery Cheese of the Month Subscription
Each month will feature a different combination of 3-4 of Golden Glen Creamery’s artisan, farmstead products. The subscription will typically ship the first week of the month, with the exception of the first month that the order is placed – the current month’s selection will ship within 5-7 business days of the order being placed. Shipped from Bow, WA.
Harmony Fields Bulk Lamb Sausage & Ground Lamb Boxes
Harmony Fields produces artisan, farmstead sheeps cheese at their farm and creamery in Bow, WA. In addition to their fresh cheeses, they sell grass-fed lamb, organically-grown herbs and yarn. While their cheese CSA boxes won’t be available for 2024, several bulk lamb boxes are available for order and local pick up. Stay tuned in 2025 for cheese offerings!
Established in 1905, the 5th generation of Mesman Farm continues their family’s farming tradition in La Conner, WA. They offer weekly meal boxes with a variety of USDA-inspected and pasture-raised beef, lamb, and heritage pork. Both classic and specialty cuts are regularly stocked in addition to farm fresh eggs.
Mossygate Flower Farm’s Micro-Green Subscription
New! Add a touch of class to any dish with Mossygate Flower Farm’s micro-greens. Micro-greens are sustainably grown, harvested at the freshest stage and packed full of vitamins and minerals. Available in Arugula, Sunflower, Mild Mix, or a Surprise Mix in 1.5, 2.5 or 8 ounce packages.
Additional CSA Options
- Coriander Creek Farm – Offering produce boxes. They also offer farm stays and kids party locations through AirBnB and HipCamp, and enjoy sharing the beauty of their small valley with appreciative guests.
- Drifter’s Fish – A husband and wife team working together to bring you wild, sustainably harvested salmon and offering a frozen fish share. Stock your freezer with sustainably harvested wild Alaska salmon.
- Padilla Bay Farm – Weekly boxes of seasonal veggies, fruit, and eggs. Employs regenerative and no-till farming methods.
- Reine Acres – A 5th generation family farm offering Grass-fed beef, pastured pork and poultry. Online ordering and local farm pick-up.
- SUOT Farm & Flowers – A spring flower subscription is available from early April until the end of May. SUOT Farm also includes a full service retail flower shop (open Fridays) & seasonal farmstand (April-October), hugelkultur (hue-gull-culture) cutting gardens, and education co-workspace.
- Tangled Thicket Farm – A Skagit Valley farm offering various sized CSA boxes with local pick up or Bellingham delivery.
- Viva Farms – Fresh, organic produce provided by member incubator farms. 50% off for SNAP recipients.