You’re very wordy. Can you break the Healing Foods CSA down for me in a more simple way?

You’re so right. I’ll try my best. Here’s the gist:

WHO: You, your neighbors, friends you haven’t met yet, and a team of women & nonbinary farmers.

WHAT: The Healing Foods CSA is like the socially-conscious, tree-hugging wild-child of pre-made meal kits and the veggie CSA. No prepackaged 1 oz containers of soy sauce, but everything you need to put together a healing foods pantry/apothecary— and to start using it!

WHERE/WHEN: Pick-up on farm (or at the farmers market) Saturday Mornings 10-1 a.m. Pick-ups at Mixed Greens in Northampton Saturday 12-4.

HOW: In addition to the foods, we send a newsletter with A LOT of information: a guide for unpacking and storing your share, a suggested weekly menu, and additional recipes. Our hope is that the newsletter inspires you to cook with new foods— or to cook with familiar foods in new ways. You’re also encouraged to change the way you think about food, diet, agriculture, and wellness.

WHY: 1) You want to have more culinary adventures and try new things, 2) You want to change your relationship to food and wellness, 3) You think that we need to start building more resilient and more just food systems, 4) You recognize that new ways of growing, eating, and thinking about food are necessary for creating more resilient communities.

I am on a special diet (i.e. keto, vegan, raw, gluten-free etc). Is this share right for me?

Great question. It depends. The kits and recipes are mostly vegetarian, and all can be made vegan and/or gluten free. We strongly encourage play and experimentation in cooking and will always provide ideas for ways that you can change recipes to fit your needs! We know that every body is different and that not all recipes will work for every one. That being said, it’s important to know that this share takes a lot of joy in food and cooking. The philosophy from which the newsletters are written and shares are curated is one that unapologetically eschews strict dietary restriction, embraces health at all sizes, and seeks to find pleasure and nourishment from culinary tradition. In this spirit, we actually ask that you keep fat-phobic views and food-shaming of any kind out of Foxtrot Farm spaces.

How many people does this feed?

Given how different our appetites can be, that’s hard to say! The share is meant to complement other ways that you might get (more familiar) foods, such as veggie CSAs, gardens, or grocery stores.

What if I miss a share? Can I make it up?

We are a very small farm team and cannot accommodate missing a share. Consider gifting your share to a friend if you know that you’ll be away. If you know you or someone else can’t make it, please do let us know ahead of time. (If you occasionally need to pick up at the farm outside of scheduled hours, email us, and we can work with you.)

I live far away, but I’m interested in participating somehow…

This year, we’ve got a few options!

1. Sign up for our winter CSA, which we’ll ship anywhere in the continental US!

2. Subscribe to the newsletter for $100 bucks! Every pick-up week, we send out several pages (usually 6-10) with information on the foods we grow, their nutritional value, and how to use them. It’s a labor of love and one of the things that our CSA members say they enjoy most.

   Farmer Abby opines about sustainable agriculture, resilient food systems, and the (often personal) politics of eating. She explores culinary traditions from around the world, shares research on the history of foods, draws from her training in Western herbalism, and explores (totally geeks out about) her own ancestral food traditions (Ukranian, Irish, and Sicilian). Guest columns from CSA members and other farmers share their own experiences and recipes.

   NOTE: Because many of the foods that are resilient in this climate are indigenous plants and/or plants that were cultivated by enslaved peoples, and because of white folk’s long-standing history of appropriating these plants and knowledge (and for so many other reasons) the newsletter and Home Gardner shares are free to any black or indigenous person who would like it. Just email us at foxtrotherbfarm@gmail.com to subscribe.