CHICAGO — Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a great concept if the agriculture can get to the community. "The biggest problem we have with our CSA program is distribution," said Bob Borchardt, owner of Harvest Moon Farms, a Viroqua, Wisc., grower that specializes in organic heirloom vegetables. And this year, an even bigger problem is the drought.
That's where Peapod comes in. For five weeks beginning in mid-August, Peapod.com will sell Harvest Moon Farms' CSA "Local Farm Boxes" for weekend deliveries. Harvest Moon Farms crops include everything from beans, beets and broccoli to tomatillos, tomatoes and turnips, and the CSA boxes will contain 5-7 items – whatever is ready for harvest that week. The CSA boxes are priced at $24.95 each, and to add to the value, a newsletter from the farm – complete with recipes for the produce – comes with each box.
"This makes perfect sense for Peapod and our customers," said Tony Stallone, Peapod's vice president of fresh markets. "We have a reputation for delivering the freshest produce in the marketplace, and we have long-standing relationships with local farmers and local purveyors of all kinds. It's a part of our mission to support them as much as they support Peapod. What we hope will also happen through this program is that our customers' purchases of the CSA boxes will provide much-needed revenue to Harvest Moon Farms during what has become a potentially devastating drought season," he added.
"We're in a very tough spot," said Borchardt, who runs Harvest Moon with his wife, Jen. "With 40 percent less snow than normal this year and consecutive heat waves, there's just no reserve of moisture in the ground, and our crops are really suffering." Jen added, "We're in need of a few more irrigation systems to help keep the plants alive and to harvest a really beautiful crop of heirloom tomatoes. We're so appreciative of the support from Peapod and other food culture leaders in the community."
To order Harvest Moon Farms CSA boxes via Peapod, go to Peapod.com and browse the produce aisle, or search by keyword "Harvest Moon."
To donate to the farm directly, visit: http://www.harvestmoon-farms.com/droughtaid2012.php.
ABOUT PEAPOD
Peapod – an Ahold USA company – is the country's leading Internet grocer, serving 24 U.S. markets throughout Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin. For more information on Peapod, call 1.800.5.PEAPOD (1.800.573.2763), e-mail service@peapod.com or visit www.peapod.com.
ABOUT HARVEST MOON FARMS
Harvest Moon Farms is a Certified Organic produce farm and food company based in Viroqua, WI. The farm specializes in leafy greens, heirloom tomatoes and diversified crops to serve the Community Supported Agriculture program. It serves Chicago and surrounding Midwest states. For more information, visit http://www.harvestmoon-farms.com/.
Source: Peapod