TOP TEN REASONS TO SIGN UP

1. We are your personal farmers!

With a subscription, you gain direct access to us. We encourage feedback and we will do our best to respond to your suggestions. If you want specific varieties or types of vegetables, let us know and we will see if we can meet the request.

Case in point: we added cabbage to our production in 2010 because there were multiple requests from CSA members for this product.

2. CSA subscribers are guaranteed the best of our produce.

If you decide to go to a farmers' market, you must arrive early to be certain to receive the produce you desire. CSA members have paid for their produce and they come first. Even late arrivals are guaranteed their full share of produce! Wouldn't you like to have a guarantee that you get our best every week?

For any given distribution, we try to pick more of an item than we need. This provides choices for even the last person to pick up their share during a given distribution.

3. Subscribers receive more produce for their money.

We are willing to pass savings on to you in return for the certainty that we will have homes for the produce we grow. In fact, we participated in research during the 2006 season that shows a CSA share is potentially a better value than buying similar items from a grocery store.

And - with food prices increasing, you might have noticed that our share prices remain quite reasonable. A large share for $450 is the equivalent of $22.50 per week. Compare this to other food sources and we think you'll agree that this is a good buy.

A common STANDARD share list for August 15 might look like this:

2-4 tomatoes, 2 peppers, 2 summer squash, 2 zucchini, 1 eggplant, basil, 1 head garlic, bunch carrots or beets, 1 # beans, bunch kale or chard, 3-4 cucumber, 2-4 onions, broccoli or cauliflower, melon or lettuce, and the choice of taking hot peppers, okra or other spices. A farmers' market value of approximately $34 - all for the price of $16.25/week ($325 for the season).

Even better, we are CERTIFIED ORGANIC. Try buying organic without paying a premium at the store.

4. Help with recipes, storage and use of your produce.

As members of the community, you can benefit from shared experience and knowledge. Monthly newsletters keep members informed. We also maintain a blog where CSA members can share information in response to postings. The time spent picking up your share each week can also be spent gathering useful information from other subscribers and your personal farmers.

5. The menu pickup system provides opportunities to deal with unwanted veg.

We will arrange to arrange for any unwanted produce to go to the food shelf in Waterloo, church sponsored community dinners or Cedar Valley Friends of the Family. You may also find that you can execute a trade with other subscribers. Talk to us, we may know that there is already excess of an item because someone else opted not to take their portion!

6. Tasty varieties you can't buy at the store.

Many of our varieties are grown from heirloom seeds. You will not find Tolli Sweet Peppers, Moon and Stars watermelon, Thelma Sanders acorn squash, Bunte Forellenschuss lettuce or German Pink tomatoes at the supermarket. In fact, you won't often see them from other farmers at market. These varieties are tops for taste.

7. We support our community.

We strongly believe that the members of the CSA are an integral part of an active community that centers around their food production. As the personal farmers for the members of this community, we take pride in its growth and vitality.

In addition to our own business, we encourage you to purchase from other local food producers. Even if you don't buy from us, we hope you will consider other fine growers in the area. We are involved in the North Iowa Farm and Food Partnership(NIFFP) and Practical Farmers of Iowa and we serve as mentors to new farmers through MOSES. We also serve the community by giving presentations on our farming operation and the sustainable growing methods we use.

8. Lots of variety with quality

For each year we have provided the CSA service, subscribers have been very satisfied with the variety and quality of our produce. Many agree that the wide variety of produce is one of our strengths.

9. Fresh picked produce, sustainably grown, organic certification.

With the exception of storable items (potatoes, winter squash, garlic), produce delivered to you is typically picked within 24 to 36 hours of delivery. You will know that your food has not been sprayed with chemicals and is safe to eat. The Genuine Faux Farm is Certified Organic by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship program.

10. We strive to improve.

We seek to do a better job from season to season with our production and distribution techniques. There are usually two or three experiments being conducted in the fields each season and we stay connected to resources that report on organic growing techniques. We do our best to communicate with you, our subscribers, so that you are informed consumers. In return, we receive quality feedback that we put to use in order to keep you coming back!