Summer is the perfect time to enjoy the bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables available through your local CSA (community supported agriculture). However, not everyone thinks it is possible to enjoy the literal fruits of the farmer’s labor—especially for those of us living in urban areas such as New York City. Even if we know how to connect with a CSA and can afford the upfront costs, our city commute may make it difficult to meet produce pickup times.
The solution? Organize a workplace CSA . Here’s how:
Rally Support
Gauge the interest of your co-workers by sending out an email or memo that explains the CSA concept and see how many are interested in participating. It is recommended you have at least 15 or more employees interested—if you don’t feel you have enough, consider collaborating with another nearby business. Once you have co-worker support, you need to gain the support of your superiors as well as any of the departments that may be asked to play a role in the CSAs operations such as payroll (some companies offer a payroll deduction to cover the CSA participation fee for each employee).
Assign a Point Person
You should assign one person to be the primary contact and organizer of your workplace CSA. This person will be the direct contact for the farm as well as your employees—managing details such as signing up new members, collecting payments and setting up the distribution site. Consider creating a CSA leadership team and divide other tasks such as planning educational events and implementing internal outreach.
Find a CSA
Workplace CSAs are beginning to pop up throughout New York City thanks to CSAs like Local Roots NYC, an organization that already has numerous workplace distribution points included on their list. See what CSAs may already be in your workplace neighborhood (here’s a great NYC map) and contact them to see if they would be willing to work with you and your company. Can’t find one that fits? Consider creating your own with these great tips from Just Food. You can find a list of potential farms by visiting Local Harvest.
Focus on Distribution
Work with the farmer and/or CSAs schedule to determine when your shares will arrive and make sure you have a distribution site that will not only accommodate the delivery, but will make it easy for employees to participate. A lunchroom, conference room or even a spare office space could be a great option. If your office is located on an upper floor, consider making the distribution site close to a freight elevator so no one is climbing stairs. Also, consider how you will handle distribution—what time employees can pick up their produce, what happens when someone doesn’t pick up their produce and rules for handling when employee’s go on vacation.
Think Outside the Pick Up Box
Don’t just stop with organizing fresh produce distribution—get everyone involved with the fun! Consider hosting fun, educational events that will help alleviate the fears some have with taking home a box of new veggies every week. Share recipes via your internal communication networks, host cooking classes before or after work hours, set up a “swap table” where employees can swap out vegetables they don’t particularly care for with those they find more tasty (there’s always a beet lover in the group!) and have a once-a-month lunch where everyone brings one dish made from veggies from that month’s share. If you really want to think outside of the box, plan a field trip to the farm—there is nothing like getting to see exactly where that tasty produce is coming from every week.
Talk to us: What is your favorite vegetable to find in your CSA delivery?
image courtesy of BY CC 2.0