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Denison Farms

                                                                                   Corvallis, Oregon


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Community Supported Agriculture

In this fragmented world, it is good to build relationships,
particularly around something as wholesome and healthy as real food.
Join us this year.

Membership Information for Denison Farms Harvest Box
***Please note: 2012 registration information will be available after February 10th.

2011 Membership Information - Last year's information is posted below. Please wait until after February 10th for updated 2012 membership information.

Sign-up for 2012 season starting February 5th, 2012
Join our Harvest Box by sending your name, address, telephone number, and email address along with a check for the membership fee  to Denison Farms, 1835 NE Steele Ave., Corvallis, OR 97330.  Please indicate to which pick-up location you would like us to deliver your box, and whether you prefer to recieve a confirmation of registration by email or USPS.  If you are sharing a box, please include name and address information for all families. 

2011 Season (Wait until after February 10th for 2012 information)
Our Harvest Box season is 26 weeks in length, beginning May 31st and continuing until Thanksgiving. 
We are happy to add members during the season. Call or email the farm for information about our pro rated membership fee.

Membership: Our membership fee is $546.00 (no change from last year) for the full 26 weeks. You can make two payments of $273 each (second payment is due August 1st). If you join and pay your membership fee in full by April 1st, you can pay a discounted membership fee of $520. Call the farm for a pro rated membership fee if joining after the start of the season.

Pick Up Sites: Upon registering we ask that you indicate from the following options where you would like to pick up your Harvest Box:

Confirmation
After recieving your membership, we will mail you a confirmation letter.  Please indicate your preference (email or USPS).

What will be in the harvest box?
Take a look at last year's newsletters for examples of what you'll be getting in your box this year.

Vacation Credit
If you're planning to be out of town for vacation, tell us at least 10 days in advance and we will give you credit for up to two boxes during the season.

If you have any additional questions, please call us (541-752-4156) or email denisont@peak.org.

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Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an opportunity for people who like to eat fruits and vegetables (that would be you) and people who grow the same (that would be us) to join in partnership so that all can benefit.

What it means to you:

How the farm benefits from your membership

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What you can expect in your Harvest Box

    Our 2011 Harvest Box should look very similar to last year’s box. Our box relies heavily on familiar items. You can expect tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, garlic or onions, and fruit nearly every week. We grow a lot of strawberries and raspberries. Lettuce, salad mix or spinach will generally be in each box. The balance of the box will be a carefully selected seasonal assortment of vegetables, fruits, greens, roots, and herbs. Recipes are provided for less familiar vegetables.

During 2009, we purchased some additional land adjacent to our farm. Although we have already started farming this new piece by all the same methods we use on our home place, the new land will not be Certified Organic until spring 2012. For the next two seasons, crops grown on this new land will be identified as transitional.

We may enhance the variety of organic fruits and vegetables in your box by collaborating with a few of our friends who grow high quality organic produce. 

If you want to know more specifically what was in each box last year, check our Harvest Box Newsletters to see the items and quantities for each box.
 

Frequently Asked Questions

When can I sign up for membership with Denison Farms Harvest Box?
    We begin accepting memberships in February each year. If you want to receive a brochure in the mail in early February, send your mailing address to us (denisont@peak.org). Or you can check the web site after February 10th for updated 2012 information.

How many people will this harvest box feed?
    This is by far the most common question we get.  We have found that the amount of produce a household consumes varies greatly. This depends on how often people eat out or entertain, whether people are vegetarians, vegans, or omnivores, and whether they are going to supplement their diets with things like bananas, oranges, avocados and other things that don’t grow in Corvallis.  The best way to decide if our box will suit your household is to spend some time looking through the newsletters from the last couple seasons.  Each newsletter lists what is in the box that week, so browsing through a season or two should give you a good idea of whether our box would fit into your lifestyle.
    If you want to really get a “picture” of our box, two of our 2011 Harvest Box members have shared photos and recipes on their personal blogs. Both these blogs have some amazing photos, and inspirational recipe ideas: http://robyn-cooks.blogspot.com/  or  http://lambstewdriedplums.com/   

Do you offer half-shares?
    We offer only one size box. Many people who want only a half share find a friend or neighbor who would like to share with them. Before you decide to share, please check our newsletters from the past few years and read what produce was in our box last season. Our box tends to have more tomatoes, sweet peppers,  strawberries and raspberries; and fewer bunches of greens, cabbages, kohlrabi, and lettuce than CSA boxes from many other farms.

Will your box supply all the produce needs of my family?
    Probably not if your household has 4 people who eat as many fruits and vegetables as current dietary recommendations (half your plate should be vegetables and fruits). If your goal is to eat that much produce, you should expect to supplement what is in your weekly box. Hundreds of families find that the box suits their needs. Others love our box, but desire more greens and fruit than we provide, so they purchase additional local produce at the farmers market, or they supplement with bananas, oranges, and other non-local produce from the store. Please check our newsletters from past seasons to see how much produce is typically in our box. 

When can I start getting a box?
    Our season runs from late May until Thanksgiving week and you can join at any time with a one week notice.  You get a small discount for paying in full before April first, and it costs a little more per week to join after the season has begun. The best way to contact us for a pro rated membership fee after the season has started is by email.

Is Denison Farms certified organic?
    Yes, we have been certified organic since 1988.  

Does Denison Farms grow everything in the harvest box?
    No, we grow about 90% of what is in the box.  To increase variety we include some organic produce grown by friends of ours.  Apples from La Mancha ranch, pears from Gala Springs, or corn from Groundwork Organics are some examples from prior seasons.

Is this the cheapest way to feed my family organic produce?
    No, if your primary goal is to get the most pounds of local organic produce for your dollar, it is probably better to go to the farmers market or store and buy what is on special that week.  Our box has lots of things people love to eat such as raspberries, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, and red peppers, but these cost more than cabbage or russet potatoes.  If you like what we put in our box (see Newsletters), then our box is more economical than buying the same items at the farmers market.

Will there be things in the box that I don’t like?
    Good question!  Remember that we will be choosing what’s in your produce drawer for half a year.  This can be very hard for some people.  Be sure to spend some time browsing the newsletters on our website to see if what we have supplied in the past is what you want to eat.  The people who enjoy our box the most are those who enjoy most kinds of produce, or trying new things.  Our box pick-up sites do have a trade box, where you can exchange something in your box with something from the trade box, but we make no guarantees that you will like everything in your box.
    Our box frequently includes  tomatoes, basil, sweet peppers, strawberries, raspberries, and potatoes. If you don't eat one of those regularly-appearing items, then our box may not be a good fit for you.

Is there a way to get extra quantities of berries, tomatoes, peppers, basil etc. to preserve for the winter?
    Yes, you can ask to be notified when we have specials on bulk quantities.

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