Buying Clubs

The following list, organized by state, provides basic information about all the buying clubs that are available through Farm to City's partnership program. To get more information about any of the buying clubs in the list or to become a member, simply click on the name of the buying club to view its home page.

What's a buying club?

Pennsylvania

Meadow Run Farm
	Region: Philadelphia area Availability: Year-round Type: Buying Club Description: Pasture-raised meats and eggs.
Philadelphia Winter Harvest
	Region: Philadelphia and suburbs Availability: November to April Type: Buying Club Description: Buying club with 25 pickup locations in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Delaware County and Collingswood New Jersey. Food items from farmers in Lancaster, Berks, Chester, and other counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Red Earth Farm
	Region: Philadelphia and regions North & West Availability: June - November Type: Member Choice CSA + Buying Club Description: 23-week CSA with supplemental buying club
Wimer's Organics CSA
	Region: Lancaster County to Philadelphia Availability: May through November Type: Traditional CSA + Buying Club Description: CSA with supplemental buying club. New in 2009. Farmer with deep experience in organic farming.

New York

Community Food Compact
	Region: Northern Columbia & Southern Rensselaer Counties, NY Availability: Year-round Type: Buying Club Description: The Community Food Compact is a new kind of local community agricultural cooperative, with both producer and consumer members, that extends the community supported agriculture (CSA) model. A group of producers cooperate to offer a product list of basic food staples for weekly local food shopping and home cooking: fruits and vegetables, (emphasizing produce boxes), protein-rich foods (meats, milk, cheese, eggs), grain staples (artisan breads, whole grains), and flavorings (sauces, dressings, sweeteners), plus local frozen foods that extend harvest eating. The co-op's emphasis on cooking with local foods and nutrition support the transition to a new better local way of eating with a higher percentage of healthy local foods in our diet. Consumers agree to purchase at least half of their food from the co-op over the course of the year, while buying whatever they want on the list week to week. The Community Food Compact assures consumers of a stable source of the best possible food direct from their community, while produces receive contracts from the co-op that assure them of a more stable income and way of life.
Rondout Valley Organics
	Region: Ulster county and vicinity Availability: early June - mid-Oct Type: Buying Club Description: A collaborative CSA - where YOU choose what you order - featuring certified organic & local products from Farm & Granary, Rusty Plough Farm and August Farm

New Jersey

Philadelphia Winter Harvest
	Region: Philadelphia and suburbs Availability: November to April Type: Buying Club Description: Buying club with 25 pickup locations in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Delaware County and Collingswood New Jersey. Food items from farmers in Lancaster, Berks, Chester, and other counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

CSA and Buying Club Definitions

Community Supported Agriculture, or "CSA," is a mutually-beneficial arrangement between community members and a local farmer in which the farmer provides produce and other farm products during the growing season in exchange for payment before the season begins. Each week of the growing season, the farmer harvests the mature crops and divides the produce into "shares," typically one for each member of the CSA operation. In most CSAs, the produce supplied in the weekly share boxes is the same for each member. In some CSAs, members can select the crops they want each week from a list of mature crops that are ready to harvest. Farmers deliver the shares to pre-arranged locations for members to pick up, or members pick up their shares directly from the farm. Since CSA members pay at the beginning of the season, they share with the farmer the benefits and risks of farming that result from yearly variations in the weather.

Traditional CSA: a CSA operation in which a farmer divides the week's crop yield equally among the member's share boxes. Members pay for their shares at the beginning of the season and receive weekly share deliveries of whatever produce is available at the time.

Member Choice CSA: a CSA operation in which members are given some choice about what seasonal products appear in their share boxes from week to week. Members pay at the beginning of the season, and then submit their orders each week from a list of available crops. Members who do not submit weekly orders still receive a share box filled with "farmer's choice" items.

Buying clubs allow their members to order food for periodic delivery, typically once a week. In some clubs, members place their orders at the end the month for the next four or five weeks; in other clubs, members place their orders more frequently. Unlike CSAs, buying clubs operate on a "pay-as-you-go" basis, allowing their members to order as much or as little food as they want from week to week. As with CSA deliveries, buying club members pick up their weekly orders from designated drop-off locations. The items offered in local food buying clubs are often not available to consumers anywhere else: artisan meats and cheeses, pastured and raw dairy products and heirloom varieties of local fruits and vegetables. Ordering food from local buying clubs is a great way for consumers to support local farmers and preserve the local environment, while at the same time enjoying fresh, seasonal and nutrient-rich foods.

CSA and Buying Club Combinations Some farmers offer a traditional or member choice CSA in addition to a buying club. In these cases, members still pay for a CSA share at the beginning of the season and then have the option of supplementing their weekly CSA deliveries with items from the buying club.

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