May 1. 2022 – OUR CSA PROGRAM HAS SOLD OUT. THANK YOU PORT ALBERNI FOR YOUR AMAZING SUPPORT! FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE UNABLE TO SECURE A SHARE, YOU CAN STILL FIND US EACH WEEK AT THE SATURDAY FARMER’S MARKET AT HARBOUR QUAY, 9 am-12 noon.
Support new farmers, and enjoy local, fresh produce – join our CSA!
Shelter Farm is a social enterprise run by the Port Alberni Shelter Society.
Shelter Farm is celebrating our third successful season offering the Market Garden Program in partnership with North Island College here in the Alberni Valley. 28 Market Gardeners have graduated from program and we are on track to train 16 more new farmers this year!
We are happy to offer a Community Supported Agriculture “CSA” produce box program.
What is a CSA?
Well it’s a way you can help support local farmers by purchasing shares of a farm’s harvest in advance. This provides our Market Gardeners with the money they need to purchase seeds, fertilizer and pay them a fair living wage.
We grow over 70 different types of vegetable produce and all kinds of herbs. We also have fruit such as berries, plums and melons. We also offer farm fresh free range eggs, gourmet mushrooms and microgreens.
We offer a few options for the CSA produce box program. You can purchase a half share or a full share.
Half share:
- Includes 5 or 6 produce items (total value of $22 a box)
Full share:
- Includes 10 or 11 produce items (total value $40 per box)
You will receive your box of produce each week over 21 weeks.
The first box will be on June 4, 2022 and the last box will be October 22 2022.
A Full Share is $675 and a Half Share is $450. You can pay in installments. It is important to know that you will receive what is in season. For example, in the first few boxes you will receive lots of greens, radishes, oyster mushrooms and our lovely baby carrots. In July/August (the peak of the season) you will receive an abundance of produce. In the fall you will get squash, greens and root vegetables. The amounts and what you will get vary from week to week.
The pick-up location for your box will be at our processing facility located at 3689 3rd Ave. on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 5:00pm, or at the Spirit Square Farmers’ Market on Saturdays from 9:00am to 12:00pm. We will have a swap box at the locations so that you can exchange an item for something else in your box.
As part of our weekly box, we will include a newsletter with recipes for cooking up fresh new items, photos and stories about what is happening at the farm. You will also get first dibs on workshops, volunteer opportunities and field days at the farm.
We are chemical free. We are not presently organically certified but we practice organic growing methods so we can eventually apply for organic certification. We use natural fertilization and pest control methods such as cover crops and crop rotation. We use only organic certified fertilizer, potting mix and seeds. We have a large worm composting facility at the farm that we harvest worm castings to provide fertility. We practice regenerative agriculture methods using minimal tillage.
If you are interested in joining our CSA please contact me by email and I will send you the form to sign up. There are only 60 shares so don’t wait too long to sign-up! Thank you for your interest in the Port Alberni Shelter Society’s CSA program and supporting local agriculture.
