Welcome to the UW Farm CSA Program
By becoming a member or ‘shareholder,’ you are not simply purchasing food, you are directly investing in the success of our student-run farm program and joining our community! You will receive a portion of our harvest and enjoy some of the freshest local produce right from our campus to your table!
Earned revenue (particularly from CSA sales) comprises a significant portion of the UW Farm’s operating budget. Your support allows us to operate our farm as an educational and community space that provides exceptional opportunities for UW Students and community members to learn about growing food, learn about our food system more broadly and engage in critical conversations about agriculture, food and the environment. Your financial support also enables us to donate a large portion of the food we grow each year – in 2024 the UW Farm donated 6,871 lbs. of fresh, organic produce to our community. The largest recipients of this produce were the UW Food Pantry and direct to volunteer donations.
2025 UW Farm CSA
Options & Descriptions
2025 season pick-up methods; Farmer’s Market Style or Boxed.
We offer TWO pick-up CHOICES at our ONE pick-up location:
Farmer’s Market Style – is staffed, limited window for pick-up
Each week your share will be ready for pick up between 3PM-7PM on Wednesday.
We will have that week’s vegetable selection displayed similar to a Farmer’s Market booth, which allows you to choose the produce for yourself. Bins of produce will be available for you to self-select the same number and type of produce items as the boxed CSA. For instance: cucumbers, “pick two” will be on the tote loaded with cucumbers. You may pick any shape, size, or length. A volunteer will be on site to help with this new Market Style.
- Note – the pick-up window for Market Style is more restricted due to limited labor. If you cannot commit to the four-hour Wednesday pick-up window we recommend the Boxed option.
Boxed Style – not staffed, extended hours for pick-up
Each week your boxed CSA will be ready for pick up between 3pm Wednesdays and 8am the next morning, Thursday. This is a self serve, convenient method for those who desire after hours pick up. The pre-boxed produce is ready anytime after 3pm until we collect empty boxes the next morning.
- Note – There is an additional cost to this method to account for the extra time and labor that students put into boxing the shares each week.
ALL Shareholders:
- Please bring your own reusable bag and leave all tubs and bins at the farm.
- Sign for your product. There will be a clipboard that will have a spreadsheet with your name and the date. Please find your name, sign and add time of day. This sign-off sheet helps us keep track of who has picked up their share.
- Missing Pick-up one week? Please notify us right away if you will miss a distribution:
- Have a friend pick it up for you or pass it on to someone else – just be sure to give them the pick-up details and let our staff know of the switch.
- Skip a week, notify us 24-hours before delivery day so that we can send the produce directly to the UW Food Pantry.
- For those shareholders who forget to pick-up on Wednesday, we may reach out to offer a pick-up the following Friday. This is dependent on our team capacity. Please do not depend on this.
CSA box pick-up Location and a FAQ sheet are listed at the bottom of this page.
Community events
This season we will prioritizing hosting more community events for our CSA Shareholders, farm staff & interns, UW students and community members to connect with each other and share meaningful engagement around our work to build a resilient & regenerative local food system.
Currently planned events:
- Last Friday of each month pizza bakes!
- Apple Day! September 17th (the last CSA pick-up day for summer and peak shareholders) will serve as our Apple Day. Activities will include cider pressing, apple variety taste testing and more apple themed fun!
- More to come!
Full Season CSA – SOLD OUT, JOIN WAITLIST BELOW
24 Weeks, June 4 – November 12, 2025
Box Size & Value: This share will meet the vegetable needs for an average family of four or two heavy veggie eaters. Contents vary week to week and contain an average of 7-12 different items based on what is fresh. We strive for the value of each box to be ~$37 although some weeks will be slightly leaner while others more robust.
Cost for Full Season Membership:
Farmer’s Market Style:
- Faculty/Staff/Alumni/Neighbor: $870 (installment payment options available)
- Current UW Students: $820 (installment payment options available)
Boxed:
- Faculty/Staff/Alumni/Neighbor: $945 (installment payment options available)
- Current UW Students: $895 (installment payment options available)
Some of the veggies you may find in the Full Season CSA: basil, beets, beans, bok choi, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chard, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, collard greens, cucumber, dill, eggplant, tomatillos, fennel, garlic, garlic scapes, snap and string beans, heirloom tomatoes, hot peppers, kale, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, melon, mustard greens, cabbage, onions, oregano, parsley, parsley root, parsnips, peas, potatoes, pumpkins, radicchio, radish, rosemary, sage, salad mix, salad turnips, scallions, shallots, spinach, sunchokes, summer squash, sweet peppers, thyme, winter squash.
JOIN WAITLIST:
- Fill out the 2025 FULL SEASON CSA QUESTIONNAIRE here to join waitlist for 2025 UW Farm Full Season CSA
PLEASE NOTE: You will not be added to our official membership or packing list until we have received a signed form (last part of questionnaire) and first payment. Membership slots are finalized on a first-come first-serve basis.
Summer Season CSA – SOLD OUT, JOIN WAITLIST BELOW
16 Weeks, June 4 – September 17th, 2024
Box Size & Value: This share will meet the vegetable needs for an average family of four or two heavy veggie eaters. Contents vary week to week and contain an average of 7-12 different items based on what is fresh. We strive for the value of each box to be ~$37 although some weeks will be slightly leaner while others more robust.
Cost for Summer Session CSA Membership:
Farmer’s Market Style:
- Faculty/Staff/Alumnus/Neighbor: $615 (installment payment options available)
- Current UW Students: $565 (installment payment options available)
Boxed:
- Faculty/Staff/Alumnus/Neighbor: $665 (installment payment options available)
- Current UW Students : $615 (installment payment options available)
Some of the veggies in you may find Summer CSA are: basil, beets, bok choi, carrots, celeriac, celery, chard, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, collard greens, cucumber, dill, eggplant, tomatillos, fennel, garlic, garlic scapes, snap and string beans, heirloom tomatoes, hot peppers, kale, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, melon, cabbage, onion, oregano, parsley, parsley root, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radicchio, radish, rosemary, sage, salad mix, salad turnips, scallions, shallots, spinach, summer squash, sweet peppers, thyme.
JOIN WAITLIST:
- Fill out the 2025 SUMMER SEASON CSA QUESTIONNAIRE here to join waitlist.
PLEASE NOTE: You will not be added to our official membership or packing list until we have received a signed form (last part of questionnaire) and first payment. Membership slots are finalized on a first-come first-serve basis.
Peak Season CSA – SOLD OUT, JOIN WAITLIST BELOW
8 Weeks, July 30st – September 17th, 2024
Box Size & Value: This share will meet the vegetable needs for an average family of four or two heavy veggie eaters. Contents vary week to week and contain an average of 7-12 different items based on what is fresh. We strive for the value of each box to be ~$37 although some weeks will be slightly leaner while others more robust.
Cost for Peak Season CSA Membership:
Farmer’s Market Style:
- Faculty/Staff/Alumnus/Neighbor: $305 (installment payment options available)
- Current UW Students: $255 (installment payment options available)
Boxed:
- Faculty/Staff/Alumnus/Neighbor: $332 (installment payment options available)
- Current UW Students: $282 (installment payment options available)
Some of the veggies you may find in your Peak Season CSA box: basil, cucumbers, peppers, beets, heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, eggplant, salad greens, string and snap beans, cilantro, melons, plums, parsley, rosemary, onions, Swiss chard, fennel.
Our Peak Session CSA boxes arrive at the most bountiful time of year with produce like fresh basil, sweet tomatoes and even spicy peppers. This is a delicious time to sample some of the season’s most flavorful produce and highest value produce.
JOIN WAITLIST:
- Fill out the 2025 PEAK SEASON CSA QUESTIONNAIRE here to state your interest in subscribing and sign a membership agreement.
PLEASE NOTE: You will not be added to our official membership or packing list until we have received a signed form (last part of questionnaire) and first payment. Membership slots are finalized on a first-come first-serve basis.
ALL CSA Pick-up Details:
Locations: On the farm (Center for Urban Horticulture)
PARKING AVAILABLE ON-FARM
Picking up, Day and Time:
Farmer’s Market Style: Wednesdays from 3pm – 7pm. A staff member will be around to answer and questions you have.
Boxed: You may come at anytime between 3pm Wednesday & 8:00am the following Thursday, a 17 hour pick up window. CSA produce is stored in plastic tubs for food safety. These tubs are sanitized and packed for your convenience. Please remove your produce and leave the tub and lid at the site.
*Any boxes remaining on site at 8:30am on Thursday will be removed for food safety considerations. If you are not able to pick-up your box while you are out of town, please let us know ahead of time so that we can keep the produce from going to waste!
Note – Each Thursday we will email all CSA shareholders who failed to pick-up their box and we will offer a back-up pick-up option during our volunteer hours on Fridays at CUH. Please try to avoid taking advantage of this option regularly as it creates more work for our team.
Pick-up Procedures:
- Farmer’s Market Style: Please sign the Farmer’s Market Style sign-in sheet upon pick-up.
- Boxed: Please sign the Boxed Style sign-in sheet upon pick-up.
- Please BRING A BAG. We issue aa UW Farm canvas tote-bag to first-time shareholders, but each week you will need to bring a fabric, paper or plastic bag from home to transport your produce items.
- All plastic tubs or “boxes” will be arranged in a stack. Please pick the one at the top of the stack.
Going to miss Pick-up?
- Have a friend pick it up for you or pass it on to someone else – just be sure to give them the pick-up details and let our staff know of the switch.
- Skip a week, notify us 24-hours before delivery day so that we can send the produce directly to the UW Food Pantry.
FAQ
Q: I would like to pay electronically, are there options for paying online?
A. There is a method via UW TouchNet Marketplace to pay for CSA shares electronically.
Q: I need financial assistance, are there any options for me?
A: Please contact us at uwfarm@uw.edu about need-based discounts. You may also pay in installments, but full payment for the whole season is due by the first pick-up. See exact deadline dates for each session.
Q: What happens If I go on vacation or miss a pick-up?
A: If you are not able to pick-up your box while you are out of town, have a friend pick it up or let us know ahead of time so we can keep the produce from going to waste and donate it to the on-campus Food Pantry. We also have many students who would gladly eat this delicious produce rather than seeing it get tossed!
Q: What would be an example of a typical box?
A: Take a look at these box photos from our previous seasons!
Testimonials
“The benefits I experienced as a CSA member included a much greater variety of locally produced, organic vegetables and herbs than I had made a part of my diet in the past. It also provided an opportunity to share the bounty with family and neighbors. I became good friends with my neighbors and shared meals! The variety of vegetables led naturally to my cooking a greater variety of meals….and when tomatoes were plentiful, I learned to can them!”
~Franklin Furlong
“The UW Farm CSA was an incredible way to connect with the seasons and support urban farming! This is by far the best CSA we have ever participated in, and each box was like unwrapping a gift. There was a huge variety of delicious vegetables each week- we loved experimenting with new produce and recipes thanks to this CSA. We’re glad we could support the UW Farm, and look forward to the next season.”
~ Josh Furman
“Thank you so so much! I had the best time getting those amazing veggies every week! It was totally the highlight of my week and cooking them was such a fun process, too. That was my first time and I was trying to sign up for the fall season but I was a bit too late. Anyway, I absolutely loved it. You all are doing a wonderful job there. I’ll keep an eye on the website and try to sign up again. Thank you so much.”
~ Mario
Questions? Email uwfarm@uw.edu.