Our CSA is back in 2025 and better than ever! After doing some crop planning, analyzing our 2024 feedback, and exploring other successful CSA models, we decided that kicking up our CSA a notch would be a priority this year. We’ve changed a lot to make it even better for you! Here’s an overview of what’s new with this year’s Good Dirt Farm CSA membership.
More Package Options
In 2024, we only had two options: a traditional CSA share valued at around $25 per week of produce and a “custom” share that was a small fee upfront to access our online store for the season. This year, we’ve doubled our offering to 4 total options.
The same traditional CSA (we call it our “Dirt Box”) is now available as a weekly or every-other-week option. We like this new bi-weekly model for folks who might be overwhelmed with 7-9 items every single week. Plus, we know from feedback that the large majority of our produce lasts two weeks anyway, so adding this option was a no-brainer.
We also changed up our “custom” share a bit. The online store aspect is the same as 2024, where members can choose from everything we have available on a given week and buy as much or as little as they’d like. But instead of having a small upfront fee and rolling payments, we’ve lumped the payment upfront. Members can also now choose between a “large” share for $600, and a “small” share for $250.
This way, we are honoring the spirit of a traditional CSA by having members pay upfront to help us with the heavy spring costs of seeds, compost, and supplies while maintaining the free-choice aspect of the CSA. Members who choose the “build your own” CSA get online store credit that they can draw from for the whole season. If they run low, members have the option to add more credit at any time.
Deeper Variety
We like to think that our CSA members really appreciate the variety of produce we grow. For our 2025 CSA, there are a couple of things that members may see less or none of, but there’s way more that will be brand new!
A prime example is fruits. Last year was fruit-free for us, as we focused on vegetables and herbs while letting perennials grow and planning for more fruits. This year, we hope to add fruit to our CSA shares a few times, including raspberries, strawberries, and melons.
We’re also adding diversity to crops like tomatoes, peppers, and baby greens that we did not have last year. This will add more colors and flavors to diversify shares throughout the season.
Finally, a few brand new crops like sweet potatoes and leeks are getting a trial run this year. We like to devote a small percentage of our farm each year to new/experimental crops and varieties, and our members should expect to see a few new things every season!
Greater Reach
We have a reach goal this year to grow our 2025 CSA to 50 shares. That would be nearly triple the size of the 2024 CSA! We would not be able to do this without expanding to new locations in our community. This year, we are continuing to host a pickup site on our farm in Latrobe, as well as in Penn Hills. We are also adding two new locations: Greensburg (The Laurel Marketplace) and Millvale (McWalker Yarns). These businesses are kind enough to support our CSA growth, and we’ve had high interest in both locations already!
We may not stop there. If you or someone you know is interested in hosting, reach out to us! We’re hoping to make picking up your produce as quick and easy as possible.
Continued Perks!
Being a part of a CSA is so much more than the produce itself. Our members enjoy a ton of added value, including weekly recipe ideas, storage tips, detailed info on how crops are grown, and more as a part of our weekly newsletter.
Last year, we also hosted an on-farm open house for our members, which we are intent on doing again this year. Being able to see and feel the soil that your food was grown in is the ultimate hallmark of a closed-loop local food system, and it is included in our CSA shares!
That’s a wrap for what’s new in our 2025 CSA membership at Good Dirt Farm! For more info, check out our CSA page where you can read more and sign up!