“CSA Card” Boosts On-Farm Sales

2021 - Volume #45, Issue #2, Page #06

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Dee Elliot doesn’t have to worry about her CSA customers liking what they get in their deliveries each week. They pick out what they want themselves, and Elliot doesn’t have to box, bag or deliver.
“Before starting our CSA in 2014, we researched other CSA’s from the customer point of view,” says Elliot, who manages Elliot Farm with her brother Ken and her husband Jim Lough. “There were pros and cons. The cons included getting vegetables they didn’t like or getting too much of a particular item.”
They decided to go with a free choice CSA. They already had regular customers coming to their on-farm market. It’s open 7 days a week, giving members lots of pick-up options versus having a delivery at a set time each week.
“Our customers buy a half or full share membership in early spring, just like with other CSA’s,” explains Elliot.
Initially, each member was listed on a spread sheet. As the CSA membership grew from 17 in 2014 to 200 in 2020, the cashier had to search through as many as 13 pages to mark off the weekly allowance. It was time consuming and a hassle for everyone. Like most other CSA’s, if the customer went on vacation, they lost the value of that week’s allowance. It wasn’t rolled forward. All that has changed.
“We switched over to a Harvest Card,” says Elliot. “It has a preloaded amount like a gift card. As an incentive, we add 10 percent to the amount. If they buy a full share at $450, they have $495 to spend whenever they want on whatever they want.”
As Elliot explains, “They are helping us with our preseason costs, and we can count on them to patronize our farm stand. On their end, they get extra value.”
Customers are now getting even more for their CSA share. In addition to what they raise, the Elliots carry locally made artisanal bread and cheese, as well as meat, eggs, honey and berries from local vendors. They partner with other local farms and visit Boston’s Farmers Market for items not available locally.
The Harvest Card gave CSA members even more choice. They are free to use the card as they please.
“Our members can use the harvest card on whatever they want and as much as they want,” says Elliot. “If it’s barbque season and they want to spend $100 on sweet corn, they can.”
If a CSA member uses up their Harvest Card amount, they can ask the cashier to add $50 or $100 to the card from their credit card. They also have the option of doing so from the Elliot Farm website. Once again, the Elliots add value to the transaction.
“For every $100 they add, we give them another $10 in store credit,” says Elliot.
Having the Harvest Card system in place gives the Elliots another option. Customers can buy gift cards for friends and relatives in $50, $75, $100 or larger amounts.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Elliot Farm, 202 Main St., Lakeville, Mass. 02347 (ElliotFarmCSA@gmail.com; www.elliotfarm.org).

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“CSA Card” Boosts On-Farm Sales SPECIALTY/SERVICES Dee Elliot doesn’t have to worry about her CSA customers liking what they get in their deliveries each week They pick out what they want themselves and Elliot doesn’t have to box bag or deliver “Before starting our CSA in 2014 we researched other CSA’s from the customer point of view ” says Elliot who manages Elliot Farm with her brother Ken and her husband Jim Lough “There were pros and cons The cons included getting vegetables they didn’t like or getting too much of a particular item ” They decided to go with a free choice CSA They already had regular customers coming to their on-farm market It’s open 7 days a week giving members lots of pick-up options versus having a delivery at a set time each week “Our customers buy a half or full share membership in early spring just like with other CSA’s ” explains Elliot Initially each member was listed on a spread sheet As the CSA membership grew from 17 in 2014 to 200 in 2020 the cashier had to search through as many as 13 pages to mark off the weekly allowance It was time consuming and a hassle for everyone Like most other CSA’s if the customer went on vacation they lost the value of that week’s allowance It wasn’t rolled forward All that has changed “We switched over to a Harvest Card ” says Elliot “It has a preloaded amount like a gift card As an incentive we add 10 percent to the amount If they buy a full share at $450 they have $495 to spend whenever they want on whatever they want ” As Elliot explains “They are helping us with our preseason costs and we can count on them to patronize our farm stand On their end they get extra value ” Customers are now getting even more for their CSA share In addition to what they raise the Elliots carry locally made artisanal bread and cheese as well as meat eggs honey and berries from local vendors They partner with other local farms and visit Boston’s Farmers Market for items not available locally The Harvest Card gave CSA members even more choice They are free to use the card as they please “Our members can use the harvest card on whatever they want and as much as they want ” says Elliot “If it’s barbque season and they want to spend $100 on sweet corn they can ” If a CSA member uses up their Harvest Card amount they can ask the cashier to add $50 or $100 to the card from their credit card They also have the option of doing so from the Elliot Farm website Once again the Elliots add value to the transaction “For every $100 they add we give them another $10 in store credit ” says Elliot Having the Harvest Card system in place gives the Elliots another option Customers can buy gift cards for friends and relatives in $50 $75 $100 or larger amounts Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Elliot Farm 202 Main St Lakeville Mass 02347 ElliotFarmCSA@gmail com; www elliotfarm org

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