School’s Out for Summer: Fall Veggie Share #8 – 12/14/22

 In CSA Newsletter

Okay, so it’s December. But in farmer speak, today feels like my last day of school.

For twenty-eight consecutive weeks, starting in mid-June I do the following things for the veggie share program:

  • Scout fields/storage and gather accurate inventories
  • Design the default veggie share box, as well as populate extra offerings for the online store
  • Download reports on Sunday evenings, post 4pm, and then create the labor plans needed to meet the orders for the upcoming week (this can take multiple hours)
  • Populate the ‘white board of stress’ with the orders for the week
  • Download/Print all order packsheets
  • Prep delivery truck routes, and all extra add on orders like eggs, flowers, kimchi
  • Create the veggie share newsletter, including cultivating appropriate recipes and crafting the farm blog

These tasks combined, especially in the summer season, can take up to 9 hours each week. And well, today, with this newsletter I’m done with all of these tasks until next June.

I have that end of school feeling I remember getting when school was out for the summer. I just want to run around all day saying, Wahoo!!! 

Don’t get me wrong: I  LOVE MY JOB. But it’s also a wonderful exhale of relief and relaxation when the stress of the veggie share season takes its winter hiatus. Who doesn’t love seasonal change and a break?

Sjolinds chocolates went out to all the employees today to celebrate. I will celebrate the end of the veggie share season personally with some friends this evening, with a farm chili made all with farm ingredients (except for the beans and spices).

It’s a good day.

I’m grateful for a great growing season.

I’m grateful for you all, the members, who make this whole local farming thing possible. THANK YOU.

And I’m grateful for the downshift of winter on the farm.

Cheers to hockey, cross country skiing, winter hiking on the Ice Age Trail, socializing with other farmers, reading, playing guitar and singing, hanging out with friends, more focused energy for my kiddos, and some quality couch time bingeing all the shows I haven’t watched since last winter.

Happy Winter to You!
Farmer Cassie