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What is different about a Fresh Start Farms FarmShare?

  1. Our produce is grown by immigrant and refugee farmers participating in ORIS' New American Sustainable Agriculture Program (NASAP). Our farmers bring experience from seven countries including Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda. We aggregate their harvest, as well as from other farms and hubs in the area, to provide you with the best of what our area has to offer. 
  2. You can customize your share so that you can keep what you love and pass on what you don't. You can add local produce, cheese, meat, pantry staples and other specialty items into your share every week. 
  3. Life is busy, so we offer you the flexibility of choosing the size of your share and the ability to skip a week if you don't need it.
  4. Pay-as-you-go, no lump sum up front and you don't pay for produce you don't want. 

 

How do I sign-up? 

Read our step-by-step process or watch this video on how to Create an Account & Choose your FarmShare. 

 

What is a FarmShare?

A FarmShare is another name for a CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. This refers to a community of individuals who pledge financial support to a farm/farmer in exchange for a share of their crops throughout the season. At its heart, a FarmShare CSA is a partnership between the farmer and the eater to share the risks and benefits of farming.  We use the terms CSA and FarmShare interchangeably.

 

Is it a subscription?

Yes, it is a subscription for regular deliveries or pick-ups during the season(s) of your choosing. When you sign-up you will pay for your first share ahead of time. After that, you pay-as-you-go with whatever produce and local goods are in your box. 

 

What happens if I need to skip a week? 

Nothing! This is called "placing a hold" on our platform. We request that you place a hold/skip by latest the Friday before we build your box. This ensures that what we tell our farmers to harvest aligns with our anticipated box fulfillment. You pay-as-you-go, so you will not pay for a box/share that you skip. Watch this video to see how you place a hold. 

You can login to your dashboard, view your calendar of fulfillments and customize how and when you receive a share. 

 

Is the produce in your FarmShare/CSA organic? 

Due to the Strengthening Organic Enforcement Act that took effect in March 2024, our distribution facility needs to obtain an organic certification in order to label produce as organic. We are currently in the application process and operational change process that would enable us to label organic produce as organic.

This means that while we buy produce that comes from certified organic farms, without an additional certification for our facility, we cannot list them as such. We prioritize sourcing organically grown produce and organically made products. This looks a couple of different ways here at FSF:

  1. We get produce from the Fresh Start Farms New American Farmers Collective who grow produce utilizing organic growing practices, but are not certified organic. Therefore, we cannot label their produce as organic.  
  2. We source from many farms that have earned and continue to uphold their certified organic standards, but because our facility is not certified organic, we cannot label the produce as organic. 

As you browse through our products and build your box, the farm of origin will be listed with each product. If we sourced the product directly from the farm, you'll be able to click the farm name and learn more about their growing practices and/or certifications. If we sourced the product from another Food Hub (i.e. Food Connects) you can look the individual farm up or visit our website to learn more about the farm's growing practices and/or certifications. 

 

What should I do with the box from my delivery? 

Bring it back to your pick-up location/leave it outside your door for home delivery and we will take it back and reuse/recycle it! We LOVE to get those boxes back and appreciate when you make the effort to do so! 

 

Where do you deliver? 

We provide home delivery for a $10 fee to the following areas: Manchester, Bedford, North Londonderry, North Merrimack, Concord, Dunbarton, Bow, Hooksett and Pembrook. 

We offer free pick-up* from the following locations:

 

I want to pick up my share from where I work!

The convenience! Too good to be true! We need a minimum of 5 subscriptions to create a new pick-up location. The timing also needs to work for your location and our single truck delivery route. If you are interested in seeing if your place of employment could be a pick-up location please email us at farmshare@refugeesuccess.org. 

 

What will my week look like if I join a FarmShare? 

FRIDAY: Last chance to place a hold for the upcoming week's box/share!

MONDAY: Farmers harvest and we build your box, and send out your box builder email. 

TUESDAY: Customize your share by 11:59PM! 

WEDNESDAY: We pack your box, deliver to Wed. pick-up locations and Wed. home delivery! Time to enjoy your local foods!

THURSDAY: We deliver to Thursday pick-up locations and Thursday home delivery! Time to enjoy your foods!

 

How do I customize my share? 

You can only customize Monday afteroon after you receive the what's-in-your-box email (~4-5pm after our boxes are built) until Tuesday at 11:59pm. In that email, you can click on a link to add items, delete them, or leave the box how it is! Watch how you can customize your share in this video. 

 

Can I cancel my FarmShare? 

Of course! We are disappointed to see you go, but understand that these things happen! You can request a cancellation from your dashboard. An administrator will get back to you shortly to cancel your share and reconcile any payments. For more details on how to cancel watch this instruction video.

 

Can I buy a share with SNAP/EBT? 

We are currently in the middle of the application process to update our SNAP/EBT designation. During this time, we cannot accept SNAP/EBT as a form of payment. 

Once this application has been completed and we receive our new designation, we will be able to accept SNAP/EBT as a form of payment. 

Due to regulations, EBT cards cannot subscribe to a FarmShare. We are currently working on a Bundle that will enable folks paying with SNAP/EBT to receive the same benefit of purchasing a pre-built box OR you can simply go into our store and build one yourself! Info to come soon.

 

If the FarmShare is full, can I still get your produce? 

Yes! When the store opens you can place an order and choose your pick-up location or home delivery. You can also buy produce from our farmers by going to one of the Farmers Markets they attend. 

 

Questions? Contact farmshare@refugeesuccess.org or 603-606-2663 and we will get right back to you!

 

Visit our Fresh Start Market in Manchester!

Terms of Service

Each order you place is a legally enforceable contract. If you fail to pick up your order after it has been fulfilled, you are still obligated to pay for the items you ordered.

We will inspect and pack all orders before distribution. In the event that product gets damaged during packing/distribution or is of unacceptable quality, please reach out so that we can provide credit to your account. 

Our goal is to provide the highest quality produce, and we require our producer to deliver market-grade products. The customer understands that since our farmers do not use pesticides or herbicides, fruits and vegetables may not look "perfect".