Sep 26, 20234 min read

A Final Farewell {Week 18 CSA}

Updated: Sep 28, 2023

This season's goodbye to our CSA is bigger and more weighty than the rest. It's likely the last CSA note we'll ever write, but hopefully not the last time we'll get to connect with you.

We're beyond grateful to be passing Prema Farm to knowledgeable and experienced hands. We have no doubt that David and Courtney will nourish you and your families for many seasons to come, and that you'll adore their charm, humor, and earnestness as much as we do. But handing over a farm that grows dozens of varieties of crops through fou tumultuous seasons is as complex and daunting as it sounds. There are so many details to impart, so many troubleshooting tactics to record for reference, and so many CSA regulars to catch these new owners up about. We want them to know that Marilyn likes books as much as David does (so tuck favorites into her box), that Jay and Kathleen are forever microgreen fans, that Roger tries the recipes we recommend so you better make sure they're good, that Gay prefers carrots over turnips if we're going to duplicate items week after week, and Kathryn will read every newsletter, so don't skip it. That, and a million more notes we've gathered over the years up here.

Because while, on paper, we're transferring a business, the truth is that we're handing over a community of locals united in support of ultra-fresh, nutrient-dense food grown with the future in mind. David and Courtney are well aware of the tasks at hand, and they've known all along that owning a farm up here is about much more than just growing food. Cultivating the relationships that are arguably the bedrock of our budding foodshed—in one of the most food-resource-vulnerable areas of the nation—cannot be underemphasized. Waking others up to the importance of supporting local and sustainable farms is an uphill (albeit necessary) journey. Staying connected to those who already get it is the first, and perhaps most important, step.

Despite the official end to peak season, the momentum of it all continues with daily harvests, outdoor bed prepping, and greenhouse tending to budding winter crops. Pauses at this hour are rare, but when it happens, we feel consumed by gratitude for the many people who put their faith in our hard work.

Our amazing CSA members are the ones we cherish most. The ones so committed to local, sustainable, and nutrient-dense produce that you paid for your harvest (blindly, we might add) before it even sprouted. You shouldered the risk of crop failures along with us and you shared in our delicious successes. We are beyond grateful. So grateful, in fact, that we are dedicating this last little space for words entirely to singing your praises!

These days, there exists a unique variety of CSA-esque options. Some are prepared single or multi-meals, others are more raw like ours—but include produce from hundreds of miles away. Very few are representative of a single farm. The truth is, not only is it hard to grow dozens of varieties of veggies to keep a CSA bountiful and not overly redundant all season, it’s also challenging to find people who are willing to buy into a single-farm commitment like this. There are some clear advantages to sticking to a single farm CSA, such as getting to know your farmer well and having a strong understanding of how all of your bounty is grown, but it also comes with higher risk. Our little 1.5 acre farm does sit at 5200 feet, after all, so a serious failure of multiple crops is never that far-fetched.

Our gratitude doesn't fit neatly into words or even onto a bottomless digital page. It's a deep expansive feeling of hope swirled with humble warmth. It's knowing that you welcomed veggies you normally dislike and tried them in new ways. That you got creative with kohlrabi because our farm had a really successful kohlrabi crop this season. That you generously donated shares you couldn't pick up and that they nourished folks who hadn't realized how good carrots can taste.

Our gratitude for our CSA members extends beyond any other form of support because it's rooted in a shared pursuit of something hopeful and enduring for our community and our children, and nothing is more powerful than folks aligned in collective purpose.

We appreciate your foresight and for being the farm you chose. Our CSA members have proved to be an adventurous, warm, and interesting crowd. You are the people we would instantly find good conversation with, moving into worthwhile topics that expand curiosity and compassion. The kind of people who rally for food production that is regenerative versus extractive.

This is all to say, we think you're really awesome. We are blown away and encouraged by how many folks actually care about where their food is coming from, how it’s grown, and who is growing it. To us, it says fine things about where Reno is at (and where it’s heading) in the movement to a more sustainable future.