Rules of B.A.M. (Basket -A- Month)
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program
Last Update on January 11, 2007
You must agree to the following terms before you subscribe to BAM. Thank you!
1. Members of BAM must pay for a minimum of three baskets at a time, which is a key to what makes this a Community Supported Agriculture program. Payment must be made in advance on our web site, or by the Monday before our first basket pickup day of each month. Checks or Cash can be delivered when you pickup your basket ONLY if you are renewing your subscription.
2. Money paid is not refundable. You assume a risk in this type of program, relieving the BAM farmers/organizers of potential financial losses due to any unforeseen circumstances. (*This is a second key component of a Community Supported Agriculture program.)
3. Basket’s that have been scheduled to be picked up but not picked up during the three day pickup window will be donated to a good cause, and subtracted from your basket account.
4. No substitutions will be made for the basket contents. (If you find you do not care for something included in your monthly basket, please use this as an opportunity to make a new friend by sharing some of the harvest.)
5. Basket pick up days are announced 2-3 days ahead of the two allotted pick up days each month. You must reply to our email to schedule your pickup day and location by the cutoff date stated in the Reply Email. (This allows us to bring in newly in-season products that are often the first picking from the plants, assuming this is what everyone really wants!) There are only two days of each month that you can pickup your basket. Since much of the basket is perishable, we will not sacrifice quality to accommodate late pickups. Pickup locations are announced on our web site: www.arkansasfood.net. You can expect us to remain in each of the pickup locations for about 5 hours. You can send someone to get your basket, but be careful that they are punctual and know the pickup location
6. If for some reason you are not contacted and notified of the basket pickup days, you will not lose your basket altogether. Your basket will be added on to the end of your subscription. We are very sorry if this happens to you, but with a growing and fluctuating membership base, this has been a small problem that we want to eliminate; but realize, it can be an ongoing problem with this type of rolling sign up of new members.
7. We maintain the right to change our rules and policies at any time, and without notice.
Pickup Policy & Procedures
We typically select the week of the 20th each month to organize pickup and deliveries of our fresh locally grown seasonal products to your community pickup location. You are typically notified by email on the Monday prior to the three pickup days allotted each month, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, during spring, summer, and fall. In the winter months (Dec., Jan., and Feb.) we will only offer two pickup days.
Our pickup locations are: Check ARKANSASFOOD.NET for current information
What you have to do each month to make this work beautifully for you and your family…
1. You must reply to our Pickup Notification Email to receive a basket, and state in your email what day you choose to pickup. The subject heading will say Arkansas Basket-A-Month CSA
2. You must choose a pickup location: Our Pickup Notification Email will list the different pickup locations each month, as they may change. Please remember to check the email to see if they have changed, and know the exact times.
If you don't reply, you do not lose your basket, it is still owed to you. You will simply defer to the next monthly pickup dates. If you are traveling, for example, you can defer and not worry about losing your basket. You simply will not get that particular mix of products.
Thursday Pickup Hours: 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. Little Rock
Friday Pickup Hours: 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. Little Rock
Saturday Pickup Hours: 11am until 1pm Conway
Our Central Arkansas BAM program is one of a kind and you are all pioneers in a new wave of local food initiatives. BAM is intended to be a strict program that shifts many of the risks farmers take into the hands of you, the CSA member, in exchange for some of the best food available for your family. We began the program Dec. 21, 2005, and within six months had grown to 200 family’s participating in our BAM program. We believe we are perhaps the only one of our kind in the state, and one of few in the nation. However, our program is generating a lot of attention and is quickly becoming a model subscription agriculture program for a more sustainable local economy.
The program is headquartered at our farm (Foodshed Farm) in Grady, Arkansas.
Organizing and planning this is a monthly challenge that I (Jody Hardin) take very seriously as the farmer, buyer and founder of Foodshed Farm. I’m a farmer at heart, and want to help small farmers thrive, including myself. Unfortunately, we are having a hard time growing due to financial constraints, and the nature of our farming ventures. Please understand the difficult challenge we have organizing this new program, and help us solve any unforeseen problems that might develop in the future. Thank you and I look forward to a long, fruitful relationship with each of our members.
Contact Info:
Jody Hardin, PO Box 76, Grady, AR 71644
email: csalittlerock@yahoo.com
website: www.arkansasfood.net
