Harvest Host Information

Thank you for your commitment to your local community. interest in becoming a Harvest Host for Area 2 Farms. As a friendly community leader who loves local, organic, and healthy produce, you are a pioneer in ensuring that  Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is available to your community. At Area 2 Farms, we create an intentional community around farms and delicious, healthy, organic foods. We grow everything down the street, in your neighborhood.

To deepen our roots, you have an opportunity to serve as a hub for your neighbors. 

ABOUT AREA 2 FARMS

WHO WE ARE

  • C

WHAT WE DO 

  • CSA ( Community Supported Agriculture ) 

  • Area 2 Farms  Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program is based on a traditional CSA farm-sharing model. CSA members pledge their support to the farm by purchasing “shares” of the farmers’ harvests. This investment directly supports the farms and farmers.  In return, the farmers commit to growing high-quality organic produce and other goods which are then delivered weekly.

ABOUT OUR FARMERS  

  • L

ABOUT OUR CSA SHARES  

  • L

HARVEST HOST INFORMATION  

ABOUT HARVEST HOSTS  

  • Harvest Hosts play a vital role in making healthy, organic food available to their communities by offering their space for weekly pickup locations for CSA members. Pickup sites can be private residences, corporate offices, community centers, and elsewhere. 

  • Harvest Hosts have the flexibility to determine the number of members that they can accommodate at their sites. Hosts also choose the pickup windows that work best for them. Some locations such as corporate offices can restrict their sites to employees only.   

  • We encourage Harvest Hosts to engage with their members through Facebook groups, recipe swaps, and even potlucks and community events! Harvest hosting is what you make of it – and if you’re looking to create a community centered around good food and healthy eating, hosting is a great place to start. 

HARVEST HOST GUIDELINES  

COMMUNICATION 

  • Communication is the most important responsibility of our Harvest Hosts. You have valuable face-to-face time with your neighbors, and they will often contact you first if they have questions or concerns. Please note that you can always direct members to contact us directly as well.

    • You do not need to be onsite, but we ask that Harvest Hosts be available during their delivery and pickup windows via phone call, text, or email. Members will be provided with your contact information so that they can reach out to you if they have an issue.

  • For missed or late deliveries, we ask that Harvest Hosts contact CSA Customer Service as soon as possible so that we can reach out to neighbors in a timely manner.

    • Harvest Hosts must notify the Harvest Host Coordinator of any important updates such as contact information, site changes, availability, store or office closures, or other known disruptions that would affect delivery or pickup (eg. parades, construction, etc.).  

IMPORTANT CONTACTS

  • For site-related issues or questions, please contact your Harvest Host Coordinator, Jackie | hello@area2farms.com | 703-835-0528. For all other questions, please contact the Customer Service team at 202-507-9282. 

SITE SET UP

  • Harvest Hosts must provide a secure, covered location that can accommodate CSA shares. The number of shares will vary and is based on the number of members at each site. A Farm Share delivery includes 1 harvest per member.

  • CSA shares must be protected from the sun, wind, rain, and other elements in all seasons such as a covered porch, awning, tent, garage, etc.  

  • Harvest hosts are not required to be onsite to receive CSA deliveries, however, please be available in case your neighbors need you. 

  • Please make sure your CSA area is clean and that there is a clear path for the driver to deliver shares.  

  • If pickup hours after dark, please ensure locations and pathways are well-lit.

SITE CLEAN UP

  • When the CSA runs smoothly, there shouldn’t be much for you to clean up!

    • We ask all CSA members to clean up after themselves, although there shouldn’t be anything to clean up. 

  • Harvest Hosts should collect any leftover produce. They may choose to donate, keep, or compost. Many of our Harvest Hosts partner with food banks or local families in need to make use of any extra produce. A list of regional food banks and organizations will be supplied to the Harvest Hosts before the start of the season.

HARVEST HOST BENEFITS  

  • Free CSA Shares – 

    • Area 2 Farms “pays” our Harvest Hosts in produce! As a gesture of our appreciation, Harvest Hosts will receive a complimentary farm share all season long once the weekly delivery minimum is met. Harvest Hosts can “purchase” complimentary shares through the website with a discount code. 

FARM SHARE MARKETING TIPS

FIND YOUR FOODIES 

  • Who lives close by and shares your interests? Who can stop in once a week to pick up their harvest? 

  • Harvest Hosts are those committed to growing the reach of the farm. Most of our hosts are foodies, love cooking, and/or committed to whole organic produce as part of a healthy lifestyle. 

  • Hosts can involve or create a network of neighbors — because you’re hosting the health hub, you’re in charge of the people you invite!

  • Your immediate neighbors, friends, and family tend to be a great first step. Contacting your neighborhood/parenting/foodie group chats, neighborhood ListServs, and even social media will bring people in. A group is 5 or more. Harvest Hosts are great connectors!

  • Reach out to your close friends and neighbors to see if they are interested in joining the current season's harvest.   

  • Spread the word on your neighborhood listserv or Nextdoor

  • Share on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X. 

  • In addition to sharing basic information about the farm and your pickup location, pictures are a great way to help your neighbors visualize and be inspired by what we are doing. 

We recommend our hosts start with a minimum of five neighbors, friends, or family members. Some hosts may have many more than that! 

  • We do some broad CSA marketing through social media advertisements and promotional emails. As a Harvest Host, you know your community best, so we rely on you to assist with promoting each season’s CSA. The more promotion you do, the more successful your site will be - and the more support goes to our farmers!   

  • Assisting with marketing is easy and helps ensure that your CSA site meets the weekly delivery minimum. Here are some marketing tactics that other Harvest Hosts have had success with: 

FLYERS 

  • Each season, we create a new digital flyer and share it with our Harvest Hosts. We are always happy to mail you physical copies– just shoot us an email and let us know how many you would like. Here are some suggestions for places to post the flyer:  

    • Cafes and Coffee shops 

    • Religious Organizations

    • Gyms and Fitness Centers

    • Libraries

    • Yoga Studios

    • Local Schools

    • Wellness Centers

    • community bulletin boards

    • Grocery Stores

    • Chiropractors

    • Senior Centers 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

  • Social media is a great way to connect your friends, family, and community members to Area 2 Farms. We encourage you to share links to our website, and post on various outlets including Facebook, Instagram, Next Door, Neighborhood Listserv, and elsewhere!  

  • We also suggest creating community Facebook groups to further engage your site members. Hosts can post important notifications, recipes, photos, events, and more.   Area 2 Farms has the following social media accounts that you can follow and share: 

    • Facebook

    • Instagram

    • Pinterest 

EVENTS

  • Is there a health expo, community day, block meeting, or PTA event happening in your community soon? We welcome you to inform us about any events you think could be beneficial for Area 2 Farms team members to attend. We love attending events, handing out free produce, and getting people excited about eating local!  

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS  

Q: What does “weekly delivery minimum” mean? 

While we wish we could deliver CSA to every neighborhood, we need to set a minimum delivery amount for each location. The minimum amount required for delivery is based on the site’s distance from the co-op. The site’s weekly shipment value is then calculated to determine if the minimum delivery amount is met.  

Q: What happens if my site does not meet its weekly delivery minimum? 

We try our best to support sites through our general promotions, but if your site does not meet the minimum required for delivery, we will need to cancel the site for the season. Any members currently signed-up for your site will be transferred to other locations. 

If your site is close to the minimum at the end of the sign-up period, we may be able to keep your site if you are willing to host without a complimentary share. If at any point during the season (members can sign up for prorated shares throughout the season) we will absolutely begin sending you a complimentary share. These situations are handled on a case-by-case basis. 

Q: I have a member who is repeatedly late or forgets to pick up their shares. What should I do? 

  • We ask all Harvest Hosts to keep us in the loop if you ever deal with “repeat offenders.” We are happy to email folks with instructions and reminders based on the issue. We want you to know, as a Harvest Host, that your time is valuable and should be respected!

Q: What if I’m going to be away during a CSA delivery day? 

  • If you will be away or unavailable by phone or email on a CSA delivery day, we ask that you please notify the Customer Service team at least 2 weeks in advance. We also ask that you provide us with an alternative contact person who will be able to check the site to ensure the delivery and pickup went smoothly.  

Q: My CSA delivery driver is late

  • If you will be away or unavailable by phone or email on a CSA delivery day, we ask that you please notify the Customer Service team at least 2 weeks in advance. We also ask that you provide us with an alternative contact person who will be able to check the site to ensure the delivery and pickup went smoothly.  

Please call us on the customer service line at 202-507-9282. We are not always aware of late deliveries so please contact us right away if the driver is late. We will contact our transportation department and notify the site members.