What kind of box/bag do you recommend for CSA shares?

I’ve been running a small urban CSA farm on public school property the past couple years, last year we had 15 members, this year we had 20-40 members. This upcoming season we’ll transition to running the CSA from our 12 acre farm (5 miles northwest of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma). We are shooting for 50 shares/week for 30 weeks. It will include fresh vegetables along with an optional add on of a dozen eggs.

We have currently been using these insulated bags from Amazon, along with these plastic produce bags:

https://www.amazon.com/Insulated-Reusable-Reinforced-Foldable-Groceries/dp/B07YDKFSX8/ref=asc_df_B07YDKFSX8?tag=bngsmtphsnus-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80401905752485&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=m&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584001431178302&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Party-Bargains-Inches-Clear-Produce/dp/B08ZQY13MM/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?crid=14LYVXI6ZDQE&keywords=plastic+produce+bags+roll&qid=1637172402&sprefix=plastic+produce+%2Caps%2C301&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&smid=A3W58OWURERN0R&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzTkU1TlFGVkFHOENRJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDIwMjQyMVZOMjRRUExWSDIwMCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzQ3Mjg3MkFVTFdLUzVYVVJZRyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

This has worked okay for us. We bought double the amount of members we have, and so each week that member leaves the previous week’s bag on their porch for us to pick up when we drop off their new bag of produce. I’d like to switch to something a little sturdier, and I don’t think with how we’ll do deliveries and pickups that it will need to be insulated. I’d like it to be able to hold a carton of eggs, produce, look nice, be sturdy (last multiple seasons), and I’d like to put our name/logo on it.

I was thinking of doing wooden crates, something like this:


https://www.amazon.com/Unfinished-Storage-Crates-Handles-3-Pack/dp/B0711M1NMN/ref=mp_s_a_1_17?crid=YIWETNKC4RTD&keywords=12+x+12+wooden+crate&qid=1637167799&sprefix=12+x+12+wooden+crate%2Caps%2C377&sr=8-17


Also, I’d really like to get away from using the plastic disposable produce bags. I was thinking of buying these to hold any loose produce (greens, cherry tomatoes, small carrots etc…)
And sticking all that in the wooden crate.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005E2QRPG?tag=aboutcom02thespruce-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1&ascsubtag=4797099%7Cn728b4b3a7c1442d5b5295bb81c38072703%7CB005E2QRPG



What are your thoughts? Any concerns? Thanks for any input you have!

When I lived in the UK, I had regular deliveries from Riverford. They are a box scheme, similar to CSA’s but on a national scale. They leave a box of veg on your door step. I was very impressed with their packaging. They used very strong, collapsable cardboard boxes which you could leave out for them to pick up. They had a wax finish, so were semi waterproof. In addition, they used compostable ‘plastic’ bags and small cardboard punnets that looled like they were made of papier-mâché.

I confess, I still have two of their veg boxes in my basement full of camping gear.

Here’s a link to their website that explains their current packaging solution - https://www.riverford.co.uk/ethics-and-ethos/thoughtful-packaging

Edward Norton wrote:When I lived in the UK, I had regular deliveries from Riverford. They are a box scheme, similar to CSA’s but on a national scale. They leave a box of veg on your door step. I was very impressed with their packaging. They used very strong, collapsable cardboard boxes which you could leave out for them to pick up. They had a wax finish, so were semi waterproof. In addition, they used compostable ‘plastic’ bags and small cardboard punnets that looled like they were made of papier-mâché.

I confess, I still have two of their veg boxes in my basement full of camping gear.

Here’s a link to their website that explains their current packaging solution - https://www.riverford.co.uk/ethics-and-ethos/thoughtful-packaging

Thank you so much! That information is super helpful.

When I worked for a CSA we used cardboard boxes. Maybe fruit boxes as I recall. And I don't remember putting the greens in bags but that could just be a failing of my memory.

You sure are going to work like a dog with that many shares for that many weeks. Bless you.

I will admit to not having much experience with CSAs.  However, I am a member of one right now for the winter season.  The way they do it is that we all bring our own bags, or boxes, or whatever we want to gather and take our shares away in.  They usually do have some plastic bags like they'd use at the farmer's market if someone forgets to bring something.

They have a couple pick up locations and you will select the best one for you when signing up.  Then on pick up day the produce is all lined up on the tables, with little signs on each item telling you how many of each you get.  For example 2 squash, 1 bunch of kale, 1 quart of beets, etc.  We just go down the line collecting as the signs indicate, filling our own bags.  The system seems to work good and efficient.

ULINE carries produce boxes https://www.uline.com/BL_8363/Produce-Boxes

This may be a little late to the party, but you might be able to use cellophane for the greens. It's not perfect, but I think it is a step above oil based plastics. I know there are some corn based plastics coming out now too.

I would also suggest changing your model slightly. I would suggest the default be what was suggested above, have the customer come to the farm and pick it up with their own storage containers. They deal with keeping it cold and protected. Then if they want delivery, have a small fee that is enough to make it worth it and cover the cost of the storage materials. Marketing people always say, let people pick from you, you, and you :)

When I worked at a CSA, we used cardboard boxes and no bags. Veggies just went straight into the box!

I haven’t read everything in this post but I’m in McAlester and would love to come see your set up if you’re willing.

I concur with David Huang and some of the other members in having the members pick their own from the tables indicating how many of each to take. Have them bring their own packaging/boxes/bags. The mesh bags on Amazon are nice and re-usable but an additional expense for you and people may not return them for re-use. That goes for anything you use and plan to re-use. Also some people do not want to have re-used boxes/bags that went to someone else first (hygiene concerns).  It would save you time not having to pack each of the boxes each week.  Let people know a time frame between when they can come noting the more perishable items will only be available for the first day or two (like lettuce or tomatoes) vs. more durable like squash.  One farm in my area has a small shed-sized building on site which holds a walk-in 'cooler' room at the back wit a/c which holds the more perishable items during hot weather. Other foods are outside on tables in front of the shed.  People can buy what they want on the 'honor system' writing their name and what they bought in a book and the amount of $ they dropped in the lock-box.  Hope you have a successful season. Love that you're doing this to feed the community.

If you are providing the bags to sell to them, you can buy them in quantity yourselves through www.aliexpress.com and skip amazon and make money off that effort.  Just have to wait the month for them to ship.

We assembled ranchers and farmers from across the state on 5/4/2020 for a maker conversation on what goes into working a fruitful CSA program. Our conversation went from the actual economy of CSA's (crates, pints, and produce sacks, gracious my!), to the elements and additional items some fruitful CSA ranchers are bringing to their clients. Much thanks to you to each and every individual who took part in this conversation. Here are the assets we talked about:

Beginning a CSA
CSA projects can give pleasure and association with your clients, however they truly do take a ton of time and work to pull off. This accommodating flowchart from OSU Small Farms and PACSAC has a huge load of incredible assets to kick you off and to find out about the historical backdrop of this conveyance model. Deal with the means to see important assets, or utilize the "view all assets" interface at the top to see the full rundown.

Bundling
While pressing CSA boxes it is here and there down to earth to utilize extra bundling (produce packs, half quart holders, and so forth) to ensure your items stay entire and well during the excursion to get, or when your client brings them back home. Knowing where to observe these items can be a boundary to new CSA ranchers. A portion of the tips and techniques utilized by the ranchers on the call include:

I worked at a csa in Ontario and they used plastic pins with attached lids that close kind of like interlocking fingers. They were perfect because a. You can sanitize them
B. You can stack them tick with the lids open
C. They don’t disintegrate

Not sure if this is helpful since it is still technically plastic, but at least it isn’t single use?

FWIW, as a fussy cook, I still get greens in plastic because they go floopy so quickly.  I like the clamshell lid type box idea though.  You could even use different colors to denote different levels of CSA if you had those options in the future.