Community Supported Agriculture (or CSA) has been around in North America since the early 1980’s. It is an agreement made between farmers and community members, and was born out of mutual need that still exists today: farmers need a steady market for their produce, as well as income early in the new year when the farms’ expenses are highest and income is lowest. And community members (referred to as CSA Members once they sign up for a farm’s CSA) need a reliable source of healthy food from a farmer (or farmers) they can trust. Enter the CSA movement.

Our customers (or members) benefit from getting a reliable source of healthy, certified organic vegetables for the 15 week harvest season, with steady prices that do not increase throughout the season. They get to know the faces that grow their food. They are closer to their food source, meaning less chance for supply chain disruptions and a smaller carbon footprint. And us farmers benefit from knowing we have eager families ready and waiting to take our food home! Having financial support early in the year also helps us pay for the seeds, tools, supplies and labour needed to grow great food.

We grow a wide range of well loved vegetables - from salad mix and carrots, to kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and much more! The Traditional Box (weekly contents chosen by us, your farmers) costs $547.50 for the 15 week season, and is the best value. Add-on items are available each week through our member-only online store. The Build-Your-Own Box option allows members that choose this option to choose exactly what in-season items do or do not go into their boxes each week, and costs a minimum of $570 for the season. See the photos below for examples of past Traditional Boxes. We strive to make our boxes both generous and thoughtful.

Weekly boxes are picked up either in Whistler on Tuesdays from the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre between 4-6pm, or in Pemberton on Wednesdays from the Stay Wild Health Food Store between 3:30-5pm, OR from the farm at 7717 Pemberton Meadows Rd from 5-7pm If you are going away on vacation you may put your box on hold up to 5 times per season and will not be charged for those weeks. If you use up your available holds, or miss the deadline for placing a box on hold, we ask that you get a friend, colleague, or family member to pick it up for you. Missed boxes can be picked up from the farm until the following Monday. No refunds are given for missed pick ups (outside of scheduled holds throughout the season), as we are unable to resell this produce which has been harvested specifically for you.

This is a common and reasonable concern for folks who haven’t been part of a CSA program before. You aren’t alone, and we’re here to help. We will send out weekly emails to all of our Harvest Box members with tips, tricks, basic recipe ideas and simple preserving techniques for food that is in-season or abundant that week. And while we grow a great variety of vegetables, we don’t grow too many really oddball ones. So be prepared for a heck of a lot more variety than your average grocery store, but not so much as to be overwhelming. Also keep in mind that because our vegetables are fresher, they last much longer in your fridge than those from a typical grocery store. A healthy appetite for fresh vegetables and a desire to try new things is recommended though!

Our customers tell us they love the “high quality and variety” they receive each week, as well as the “organic produce and amazing flavour.” They also enjoy the chance to get to know ”our smiling faces and friendly and helpful staff” at pick ups, as well as being able to “support the kind of business that makes the community better” all while feeding their kids healthy vegetables that they actually like eating (helloooo, carrots and cucumbers!). Our Harvest Box members enjoy feeling better because they’re “making more delicious, nutritious meals” and they like the “flexibility to add on to their orders” each week or of the the Build-Your-Own boxes. They trust us because Rootdown has been growing certified organic food in the Pemberton Valley since 2009, and we have a combined experience of over 30 years vegetable farming on our farm management team. Read about even more benefits here.