Good Courage Farm FCSA Member Agreement

 

1. Introduction

Good Courage Farm, an affiliated ministry of The Episcopal Church in Minnesota, invites our community to sign up for our first Faith Community Supported Agriculture (FCSA) subscription.

 

You are signing up to purchase 8 deliveries of delicious, regeneratively-grown fruit from Good Courage Farm and donate an equivalent number of servings of fresh food to our partners at First Nations Kitchen, Casa Maria, and the McLeod County Emergency Foodshelf.

 

The CSA model "consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production" (USDA definition). Members of a CSA purchase a share of farm produce in advance of the season, providing a guaranteed market for the season’s yield and cash flow when farmers need it most - before the season begins!

 

In 2024, Good Courage Farm is launching a new model of food access work through our FCSA (Faith Community Supported Agriculture) subscription. The mission of our 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is to connect faith and farming through education and regenerative agriculture, while building a more just foodshed in Minnesota. In the first two years of our existence, we’ve provided more than 15,000 servings of healthful local produce to neighbors in need. During this pilot year, this subscription model has a limited scope. In the future, we look forward to building on our shared success and inviting other faith communities to participate.

II. Your Subscription to the FCSA 

We are offering 80 FCSA subscriptions in 2024. The full subscription costs $200 and comes in two parts:

1. The “Supporter Share:” This $100 portion of your subscription is the fresh, regeneratively-grown fruit for your household to enjoy. Every other week for 8 weeks from June to October, you will receive one type of fruit grown right here at Good Courage Farm valued at $12.50. This means about 3-9 servings of that fruit, depending on what it is: you might receive 1 pound of red currants, a quart and a half of grapes, or a 3-pound bag of apples. 

2. The “Solidarity Share:” This $100 portion of your subscription is a tax deductible donation to Good Courage Farm that subsidizes the production and distribution of equivalent servings of food to our food ministry partners. Sometimes this will look exactly the same as your share, sometimes not. For example, while heirloom gooseberries are a real treat for people with leisure time to learn about and cook with them, many families facing food insecurity don’t have the time or the necessary kitchen tools to do things like top and tail gooseberries for jam. During gooseberry season, the chefs preparing the community meal at First Nations Kitchen might really enjoy receiving and cooking with these fruits, which have native North American varieties; the grocery distribution team might be happier to distribute farm-fresh eggs that week. We gather feedback from our food ministry partners about what farm products are well received. 

 

• I understand that my subscription to the FCSA costs $200. 

  • I understand that I pay $100 to receive the supporter share of 8 deliveries of one type of fruit every other week from June to October. 

  • I understand that I am making a $100 tax-deductible donation to Good Courage Farm to deliver fresh food to its food ministry partners. I understand that the supporter and solidarity shares will not always look exactly the same based on the needs and wisdom of the food ministry partners. 

III. Picking Up Your Share

Church Pick-Ups: 

Good Courage Farm staff or volunteers will deliver supporters’ shares to St. Stephen's, St. John's, and River of Hope by 8:30 a.m. every other Sunday from June to October. Then you can simply collect your share at church with the assistance of your site coordinator, a member of your church who will help make sure everyone gets their share by checking your household off their list. Here is the expected delivery schedule: 

1. June 30 

2. July 14 

3. July 28 

4. August 11 

5. August 25 

6. September 8 

7. September 22 

8. October 6 

 

On Farm Pick-Ups: 

If you live near Good Courage Farm, you can pick up your share at the farm on Wednesdays between 3pm and 7pm. The gate will be open and shares can be picked up in the barn, where they will be kept cool. Feel free to stick around for Pie and Prayer at 7pm! Here is the expected delivery schedule: 

1. July 3

2. July 7

3. July 31

4. August 14

5. August 28

6. September 11

7. September 25

8. October 9

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Please note: Sometimes things don’t go as planned in farming, as with everything else. If we need to change or cancel a delivery based on the growing conditions of a crop, we will notify you by email as soon as possible. See Section V for more on this. 

Important: If you know in advance that you will not be able to pick up your share on one of these delivery days, you can ask a friend or another congregant to pick up and hold your share for you. If you unexpectedly miss a pickup, you are responsible for communicating with your church’s site coordinator or the FCSA Manager at fcsa@goodcourage.farm for on-farm pick-ups. Shares not picked up in their scheduled delivery window or otherwise arranged for in a given delivery week will be donated to one of our food ministry partners. Good Courage Farm is not responsible for the quality or safety of produce after the close of the pickup site.

 

• I understand that it is my responsibility to pick up my supporter share at my church every other Sunday from June 30 to October 6, between 8:30 a.m. and the close of distribution, or at Good Courage Farm between 3pm and 7pm on Wednesdays from June 26 to October 2. If I am not able to pick up my share in a delivery week, I will ask a friend to pick up and hold my share for me or coordinate with my site coordinator to set it aside for me. If I do not pick up my share on my delivery day or otherwise make arrangements with my site coordinator, I understand that it will be donated to one of the food ministry partners. Good Courage Farm is not responsible for the quality or safety of produce after close of the pickup sites.

​IV. Payment.

The total cost for a subscription to the FCSA is $200. 

 

All subscribers to the FCSA will create an account on Farmigo. Through that platform, you can pay via credit or debit card. If you prefer to pay by check, you can indicate that in your Farmigo account and mail a check made out to Good Courage Farm to the same at 21161 York Rd, Hutchinson, MN 55350 with “FCSA subscription” in the memo line. 

 

Your full payment of $200 is due when you sign up in Farmigo by the deadline of June 15. If you opt to pay by check, please make sure we receive it by that June 15 deadline. If we have not received your payment by June 16, you will be notified by email that your subscription has been canceled. 

 

Subscriptions are not refundable. If you need to cancel your subscription during the season, your unfulfilled supporter shares will become solidarity shares, and your year-end tax document will reflect a proportionate increase in your donation to Good Courage Farm. 

 

• I understand that my payment of $200 by card or check is due in full at the time of sign-up in Farmigo by the deadline of June 15. I understand that if my payment is not received by June 16, my subscription will be canceled. I understand that subscriptions are non-refundable; if I need to cancel, my remaining supporter shares will become solidarity shares. 

V. Risk and Reward

The Community Supported Agriculture model asks consumers to join with farmers in both the risks and the rewards of small-scale agriculture. If during the 2024 growing season the farm experiences a crop failure due to extreme weather, pests, or other agricultural catastrophes, you may not receive one or more of the 8 deliveries of fruit.  Conversely - and more hopefully - if one of the eight FCSA crops has a banner yield, the farm may be able to make each share of that particular fruit more generous, sharing God’s abundance. Another reward for members is the occasional availability of add-on items: when we have a small supply of other products of the farm available (herbs, flowers, mushrooms, jam), you’ll have the opportunity to purchase extra treats through the Farmigo store or to come out to the farm for members-only u-pick days.

 

In cases when we can produce a crop, but not on our anticipated schedule, the farm may simply need to change delivery dates and will notify you by email. In cases where fruit is of lower quality than desired, we may increase volume to achieve the value of $12.50 per supporter share. In cases where specific deliveries of supporter shares are affected by circumstances beyond our control, we will still make every effort to ensure that solidarity shares are provided to our ministry partners by donating other products of the farm.

 

We invite you to pray for us, and to pray with us for all farmers in the words of the Book of Common Prayer: 

Almighty God, we thank you for making the earth fruitful, so that it might produce what is needed for life: Bless those who work in the fields; give us seasonable weather; and grant that we may all share the fruits of the earth, rejoicing in your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

• I understand that my subscription involves agreeing to some shared risk with Good Courage Farm. If weather, pests, or other factors beyond the farm’s control impact any crop(s), I understand my affected supporter share(s) may be of lesser quality, postponed, or canceled at Good Courage Farm’s discretion. 

• I understand that in the case of abundance, there may be opportunities to purchase additional products or participate in u-pick events at Good Courage Farm. These opportunities will be announced via email for specific dates and times, and accommodations for individual schedules cannot be made. 

• I understand that if I wish to visit Good Courage Farm in person, I can subscribe to the Good Courage Farm newsletter to be informed of public events that I may attend. Unscheduled visits to the farm can not be accommodated.

• I understand that newsletters in advance of each delivery and other important communications from the farm will be delivered via email and that opening these emails is my responsibility. If I have questions, I can email the FCSA Manager at fcsa@goodcourage.farm or call Good Courage Farm at 320-331-3332 and expect a response within 48 hours. 

 

VI. Thank You!

Thank you so much for being part of this new mycelial network for food justice. Together, we are living into the reign of God where the hungry are fed and the last are made to be first. We look forward to sharing news, sharing fruit, and sharing Christ’s promise of life abundant.