Applecrest FarmShare, C.S.A.

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C.S.A. stands for “Community Supported Agriculture”, a nationwide movement linking local consumers and farmers into communities. The philosophy behind C.S.A. is one many steps above simple convenience, a give and take of produce for cash. It is built on a foundation of mutual support and respect between community and farmer.

Applecrest's FarmShare, C.S.A. creates a direct relationship between you and our farm. In exchange for your commitment to buy a share in our farm's bounty, we in turn dedicate ourselves to you. We're your family farmer, planting, cultivating and harvesting exceptional produce expressly for your table. The "share" represents our commitment, taking form as a weekly delivered box abundant with super fresh, hand-picked fruits and veggies. It represents the absolute best our farm has to offer…the tastiest and most nutritious local food to be had.

It is our goal and self-imposed challenge to be the sole producer of all the fruit and veggies you'll receive from our C.S.A. That in mind, crop failures, pests or difficult weather can (and will) influence the harvest for any given week's share. The good news is…we are 100% committed to keeping our members satisfied. So, in the event we find a need to bring in produce, rest assured it will be only of the highest quality sourced from other premium local growers. These FarmPartner relationships coupled with our wide crop diversity and succession-style plantings enable us to offer our firm assurance: that the full value of your investment will be met or exceeded over the course of the C.S.A season.

Policies & Guidelines:

Sign-Up:

Interested parties must submit both an application and form of payment in order to secure membership in Applecrest’s FarmShare, C.S.A. The easiest and quickest means of enrollment is through our web-based sign-up system found at www.applecrest.com. Alternatively, a printable application form may be filled-out, signed and mailed with a check payment to the farm.

Referral Sign-Up Credit:

For each NEW registered C.S.A. shareholder referred, existing members earn a $50 FarmShare credit which will be automatically deposited to the existing member’s account. To be eligible, the existing member’s name must be entered on the "Referred by" line on the new member's application. Credit amounts can be applied to any item(s) in the webstore and/or be applied to future FarmShare, C.S.A seasons.

Payment Schedule:

Shareholders may choose one of two Payment Schedule options for our 2017 C.S.A. season:

Please Note: Shareholders choosing to take advantage of the installment plan may do so using credit card or eCheck only. Our convenient and hassle-free auto pay option is made available at time of enrollment.

Forms of Payment:

Applecrest Farm accepts payment via check, credit card, ATM/BankCard or eCheck. At this time, we are unable to process credit card transactions over the phone.

Payment Methods:

On-line Payments: Applecrest uses a web-based software program called Farmigo to help manage the financial interactions between our customers and our farm. FarmShare, C.S.A. members have 24/7 online access to their own accounts, from which shareholders can view/edit current subscription options, account payment history and any balances due. Available on-line payment methods include credit card, ATM/BankCard or eCheck. All three options will be made available after completing the web-based enrollment form.

Check Payments: Applecrest will gladly accept hand-written checks. If utilizing our web-based enrollment, members will be given this payment option upon completion of the sign-up process. An email detailing check submission instructions will follow. For those members submitting an application by post, simply include the hand-written check prior to sending.

Membership Reservation & Status:

Applecrest FarmShares are limited in number and held on a first-come, first-served basis. Shareholder membership will be considered confirmed upon the farm’s receipt of payment. In the case of credit card and eCheck transactions, this confirmation occurs almost simultaneously with the shareholder’s on-line payment validation. For shareholders submitting hand-written check payments via the U.S. Postal Service, membership is considered secured upon the check’s arrival in the mail at the farm.

All new members will receive an email notification confirming their new account and that payment has been received. If you have questions about sent payments or the status of your membership, please email the farm at CSA@applecrest.com.

Please Note: Mailed applications received after the membership limit has been reached will have the option of being placed on a waiting list. Any submitted payments will be promptly returned.

Wait List:

In the event that the FarmShare, C.S.A. membership limit has been reached and no additional shares are available for a given season, interested parties may be placed on a waiting list. Should shares open up mid-season, wait listed parties will be notified via email and given the option to join on a pro-rated basis.

Shareholder Account

FarmShare, C.S.A. members have 24/7 on-line access to their own individual shareholder account, from which they can view/edit current subscription options, account payment history and any balance due. It is critical that shareholders keep all membership account information up to date.

Communication:

Our farm communicates important information to shareholders via weekly email updates. Beyond offering ‘what’s in this week’s share’, and other interesting farm news, these communications also announce any important changes to weekly share contents, pick-up dates/times, prices, policies, etc. As a FarmShare, C.S.A. member, it is the shareholder’s responsibility to:

For handy reference, a searchable database of current and past newsletters is always available online.

We also encourage shareholders to give us feedback about box quality and contents (as well as what’s generally working and what’s not) by emailing us at CSA@applecrest.com. On all member correspondence, it’s very important to include your full name and the email address log-in used to create your on-line account. For quality issues, please include when you picked up your box and how you’re storing the produce.

Late pick-ups & forgotten shares:

Boxes are guaranteed ready for pick-up at the farm on the date and time established by the shareholder at time of enrollment. If no prior arrangements have been made and you (or your agent) fail to pick up during designated hours, your box will be considered a donation to the local food bank. Please note: Late pick-ups and/or forgotten shares will not be eligible for replacement or credit.

Vacation:

Members who are away and unable to pick up their box on a given week have three options:
1. Arrange pick up by an authorized agent.
2. Donate your share to a needy family or organization. (see “Share Donation” below).
3. Place your share “on-hold” (see “Suspension of Service” below).

Please Note: any and all of the above options necessitate that the member notify the FarmShare team prior to the start of your regularly scheduled pick-up time. Share Donation:

Members wishing to gift or temporarily redirect their share to a needy family or organization may do so from within the account management system on our website. Simply log into your account and switch the pick-up site to “Donation." Please note: in order for the farm to properly prepare such alternative arrangements, we ask that members provide the FarmShare team a MINIMUM of 24 hours advance notice.

Share Donation:

Members wishing to gift or temporarily redirect their share to a needy family or organization may do so from within the account management system on our website. Simply log into your account and switch the pick-up site to “Donation." Please note: in order for the farm to properly prepare such alternative arrangements, we ask that members provide the FarmShare team a MINIMUM of 24 hours advance notice. EXAMPLE: If you normally pick up on Tuesday, you would need to notify us no later than 10 a.m. the day prior (Monday).

Suspension of service:

If logistics prevent retrieval of share for a set period, FarmShare members can easily reschedule to an alternative pick up day or place their shares "on-hold". Basically, this means that the share will not be built and the member will forgo the share and its value for that time period the share is on-hold. Please understand that we cannot double up in subsequent weeks or allow for ‘make-up’ shares. Please also note that suspension of service does not entitle the member to any refund or future credit.

Please note: members must provide the FarmShare team a MINIMUM of 24 hours advance notice in order for the farm to properly process such alternative arrangements. EXAMPLE: If you normally pick up on Tuesday, you would need to notify us no later than 10 a.m. the day prior (Monday).

Reactivation of service:

To reactivate service, just follow the same basic procedure and customary advance notice as above. Please Note: the FarmShare Team does not regularly monitor individual member's adjustments to their own personal accounts and cannot be held liable for any member's failure to reactivate service following a hold.

Cancellation:

Shareholders may cancel their membership at anytime. However, as the cornerstone to all CSAs is that of a seasonal commitment (the farm to the shareholder and vice versa), no refunds will be issued. Our policy requests that if for some unforeseen circumstance a member is no longer able or interested in continuing as a shareholder, that the value of the remaining share is gifted or sold to another individual. If you would like to cancel for any reason, please immediately contact us at CSA@applecrest.com and we will work with you to come up with a good solution.

Refunds:

FarmShare, CSA Memberships are non-refundable.

Credit:

If you believe you deserve a credit for poor quality, damaged, or otherwise unusable produce, please contact us at CSA@applecrest.com. We will evaluate cases individually. Be sure to include what day and time you picked up the produce, how it was stored and your specific concerns.

New Subscribers:

We strongly urge all new subscribers to read through our FarmShare FAQs. There’s a wealth of common questions answered there and it’s a great start to fully understanding and enjoying the C.S.A. experience here at Applecrest.

Privacy Policy

We respect and are committed to protecting your privacy. We may collect personally identifiable information when you sign up to become a FarmShare C.S.A. member. We will not sell your personally identifiable information to anyone or any company.

Security Policy

Payment and address details such as credit card and bank accounts are not saved in the Farmigo system. This information is passed via secured HTTPS protocol to payment gateways and stored securely. All servers, host infrastructure and payment gateway vendors, are PCI compliant.