How It Works

Seasonal Share

• You pay up front for the season and then get a weekly box of farm-fresh items during harvest months.

• Typically you pick up your share at a designated location, or some CSAs even deliver.

Shared Risk & Reward

• CSA membership isn’t just a purchase — it’s a partnership. Farmers get early season funding that helps with supplies, seeds, labor, and cash flow.

• Members accept that each season’s harvest can vary due to weather, pests, and other farming realities — so you share in both bountiful weeks and leaner ones.

Benefits

For Farmers

• Receive payment early to support the farm’s operations.

• Build direct relationships with the people who eat their food.

• Spend less time marketing during peak growing months.

For Members

• Enjoy ultra-fresh, seasonal food with great flavor and nutrient value.

• Try new vegetables and foods you might not always pick out yourself.

• Often get a chance to visit the farm and learn about how your food is grown.

Variations in CSA Models

CSA farms can organize their shares differently:

• Traditional Box: The farm packs a weekly box for members.

• Market-Style CSA: Members choose items from bins and build their own share with some limitations.

• Some CSAs include other products like eggs, meat, bread, flowers, or products from partner farms.

Things to Consider Before Joining

Here are a few practical questions as you decide whether CSA is right for you, such as:

• Do you like cooking regularly and experimenting with seasonal ingredients?

• Can you handle or find uses for all the produce you get?

• Are you comfortable with the shared risk nature of CSA (getting what grows well — which may vary)?
  And it’s smart to ask farmers about how their CSA works, how long they’ve been farming, and other member experiences before signing up.

Citrus, a Christmas Tradition

Adam Calder
Wheatsfield Produce Manager

In this day and age, most people are accustomed to having citrus year-round; they tend not to think of it as a treat and usually not as a gift either. Five hundred years ago, that was not the case. Back then, only the wealthy could afford fresh fruit out of season as there were no refrigerated trucks to carry it great distances. A child might eagerly await a whole year for a Christmas gift of a golden globe of navel orange. A tangerine or a grapefruit was treated like an exotic delicacy. Why even in Little House on the Prairie, the little girls in that story were overjoyed when they each got an orange in their Christmas stocking. As a child, I recall receiving an orange and an apple in my own stocking, and I also recall tossing those aside quickly to get at the chocolate Santa. That was, of course, before the years granted me the wisdom to recognize fresh fruit for what it truly is. There is value in treating fresh citrus like a special gift, and I think it is time we gave citrus its due!

This year, why not carry on the old tradition of giving citrus? Pick up a handful of Satsuma mandarins and give those to someone you love. The fruit is juicy, tasty and the peel comes off as easily as unzipping a coat. Mix up an assortment of kumquats, lemons, limes and grapefruit for that special someone who loves tangy and tart fruit. Go ahead and stick a couple of navel oranges in your children’s stockings, or wow them with a blood orange so ruby red on the inside your children won’t believe their eyes! You can even make an ornament with an orange, some whole cloves and some ribbon. Take a length of ribbon long enough to wrap around the orange and form a loop or bow to hang the ornament from. After you have secured the ribbon onto the orange, you then stud the orange’s skin with whole cloves. A whole clove has a long pointy end, and that is the end you pierce into the skin of the orange. When the whole orange is covered with cloves, it is ready to hang! The orange will slowly dry out, and the scent of it and the cloves will waft around the whole room, much to the delight of all who are around to smell it!

Be sure to stop into the Wheatsfield Cooperative produce department soon and get yourself, your family and friends some delicious citrus fruit today. It always feels good to give someone fresh fruit, and most people are happy to receive it. As an added bonus, nature already wrapped that gift for you, so that’s one more thing to cross off your list!

November 19^th Board Meeting Highlights

The Co-op Winter Kickoff Party

AND LOCAL MAKER MARKET

Sat., Dec. 13 from 10am-2pm.

Join us to celebrate the kick off the winter season with festive samples, live music, giveaways, kids activities, our Holiday Local Maker Market, FREE cookie decorating, and MORE! Support your local maker community by shopping local! Browse gifts and treats from independent Ames Area creators.

This November, get ready for gatherings with friends and family with big savings on all Field Day products at your co-op.

Save on more than 300 Field Day items — from maple syrup to wild-caught tuna to paper towels — from Nov. 5 through Dec. 2, 2025. Field Day is our value brand that offers high-quality, delicious food and household products at more affordable prices every day through Co+op Basics, making this savings event even more spectacular. Our lowest prices will be even lower!

Stock up on staples like rice, pasta, beans and olive oil. Save on tons of spices and herbs, as well as baking essentials including sugar, vanilla and chocolate chips. Find the foods you want for holiday meals, like gravy, pumpkin puree and stuffing mix.

Gathering with family and friends for a Thanksgiving meal is a familiar ritual for many people, and we strive to serve our entire community well during this busy time of year. In recognition that the story of the first Thanksgiving perpetuates an inaccurate and harmful version of history, food co-ops across the country are making a collective donation to North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) this November.

Food co-ops will donate $0.05 for every Field Day product sold during this promotion.

NATIFS is a nonprofit organization founded by Lakota Chef Sean Sherman (known as the Sioux Chef), dedicated to revitalizing Indigenous food systems and promoting cultural preservation within Native American communities. Through initiatives like the Indigenous Food Lab, NATIFS offers training programs, educational workshops and support for Indigenous entrepreneurs to empower individuals and foster economic development.

By addressing economic disparities, food insecurity and the loss of Indigenous food knowledge, NATIFS aims to restore health, wealth and cultural identity to Indigenous populations. The organization’s commitment to promoting Indigenous foodways education, facilitating food access and revitalizing ancestral knowledge underscores its mission to create positive social impact and support underserved communities.

To learn more about NATIFS, visit natifs.org. If you want to get involved, follow NATIFS on social media, sign up for the NATIFS newsletter or make your own donation. You can also lend a hand by sharing their mission and vision on social media with your friends and family.

Taking advantage of low prices on Field Day items not only saves you money, but it also supports the vital work that NATIFS is undertaking. If you are interested in doing more, consider learning about and supporting the initiatives of Indigenous people in your local community. Start by visiting https://native-land.ca/ to learn whose ancestral land you live on.

To see all the Co+op Deals available, visit deals.coop.