Worker Shares • Partner Shares • Farm Dinners
You can sign up for Small Family Farm’s ‘Veggies to Share’ program and your dollars go directly toward the Partner Shares Program. PLUS, you can also receive our Weekly Dig Newsletters and you are invited to attend all of our on farm events and tours!
Worker Shares are an optional share. It is a wonderful way for local community members to develop a closer relationship to where their food comes from, learn about everything that it takes to bring the food to the table, and maintain an active relationship with their CSA farm. When we’re working, we have a lot of fun, we develop a rich sense of satisfaction from our accomplishments and we create new friendships that last for years.
That being said, work on the farm is not all easy. We work in ALL weather conditions. The work can be heavy and repetative and we may have to work when it is very hot, humid, windy, cold or in the pouring rain early in the morning. We are seeking dedicated worker shares that are willing to show up on time every week for the 20-Week delivery season. We ask our worker shares to make the same committment as our paying members and to take their committment to the farm seriously by honoring the 20-week pledge.
You are welcome to choose one shift and stick to that shift every week of the summer for the full 20 weeks of the CSA Program.
The work on the farm can sometimes be challenging. We expect the worker shares to show up rain or shine as there is always work to be done on the farm no matter the weather and the work must get done! You will need to show up with the hats, pants, shirts and garments required to work in the weather that is forecasted for the day. We recommend bringing a long-sleeved, collared, white cotton shirt shirt, a wide brimmed sun hat, shoes that fully cover your toes (not sandals), and a water bottle. If it is raining, bring muck boots, rain slickers and a rain coat. While we do try to find projects in the greenhouse or packing shed on rainy days, if it is a harvest day, we must get the harvesting done, even if it is raining.
No children under the age of 12 that need supervision are allowed to come during your work shift.
No dogs.
You must be in good physical condition to work on the farm. Although you may think that you are in good physical condition, after a days work on the farm you may find that you have used muscles that you didn’t know you had. You may need to lift up to 40 lbs. We do repetitive motions and it can be monotonous. We squat, stoop, bend and kneel and these actions can be hard on the body.
Please note that the Worker Share Program is a 20-Week Commitment. There are 52 weeks in one calendar year, so this means that the program runs almost half of one year. It is a real commitment and the farmers need you to keep your commitment to the farm the same as the paying members keep their commitment to the farm. Our farm reaches our membership goals before the start of the CSA deliveries, and often times we turn away paying members to keep a share slot for our working members. If the working members decide that after the month of July that they are tired and don’t want to work for their share any more, it costs the farm money. Please carefuly consider the 20 Week Commitment before agreeing to become a worker share.
If you can agree to the above forementioned, we think you will find the worker share experience to be fun and rewarding. At the end of a season, you are sure to feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that is wholy fulfilling. We look forward to sharing that wonderful feeling and experience with you!
You will have a chance to become involved in all aspects of vegetable harvest and post harvest handling including washing, bagging, bunching, weighing, counting and sorting vegetables. You may weed, trellis, transplant, or mulch. Some jobs you may only do one time and some jobs you may do several times thru the summer.
We will be working with you and each job will be taught to you. You just need to be able to listen, follow directions and work hard. Working hard means keeping your hands moving even if you’re talking, not stopping and chatting with the person working next to you. This doesn’t mean you can’t talk, you just have to keep working while you’re talking. We often times have very interesting converstations out in the field.
It is best for the farm if one person in a household makes the commitment, but if you need a sub you can certainly send another household member to work your shift.
Yes, morning shifts are spent primarily in the fields harvesting (but sometimes there is work in the packing shed). Afternoon shifts are spent primarily in the packing shed working with the vegetables that were harvested in the morning (but often there are outside jobs as well).
No. Leaving in the middle of a shift is not very satisfying for you and not as helpful for the farm.
The work begins the first week of June and continues through the second week of October. It coincides with the vegetable delivery season; this is when we need the most hands.
We prefer that you commit to the whole summer. We sometimes make exceptions for teachers and students who simply cannot work once school begins in the fall.
No, children under the age of 12 that need supervision are not allowed to come as they can distract you from your shift. We are working during our shifts.
No, we have 2 dogs on the farm already and we know how much attention dogs require. They can also be damaging to the crops and a distraction to our work crew.
You can make up your shift. You can do this by working a double shift or two shifts in one week. We will work out the details. If you miss your shift and simply cannot make it up, you can pay the farm $28 for each shift you miss, while our first preference is for your time rather than your money.
We do have a morning shift available on Saturdays from 8:00-11:30 and a Wednesday evening shift from 4:00-7:30. Other than these two shifts, we do the farm work durning the week and during the day. It is not possible to come when there is not already a shift scheduled.
If you know your schedule will be changing mid season we can talk about it and plan accordingly. If your schedule changes unexpectedly mid season, we will work with it. In either case you will be able to switch to another shift that fits your schedule.
Yes, we can work out a schedule so that you can come to work two shifts in one week for part of the summer, or start earlier so that you can end earlier. You could also pay for the half of your share that you are not able to work for. Contact Jillian to work something out.
At Small Family Farm, we love to gather and each season we host two to three Farm Events for our CSA members. These events are a wonderful opportunity to come out the farm, meet your farmers and deepen your connection to where your food is grown. These events enrich your CSA experience.
Pick Up your CSA box of veggies at our designated dropsites in Dubuque IA, Lancaster WI, Platteville WI, Onalaska WI, Viroqua WI, La Farge WI, La Crosse WI, Sparta WI, West Salem WI, Middleton WI, Holmen WI, Tomah WI, Sun Prairie WI, Fitchburg WI, Verona WI and Madison WI.
