As you may know, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. With a CSA program, participating members of the community enjoy regular deliveries of food throughout the season. Basically, you are buying a "share" of the year’s production. The community benefits greatly from having access to farm direct, sustainably produced products. Community Supported Agriculture keeps the small farms alive and healthy and part of the community, where they belong. The food provided is fresh, organically grown, and far superior to standard supermarket fare.

Meats produced by Peaceful Pastures are not certified organic, mainly because regulating agencies create too much red tape and raise our overhead and consumer prices. But the animals are kept pastured, with ACRES of room to roam. Their diets are pasture-based rather than grain based, which mimics the natural eating pattern of these animals and creates a healthier meat, much richer in Omega-3 fatty acids than supermarket fare. They are never given hormones or antibiotics and pesticides are not used. Plus, the meat is naturally lean and DELICIOUS!! If you’re looking for a healthy, humane, ethical, environmentally sustainable source for meat, this is it!

We are very excited to announce NEW in 2008, extended delivery options in coordination with the Delvin Farm CSA! For those of you unfamiliar with The Delvin Family Farm, they are a 400+ member vegetable CSA producing excellent, certified organic veggies with awesome variety in each installment. The vegetables and fruit you can expect in the spring include strawberries, broccoli, cabbage, green onions, kale, collard greens, turnip greens, radishes, and lettuces. Summer will bring blueberries, tomatoes, bell peppers, a variety of hot peppers, squash, zucchini, eggplant, kale, melons, and Irish potatoes. Fall crops include turnips, kale, collards, beets, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, turnip greens, sweet and hot peppers. To sign up, please visit their web site: http://www.delvinfarms.com/csa.htm

The extended deliveries have several benefits for our customers:

1. The opportunity to buy great produce from the Delvin Family Farm.
2. A larger time window for pick up (2 hrs vs. 30 min) than our regular Nashville deliveries to the J. Percy Priest dam
3. Pick up hours that fit in better with a standard work day. No need to take off work on a Monday to meet us at the dam.
4. More locations, closer to Nashville.

The Turnip Truck - East Nashville Farmer's Market - Located on the corner of Woodland and 11th Streets.  The third Wednesday of each month starting May 21st from 4p.m.-7p.m.

Linden Corner* - Corner of Hillsboro Road and Sharondale Drive. (1 block from interstate I-440 in the West Nashville area.) The fourth Wednesday of each month, starting May 28 from 4 p.m.-6 p.m.

The Delvin Family Farm* – The farm is located along the Harpeth River in College Grove TN. From the north take Route 65 south to the I-840. Exit I65 and travel east on I-840 for 8 miles. Take exit #37 (Arno Road). At the end of ramp, make left onto Arno Rd. Travel ½ mile to first intersection, take right onto McDaniel Road. The farm is at 6290 McDaniel Road. The second Wednesday each month from 4 to 6 p.m.

* We will add these locations if we have at least 15 CSA members for each new drop off.

With a CSA, you are buying a share of the farm for a season, so you do not get to pick and choose what you get with any particular pick up, BUT you may add a retail order to any installment without paying a delivery fee. This helps ensure the quality of the food you buy and helps reduce the cost by eliminating excessive paperwork. The prices offered for the CSAs are unbeatable! In fact, CSAs are the ONLY way to obtain Peaceful Pastures retail cuts at a discount!!

FAQs

Unfortunately, no. After we applied to for the Franklin Farmer’s Market we were told they are not accepting any additional meat vendors for 2008. If you would like to see Peaceful Pastures at the market in 2009, please let the FFM board members know.

You can:

1. Arrange to meet us at a different location
2. Have it shipped to you by Fed Ex Ground
3. Come to the farm.

CSAs not picked up by the end of the month will be forfeited.

We asked existing CSA customers at the beginning of the season if they would pay more for larger time windows and closer locations and the answer was an enthusiastic, "YES!"

Each new location involves an additional trip into Nashville and the purchase of dry ice to ensure food safety; in addition, due to the demands of the farm, some of these deliveries will be conducted by another party, who must be compensated for their time.