Michigan is one of our country's most agriculturally diverse states, second only to California in the number of crops we produce. So why not enjoy them at the peak of their season? Our produce hasn't traveled far so it's fresher and retains more flavor and nutrients. And you're supporting your local economy.

We strive to make the program convenient by offering delivery and pick-up options. Shares can be picked-up at the farm, a community drop-off site or delivered to your work or home and left in a cooler in your absence.

Items in our shares come from our greenhouses and market gardens, as well as from farm families located throughout Michigan. For example, we get dark sweet cherries from the Wunsch family on Old Mission Peninsula; nectarines, strawberries and Honey Crisp apples from the Meachums in Hartford; beef from Denise and Abby Wilson in Galesburg and pork from the Albright family in Coldwater. While these are all grown by conventional methods, we consider the growers to be responsible with their practices.

We want you to enjoy the freshest product possible so if no one is home to personally receive the delivery, we require a cooler with an ice pack be left. We suggest a large, at least 35 quart, chest cooler.

Additional produce is available for canning, freezing or entertaining. Please order one week before your desired delivery so we can make arrangements and deliver it with your share.

Program Highlights

• The program is 20 weeks (early June to late October)
  
• Pick-up your share at the farm, a community drop-off location, or have it delivered to your work or home.
• Full and small share sizes are available. A small share is approximately half the quantity of a full share. Add bonus packs for additional produce.
• Shares include fruit and vegetables.
• Beef, pork and eggs are also available.
  
• For variety, we secure some products from partnering Michigan family farms.
• We utilize environmentally sound farming practices.
• Call one week before your vacation to suspend your service or make other arrangements.
• Payment options - pay up front in full, monthly or weekly. Invoices will be delivered with the shares.
  

Frequently Asked Questions

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Kalamazoo area restaurants are excellent supporters of local producers. Enjoy tasty treats, including produce from Avalon Farms Homegrown, at the following restaurants and food service establishments...

Ample Pantry

4325 West Michigan, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49006

(269) 375-8300

Bronson Hospital Cafeteria

601 John Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007

(800) 341-7654

Food Dance

401 East Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, Michigan

(269) 382-1888

Just Good Food

303 North Rose Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007

(269) 282-1033

Kalamazoo College

1200 Academy Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49006

(269) 337-7000

Local grocers also carry Avalon Farms Homegrown produce.

Harding's Market

54 West Michigan Avenue, Galesburg, Michigan 49053

(269) 665-7235

Just Good Food

303 North Rose Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007

(269) 282-1033

Sinclair's Market

14377 East ON Avenue, Climax, Michigan 49034

(269) 746-4242

Come visit us at the Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Vicksburg, VA Medical Center in Battle Creek  or Bellevue Farmer's Market.

Battle Creek Farmers' Market

Downtown Battle Creek on the Festival Market Square at the corner of Jackson and McCamly Streets, behind The McCamly Hotel.

Open in May, 9 am - 1 pm Saturdays

Open June through October, 9 am - 1 pm Wednesdays and Saturdays

Battle Creek VA Medical Center

5500 Armstrong Road, Battle Creek - Campus Pavilion

Open 11 am - 1 pm Mondays

Bellevue Farmers' Market

Washington Park, Bellevue

Open June through October, 3-7 pm on Thursdays

Bronon Hospital Winter Farmer's Market

601 John St., downtown Kalamazoo
Bronson’s SkyCourt Café, Free parking in the Vine St. Ramp; enter on the Garden Level

Every-other Friday, Nov. 19, 2010 - April 29, 2011

Kalamazoo Bank Street Farmers' Market

1204 Bank Street, Kalamazoo, MI  49001

269-337-8899

Open in May through November, 7 am Saturdays

Vicksburg

Drive Inn Across from the Historical Society

Open Fridays from 2:30 - 6:30 pm

Program Basics
Maintain five or more full share subscriptions to be picked-up at one location and everyone benefits. Because we’re only driving to one stop we can offer a reduced rate, $100 savings on a full share and $60 off of a small share.

Drop-off locations must have a shaded area where coolers can be left to receive the orders each week. Drop-off locations need to have a coordinator. Subscribers will drop off their cooler each week prior to delivery and return to pick-up their share the evening of the delivery.

Please contact us if you’d like to know of current subscribers in your area to contact about joining a community drop-off group.

Coordinators
Community drop-off points may have a coordinator whom we ask to help with a bit of bookkeeping and receives a bonus for their help.  


Coordinator Responsibilities
1.    Secure and maintain the number of participants needed for the discount level. If someone chooses to no longer participate, it is the coordinator’s responsibility to find a replacement to maintain the participant count. Two small shares equal the value of one full share.
2.    Collect payments and keep all balances current.
3.    Track vacations and the shares each participant receives each week.


Coordinator Discounts
For completing the above responsibilities, the coordinator receives the following discount…
5-9 shares in the group – save 25% off of their full share
10-19 shares in the group – save 50% off of their full share
20+ shares in the group – a full share free

The following are answers to the questions we're asked the most...

Share of the Farm Program

My Share

Delivery

Growing Practices

Share of the Farm Program

What's unique about the Share of the Farm program at Avalon Farms Homegrown?

Variety - What’s a summer in Michigan without cherries and peaches in season? We secure some products from other Michigan family farms and include them in the shares so you can enjoy much of what our great state grows.

Delivery - Just let us know what address you'd like it delivered to in the greater Kalamazoo, Battle Creek or Marshall area and we'll drop it off during our regular delivery route. Most people choose their work or home. And don't worry about being there to meet us, most people aren't. Just leave a cooler with an ice pack so the produce still looks great when you get home.

Should I order a full or small share?

Good question. A small share is approximately half the amount of produce in a full share. The photos in the online market are samples from different weeks in different years. It is extremely hard to predict or recommend how many people or servings each size may feed. It will vary greatly based upon the eaters in your home. Some two person homes eat a full share each week, other families of four say a small share is just right. We can also change your share size mid-year if you find it's not right for your family. Weather, the production year and prices will also impact share size.

A small share may also include fewer kinds of produce. For example, if a full share includes a watermelon that week, we won't deliver half of a watermelon for small shares. Instead we may substitute another product and small shares may include melons every other week.

Can I share a share?

Sure. We'd love for more people to enjoy the flavors of summer in Michigan. Just let us know which one person is responsible for payment and to receive the delivery.

Can I share a share?

Sure. We'd love for more people to enjoy the flavors of summer in Michigan. Just let us know which one person is responsible for payment and to receive the delivery.

What does it cost and how do I sign-up?

See the Online Market for options, pricing and online registration. 

My Share

I love to eat _____ (insert product) but I've run out of ideas of what to do with it. Any suggestions?

Cook it. Bake it. Grill it. Freeze it. Can it. This is summer's abundance at it's best. Recipes, storage tips and directions for preparation are provided with the deliveries.

What can I expect in my share each week?

A surprise!  We can predict based upon the time of year, but we don't always know what or how much Mother Nature has ripened until we pick that morning. See our Seasonal Produce Calendar for more information about what you might expect to see in your share throughout the 20 week program. Many customers wait to get their share and then plan the week's menu accordingly.

Deliveries early in the season will be smaller because there isn't as much produce available. But come mid-August you'll have the true splendor of the tastes this great state offers.

Due to picking cycles and because it's delivered fresh, Monday's delivery is likely to contain different products than Wednesday's.

I just can't get my family to eat _____ (insert product). Can something else be substituted?

We pride ourselves in providing a variety of produce for all types of eaters and tastebuds. See our recipe section for ideas of other ways to prepare that product. Some customers donate it to a friend, family member or local food bank for someone else to enjoy. Some of the community drop off groups have a "trade box" where you can also swap items.

Delivery

There was room in the cooler, but why were the tomatoes sitting on top?

Tomatoes like it hot. Coolness actually breaks them down so please don't store them in the fridge. They're happiest on the kitchen counter.

Can I suspend deliveries while I'm on vacation?

Of course. Please let us know one week in advance and you can be credited for that week. Although some customers still have the delivery sent for a house sitter or neighbor to enjoy.

Do I need to be available when you deliver?

No. However, we want you to enjoy the freshest produce possible so if no one is home to receive the delivery personally we require a large chest cooler (35 quart capacity or so) be left. If there isn't a cooler available we will not be able to leave your delivery. Please contact us to make arrangements to pick-up your share at the farm the next day.

Growing Practices

How can you have tomatoes available in May?

Ah, the glories of a greenhouse. Thanks to our greenhouses we can grow plants year around and pick hydroponic tomatoes from April through November.

What are your growing practices? Are you certified organic?

While we follow a number of sustainable practices we are not certified organic.

• We use integrated pest management tactics, like rotating crops to different parts of the gardens, to help avoid insect, disease and weed pest problems.
• We use lady beetles in the lettuce house to control aphids and incarsea to control white flies in the tomato house.
• Weed, disease and insect pests are monitored and we take action only if they start to negatively impact quality or production. We then use crop protectant products appropriate for the pest problem we're facing using organically labeled products when available. Much of our produce is pesticide free.
• Our partnering farmers are also responsible growers and share our concern for protecting soil and water resources.

More about our Share of the Farm Program

More about the Delivery and Pick-up Programs

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Mission Statement 

To build a viable, financially sound, agricultural business, based on honesty and fairness to all concerned. Concern for and protection of soil and water resources is a high priority.

Flexibility to take advantage of new concepts, ideas, and management

practices, as well as changing conditions is critical to the success of the business.

Quality work and results are expected.

Our family operation encourages individuals involved with the operation, family members as well as employees, to avail themselves to growth opportunities and continuing education. Contributions to the agricultural industry that promote and enhance knowledge of the industry are an important activity. Likewise, significant involvement with and service to the community will be supported.

Our concern for our community, and soil and water resources is the framework for our family business. We have committed to continue using the land for food production by enrolling more than 500 acres into Michigan's Purchase of Development Rights program. We are the 50^th farm to do so and are proud that future generations of the family will have the opportunity to farm the land just as generations have before them.

Avalon Farms has been in the family since 1932 and the focus of the operation has changed to meet consumer demands. Over time the farm has been a dairy operation, finished hogs and grown seed corn, commercial corn and soybeans.

In 1999 we built the hydroponic greenhouse and in 2002 we began our Share of the Farm subscription delivery service. We refer to it as a "hybrid CSA" (CSA stands for community supported agriculture). For 20 weeks during spring, summer and fall our subscribers receive a weeky delivery of all the wonderfully fresh produce we raise, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables raised by family farms from all over Michigan. These farmers are not just business relationships, but friends as well. From Trever and Jason Meachum in Hartford we get strawberries, nectarines and Honey Crisp apples. The outstanding dark sweet cherries we include each summer are the work of Josh and Barb Wunsch from Old Mission Peninsula in Traverse City. The Wilson family of Galesburg raise our beef.

Eating fresh, locally grown Michigan products helps us all. Subscribers get better tasting and more nutritious food and the farmers are able to continue our family farms. Even our communities benefit, since locally spent food dollars circulate back into the community between 3 and 7 times. It is estimated that if every Michigan household spent just 5% more on local food, it would keep over $700 million more circulating within Michigan.

In addition to the fresh produce, our team of Foodies are constantly on the look out for other high quality food products. As a result we are distributors of Florida Gourmet Island Grove dressings, marinades and sauces; Higher Grounds Fair Trade Coffee and jams and jellies from Food for Thought.

We utilize environmentally sound farming practices, however we are not certified organic. We use many prevention practices like resistant seeds and varieties, rotating crops, beneficial insects and pest scouting. Much of the farm is still devoted to conventional corn, wheat and soybean production. We have completed a volutary program called the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program verifying our practices to prevent pollution risks.

We strive to keep our Share of the Farm program as convenient as possible so we deliver shares to our member's home or work. Some communities gathering for a community drop-off and other share holders choose to pick it up at the farm.

Delivery

We currently deliver to the Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and Marshall areas, but are open to other areas if there's enough interest. Delivery schedules and routes are determined based on the subscribers we have at the end of May. Deliveries are made Monday through Thursday. You will be notified in advance of the first delivery and at that time we'll discuss the details of where we'll find the cooler - at the back door, garage, porch, etc.

Much of the produce needs to be kept cool. We require a large chest cooler (35 quart or so) with an ice pack be left if no one is home to personally receive the share. If no cooler is available we will not be leaving the produce. Please call us to make arrangements to pick-up the share at the farm the following day.

Pick-up at the Farm

Enjoy a drive in the country each week and pick-up your share at the farm. Pick-up times will be in the afternoon and evening, with the exact schedule available the end of May. We ask that you pick-up the same day each week so we’re sure to have a fresh share ready for you. 

Pick-up at a Community Drop-off

Gather five or more subscribers in a community or workplace to pick-up their shares at one location and everyone benefits. Because we're not driving to each stop we can offer a reduced rate.

Community drop-off points need a host whom we ask to help with a bit of bookkeeping, but will receive a bonus for their assistance.  Please contact us if you’re interested and would like more details or to know of current subscribers in your area to coordinate with.