VEGGIE COOP 2008: INFORMATION: RETURNING MEMBERS

Hello “Old” Members

This is an open letter to learn who will be returning to Veggie Coop this year. If you plan to return, let us know in the next couple of weeks to reserve your space. We plan to open membership to new applicants around May 1. If you do not plan to return, we would also appreciate a short E-mail to that effect, clearing the path for new memberships.

Returning members will have priority before new members, including their choice of larger or smaller bags. If you had a larger bag and wish to switch to smaller or vice versa, please indicate this on your membership application. The guidelines around holidays, swap box, and pick-up places are the same as last year; similarly, smaller bags will be delivered on Mondays, larger bags on Wednesdays.

This year we will eliminate the $30.00 membership fee. We introduced it last year to provide cash flow to June 15, the day the first payment is due. It proved too confusing and did not serve its intended purpose as many members included the fee in their first payment for vegetables. Nevertheless, membership costs will increase by about 15 percent this season. There are several reasons for the increase including: (a) the farm has never approached breaking even; (b) labour, material, and transit costs will be 20 to 70 percent above 2007 levels (on some items, the transit costs increase the item cost by 300 percent); (c) we have been charging less than half the amount charged by colleagues in the other Atlantic Provinces on some items; and (d) Melba is retired while Mike is only working 1/4 time at the university and the veggie coop is not sustainable unless we can break even. The price increases will be concentrated in high labour items. Items that were profitable last year will not increase in price.

What if a Membership Fee and the annual Subscription Costs is a barrier?
We have spaces for a limited number of people to help at the farm, to reduce fees or to actually barter a full fee. Some of the jobs will be physically demanding, such as weeding; others will not, such as helping in the farm store or at the farmer’s market. Perhaps we can find a job which you can do at your home, instead of coming to the farm. E-mail us and start the conversation. If a member, who can't afford the increase, is unable to participate in a farm related activity, we will partially or completely subsidize the cost increase.

Hello and Welcome Back!
We missed the regular contact over the winter. I expect there is much to share among our members as the season unfolds. We are looking forward to an exciting season; lots of Website activity and hope you will drop in as often as you can over the season. We are never sure about when the season will start as that depends on mother nature. However, we will let everyone know about two weeks before we begin deliveries.

~Melba and Mike (Rabinowitz)

The Organic Farm grows assorted herbs, such as basil, cress, coriander, dill, curly and flat leaf parsley, several kinds of mint, oregano, rosemary, tarragon and thyme. We supply veggie co-op members with herbs as they become available including basil and herb bouquets (sample of three to five herbs). Members can order additional herbs, such as basil, by special order if we have an adequate supply. We also provide tips on drying and freezing herbs.

2008 MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS FOR RETURNING MEMBERS:
1. Smaller Bag at $23.00 per week for a total of $345.00 for the 15 week season.
2. Larger Bag at $32.00 per week for a total of $480.00 for the 15 week season.

PICK-UP TIMES AND PLACES:
1. Smaller Bag Pick-up: Monday, 6 PM, Science Building - Quad Parking Lot
2. Larger Bag Pick-up: Wednesday, 6 PM., Science Building - Quad Parking Lot

Vegetables can be picked up on the evening your bags are ready in the farm chill room or held in the chill room as per your instructions. Routines will be established for dealing with various situations and contact information will be collected for each member to ensure that reminders are in place. As in the past, we plan to operate for 18 weeks so that members can take up to three holidays without losing vegetables. If sufficient herbs and vegetables are available, members who don't take holidays will be invited to purchase as many as three additional weeks at the regular weekly cost.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Fill out and return your membership application form either by e-mail or by post (Organic Farm, 42 Churchill Road, Portugal Cove-St. Phillips, NL A1M 2P6). To submit your membership application, please use one of the following methods:

Print out the PDF version

Email the MS Word version

or use the Online Form!

We would be very grateful if you included post-dated checks if you use slow mail. Please bring post dated checks to the first pick up if you e-mail. Also, please provide e-mail and phone information for all those you are sharing with to make it easier for us to find someone to pick up the veggies on nights you may forget and to include everyone on our e-mail list. The Veggie Coop will have its own pages on Organic Farm Website for dialogue, recipes, farm notes and building the veggie coop extended community.