COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE
FROM THE FARMER, DIRECTLY TO YOUR TABLE
We learn to value what we know. And to know your food, where it comes from, who grows it, how it is obtained, is an enormous privilege and safety in these times.
The CSA Program (Community Supported Agriculture) is a model for proximity consumption and production of organic food that promotes involvement, responsibility, and awareness. It establishes a mutual compromise between consumers and producers, bound by values of solidarity and trust, with steady prices and based on the recognition of food as a Common Good.
For you, for the farmer and most of all, for the Planet.
A COMMON PROJECT
Those joining the CSA Program are not consumers, but coproducers in building a project that mirrors the common responsibility involved in sustainably produce healthy food, reconnecting with the ecosystems and rural development.
Information about the CSA Program can be obtained through email geral@freixoalimento.com
We chose to be coproducers of Freixo do Meio so we could actively participate in a community that produces food in a way we believe is the most positive, both to the health of our planet and of the people. We are very proud to feed this project is growing and helping society to ponder, through what we eat, on the impact of mindful eating, with quality and nutritional value.
Being a part of the Freixo do Meio CSA Program for the last five years allowed us access to food we like, produced and transformed in a place and by people we know and respect, in a way that is in balance with nature.
I live far from Lisbon, but the trip I make every two weeks to get my quotas from the shop in Av. de Madrid is largely compensated by the quality of the products, the love and closeness of the people and the warmth that fills my heart for knowing where the food I give my family comes from.
When we decided to try the CSA Program, a few years ago, our main motivation was to have the food of the season, with good quality, produced locally in a sustainable manner. Those goals were reached. But today, to be a part of the CSA means to belong, to take care of the planet, to take care of the people.
It is a privilege do be a Freixo do Meio coproducer, a commitment we made since January, 2016. It is very important for me and my family to eat in an ethical way and with a reduced social and ecological impact.
It is always a celebration when we receive the food from Freixo do Meio. Every two weeks our kitchen is filled by an incredible variety of food that make the experience of cooking that much richer. We discovered new foods and flavours you can’t find in the supermarket. On the other hand, we’re happy to help support a whole community that takes the effort to grow and produce such an excellent food.
The human food production in an integral part of a complex natural ecosystem with limited resources we should understand and respect. On this ancestral approach, which is still the foundation of the food sovereignty of many people around the world, the features, and functions of each element of biodiversity are respected in full.
These are production models inspired by, and concurrent with, the way nature works, insuring a natural year-round cycle, energy stability and self-regulation systems.
At Montado do Freixo do Meio, we produce according to the principles of agroecology, permacultures, and food sovereignty.
The modern system for distribution of food parted the consumer with the production of food, the challenges and satisfaction of having contact with the land. The CSA Program has the objective to re-establish the direct contact between the consumer and the farmer, and also the land he works on.
The consumer than has better knowledge of the reality of the farmer and the processes to obtain food. Receiving local organic seasonal food, always fresh, at a fair price that allows the farmer to keep a sustainable production. The farmer can plan, together with the coproducer, the crops and the needs for meat and other products, reducing food waste.
If food is a Common Good, we all should do our part, sharing the risks and benefits of the crops, inside a logic of common responsibility and aware of the complexities of producing food.
Through our quotas, we at Montado do Freixo do Meio, share the difficulties and successes of our production, offering the best of nature.
The most common doubts already have an answer.
The main goal of our Sharing the Harvest CSA Program is to re-establish the direct contact between the consumer and the farmer, and the land he works on. Through a willing commitment between consumers and producers, we establish a community that manages food as a Common Good, sharing the risks and benefits of production, and getting involved in decision making. Hence the name of the Program, CSA: Community Supported Agriculture. The program works through a system of quotas, corresponding to products from our Montado.
The Sharing the Harvest program provides the consumer with regular access to the freshest organic foods, produced according to the principles of Agroecology, permaculture and food sovereignty, paying a fair price. The consumer know that his food is produced in Alentejo, in a land free of chemicals for the last 25 years. By buying her food directly from the farmer, the consumer helps maintaining and creating local jobs and the rural development in general. Members of the CSA meet personally those who produce their food, and this is something that, literally, tastes good.
Subscribing a regular quota means to own a fraction of the whole production. This is the reason why we like to call coproducers to the people involved in building this project, mirroring the joint responsibility surrounding the productions of healthy and fair food. With each quota, a coproducer contributes with an assured sale for the farmer. This way the farmer can produce the right amount with less risk.
The CSA program works in 2 semesters: the Spring/Summer period (from April to September) and the Autumn/Winter period (from October to March). Within each period, the number and price of quotas remain stable. This is part of the producer commitment. You can join the CSA Program at any time, according to the rules and quotas or the current period.
To join you must fill the CSA Agreement form, indicating quotas you want to receive. Freixo do Meio will confirm your subscription by e-mail.
A coproducer is committed through the regular purchase of a product, a quota. Quotas must be pick up on the day of delivery at the chosen place. But besides a commitment at the level of the product, the CSA Program wants to encourage the coproducer to take responsibility of the food produced and the production. We want to promote the curiosity for the methods of production, the challenges of the farmer and all aspects of food distribution. The participation of the coproducers is welcomed to build the CSA Program as a community.
Coproducers have priority in the supply of food produced at Freixo do Meio. The quotas represent products with guaranteed delivery. When buying through our online store, orders by coproducers take precedence. On the various activities and lodging at Freixo do Meio, coproducers are entitled to reduced prices.
Minimum consumption means that the sum of you quotas during a month must add at least 60 €. This is a pre-requisite to join the CSA Program
Quotas can be delivered weekly or every two weeks. It’s not possible to choose more sparse deliveries (i.e. monthly deliveries). Montado do Freixo do Meio produces a large amount of different food products, fulfilling the mission to embrace the rich ecosystem of the Montado, and the abundance of products offered by it. We demand from our coproducers that they understand this mission and to value the Montado by accepting the great variety of this ecosystem regularly at their table.
Yes, you can always complement your quota with the products from the online store. If you choose the same day and point of delivery as for your quotas, you will receive those and your online order automatically together.
Every quota delivered during a month are included in one single invoice issued at the end of every month. That invoice will be paid through bank transfer or direct debit from your bank account.
Participation in the CSA Program is automatically renewed for every new period. However, at the beginning of the period you can do adjustments to your choice of quotas. In order to cancel your subscription, you must inform us by e-mail geral@freixoalimento.com
Uma vasta seleção de quotas de alimentos ao seu dispor, de produção própria ou produtores associados
Através da subscrição de produtos a preços fixos no valor igual ou superior a 60€ mensais durante 6 meses.
No dia e local escolhido receberá comodamente os seus alimentos frescos.
Pagamento no final de cada mês, através de débito direto ou transferência bancária.
Participe na comunidade CSA através do Forum on-line e dos encontros entre coprodutores.
1.
conhecer e identificar-se
O Programa CSA Partilhar as Colheitas é mais do que um simples meio de obter alimentos. É uma comunidade de suporte mútuo entre o agricultor e o coprodutor, regulada por um conjunto de princípios éticos com os quais se deve identificar e estar de pleno acordo.
2.
CANDIDATURA E ESCOLHA DE QUOTAS
Deverá formalizar a sua candidatura através de um compromisso de subscrição de quotas de alimentos por um período de 6 meses. De todas as quotas de alimentos disponíveis, deverá selecionar aqueles que mais lhe convém, num valor mínimo de 60€ mensais, assim como, escolher o local de entrega. Porque os recursos naturais têm limites, o Programa CSA Partilhar as Colheitas tem um número máximo de coprodutores e quotas disponíveis por cada estação agrícola.
3.
CANDIDATURA ACEITE
Será informado sobre a disponibilidade das quotas escolhidas. Sempre que alguma estiver esgotada, será proposta uma alternativa.
Receberá um convite para um encontro de boas-vindas à comunidade do Programa CSA Partilhar as Colheitas através de uma visita à Herdade do Freixo do Meio.
4.
INÍCIO DO PROGRAMA
Os seus alimentos começarão a chegar à sua casa e poderá começar a participar ativamente na comunidade do Programa CSA Partilhar as Colheitas através dos encontros de coprodutores e do Fórum on-line.
Our mission is to build a community around Herdade Freixo do Meio that is democratic, inclusive, transparent, autonomous, and resilient, that achieves a constantly improving relationship with natural resources, and that encourages personal development.
