2024 CSA Shares are open! Email us @ fireringfarmcsa@gmail.com now to learn more! Full, half, and work shares available!

Fire Ring Farm's Community-Supported Agriculture

Fire Ring Farm promotes community-supported agriculture in Portland, CT. It means a community of people come together to become direct supporters of a local harvest. Some people have heard of this new way to be involved in farming, where you get a bag of vegetables every week.
How does CSA work at Fire Ring Farm? Why is it a good idea? How do I become a shareholder? Here are some answers to those frequently asked questions you may have. If you have more thoughts or inquiries, please email us at fireringfarmcsa@gmail.com

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is a CSA?
A CSA is when you buy in during the spring to our farm's summer/early fall harvest. You buy a membership share of the harvest, and then the land and farmer pay you back with vegetables all growing season. Once a week, shareholders come to the farm to pick up their bags of vegetables and fruits. Your produce will vary each week and may include anything from cucumbers and summer squash to blueberries. You will get a mixed bag of whatever is being picked, and the food will change as the harvest changes over the growing season. Usually, this is a bounty. However, please know that a shareholder takes on some of the risks of the harvest as well.
How Does It Work at Fire Ring Farm?
Shareholders join us in January. We start our seeds in February, planting in the ground in April and May. The harvest and pickup will start around the middle of June, and we hope to run until the middle of October. Once a week, you will come to the farm to pick up your bag on a set day and window of time. One share is a bag of fresh, organic produce that a family of four will probably eat in about a week. On some weeks, shareholders get 10 to 15 lbs. of produce, while on other weeks, they may only get 6 to 8 lbs.
Why Is It a Good Idea?
First, it guarantees fresh, local high-quality produce with as few "food miles" as possible. Food is grown and picked for you, and it all happens on a farm and by a farmer you know. Second, the CSA model is a way to ensure the continuance of small locally owned and operated farms, an increasing rarity these days. The CSA members share the risks and rewards of farming. The shares are non-refundable. In some years, you get more than you expected, but there is always a chance you might get less in some seasons. In essence, the idea is that the community makes a commitment to the farm, and the farmer sticks it out through thick and thin.
How Do I Become a Member?
Fire Ring Farm CSA shares are open for the 2024 growing season. To receive information, have your questions answered, and be put on our contact list, please email us at fireringfarmcsa@gmail.com
Land Acknowledgment - Fire Ring FarmWe acknowledge the land on which we gather. Fire Ring Farm is on the ancestral lands of the Quinnipiac and Wangunk in what is now known as Connecticut. We specifically acknowledge the Wangunk, an Eastern Algonquin indigenous people, known as the people at the bend in the river, who were removed unjustly from this land. On this farm and in this community, we are the beneficiaries of that removal. We honor the Quinnipiac and Wangunk and pay respect to the elders, both past and present. The Quinnipiac and Wangunk have stewarded this land, had a relationship with this land, and cultivated this land for generations. We acknowledge this in all we do, and in how we look to steward and build a relationship with the land. We aim to unlearn what is not working and has not worked and aspire to uphold our responsibilities to this land as we move in relationship and cultivation with it. We also acknowledge that all land in the State of Connecticut was once Native territory. This is also the land of the Mohegan, the Mashantucket Pequot, the Eastern Pequot, the Schaghticoke, the Golden Hill Paugussett, the Nipmuc, and the Lenape, who have and continue to steward this land throughout the generations. We thank them for their strength and resilience in protecting this land and aspire to uphold our responsibilities according to their example. Please know that Connecticut law recognizes five Indian tribes. These five tribes have six reservations in the state.1. Golden Hill Paugussett2. Mashantucket Pequot3. Mohegan4. Paucatuck Eastern Pequot5. Schaghticoke It is one thing to acknowledge the land and have a relationship with it, and it is another to take action to support Native People. Here are a few things you can do:● Support Indigenous organizations by donating your time and/or money.● Support Indigenous-led grassroots change movements and campaigns. Encourage others to do so as well.● Commit to returning the land. Local, state, and federal governments around the world are currently returning the land to Indigenous people. (https://resourcegeneration.org/land-reparations-indigenous-solidarity-action-guide/) Individuals are returning the land, too. Research your options to return your land.● Review more suggestions here: https://nativegov.org/news/beyond-land-acknowledgment-guide/ We share by way of example that Fire Ring Farm has participated in grassroots movements that support Native people and protect the land, and we plan to do so again and again. We have also made donations to local groups like the Connecticut Native American Inter-Tribal Urban Council. Fire Ring Farm is an inclusive space for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC folk, disabled, and native populations.