May 04

Box Contents:

½ lb Little Gem Lettuce or Baby Red Romaine or combo of both

3-4 Red Spring Onions

1 lb Shelling Peas OR 1 lb Purple Daikon Radish and ½ lb Mei Qing Choi

1 bu Red Chard

1 ½ lbs loose Carrots

1-lb bu Asparagus

Box Notes: On the horizon: bunched beets next week, new potatoes by late May, summer squash in early June. May is the time when spring turns to summer in our region. We are holding on to the cooler days of May and attentively watching the tomato plants grow and checking their flower development. We’re predicting the first cherry tomato harvest to begin in early July and soon after the tomatoes start, sweet corn will be ready!

Webstore Updates: We’ve added a couple of new items to the webstore: White Grapefruit and Juicing Navel Oranges. Both of these fruit items are from an old orchard in Esparto. They are not certified organic but are grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Please place webstore orders 48 hours prior to your delivery day to ensure same week delivery. Due to a limited supply of pastured hogs, the pork will only be available at farmer’s markets at this time.

We’re repeating some of the info below to be sure all our subscribers receive the important messages about our efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to protect our customers and all who work on the farm.

Thank you for supporting the farm by purchasing your food directly from us! We are fortunate to have reliable employees who continue to work during this challenging time. Many of the employees have been with the farm for over fifteen years. We remain committed to supplying our customers with safe, delicious, healthy food and to protecting all who make our agricultural business possible.  

We continue to practice safe food handling in all aspects of running the farm with additional procedures for COVID-19 prevention. The practices include: hand washing and glove wearing by all employees who handle the produce from harvest to wash and pack, required wearing of face covering, policy of stay at home for those with fever/cough or any flu symptoms, sanitizing of all plastic harvest totes and CSA totes with a bleach solution using a pressure washer, and a new layout of the packing shed work spacing and harvesting so that each employee has a minimum of 6 foot distance from one another.

Because of the recent surge in CSA subscriber sign-ups, we have added some new drop sites. Please visit www.riverdogfarm.com to view the new sites to see if there is one that is more convenient for you. You may change your pick up site 48 hours prior to delivery by logging into your account.

Here are some updates/changes/reminders:

·       New chicken orders are not available for now via the CSA. The weekly chicken subscriptions and orders placed prior to 3/21/20 will be fulfilled. There is a waitlist for new chicken orders placed after 3/21/20.

·       New egg orders and add-on dozens are not available at this time via the CSA. There is a waitlist currently for new egg orders/egg subscriptions.  You may purchase eggs at the farmers markets in Berkeley and Sacramento when available. At markets, the eggs are available first come first serve.  

·       New Egg Pick Up Procedure: At each delivery site, the eggs will be in a box with an open lid with a list of egg order names attached. Please look at the list, make sure your name is on the list, only take the eggs that are on the list. Please wear gloves and mask when picking up your order. Please only touch the eggs that you’re picking up. Do not touch any other egg cartons. Do not open any egg cartons. We are no longer labeling the egg cartons with subscriber names. Keep the site safe. Thank you!

·       Please respect the site host’s privacy when you pick up your order. Do not knock on the site host doors. Call the farm if you need assistance finding the boxes, if an item is missing from your order, or your name is the not on the sign-in sheet.

·       Please take only the items that are yours. Check order labels for your name and match them to the items listed on the sign-in sheet. If you inadvertently picked up an item that is not yours, let the farm know so we can let the subscriber know.

·       NEW A/B subscriptions are no longer available.

·       Take the paper liner with you to recycle at home. Gently unfold the cardboard boxes and place in stack with other cardboard boxes. Please help keep the site host space tidy and ready for the driver to pick up the following week.

·       To skip CSA Box deliveries, please login to your account and enter your skip weeks as a Monday-Friday selection: http://www.riverdogfarm.com/csa .

·       For current A/B week subscribers please note that the delivery schedule is every other week. Some months may have 3 deliveries, some may only have 2 but the schedule is every-other-week for your deliveries.

·       Reminder: So your subscription continues uninterrupted, please make sure your credit card on file is up to date on your CSA account. For those who need to end the CSA subscription, you MUST contact the farm through email to request cancellation.

·       Your subscription will continue and boxes will be delivered until you, the member, send us this email request. We will confirm the cancellation request via email. Thank you!