CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Used to be that folks would pay for a whole year’s worth of produce upfront, to help the farmer know how much to grow and provide funding to start their crops. We like to think of a CSA as investing directly in the longevity of a farm, or in our case, in the regional food system. Your dividend is a delivery of local, organic or sustainably grown fruits and vegetables.

Technically, we are not a CSA, because our subscribers pay as they go and can start, pause, or cancel their subscription at any time. That being said, we rely on data we’ve compiled based on your habits, subscriptions, and preferences. This allows us to better plan at our farm and the farms we work with to provide more consistent, high quality produce while mitigating waste and managing our collective resources the best that we can.

1. Provide direct support to local farms.

2. Drastically reduce your carbon footprint by helping farms plan, keeping crops local and avoiding supermarkets.

3. Eat the very best produce. This stuff is freshly harvested, properly handled, and coming from the very best farms in the Midwest.

Being a Tomato Mountain CSA member is as easy as it gets! Some of the benefits and features include:

Pay as you go, recurring subscriptions – no paying for a full season or full year up front.

4 convenient sizes – Solo, Small, Medium & Large. Change your size at any time!

You have the ability to set your personal preferences & customize your box.

Add to your box from over 1000 different staples and specialty items.

Delivery right to your front door.

Pause your membership or skip your deliveries whenever you want.

Manage your account, subscriptions and deliveries online.

We deliver 48 weeks per year. Each year, we take a break from the last two weeks of December through the first two weeks of January.

The subscription is for a weekly box with a set value that you’re committing to purchase from the farm. It’s not just produce! We’ve got tons of items that count towards your subscription value to choose from every week. There are hundreds more items in our farmers’ pantry that you may also add to your box.

There is a minimum monetary value assigned to the share size you have selected – Solo ($16), Small ($24), Medium ($36) or Large ($54) that, by signing up for our program, you are committing to purchase. Your customized farm share must meet the minimum value aligned with your box size. You may change your box size at any time! It’s not just produce, there’s also eggs, breads, preserves, meats, cheeses, and all sorts of specialties that count towards your weekly box minimum.

Though we are not a traditional “Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)” program, we do rely on folks’ general commitment to the program because it is imperative for us and the farmers we work with to know how much to grow.

Yes. All Tomato Mountaineers agree to receive and read email communications! This is how we keep you posted with the week’s offerings, plus delivery and billing reminders, order updates, order deadlines, changes to the delivery schedule, substitutions, and general business communications via email. Promise we’re not about to spam your account with stuff, and we would never share or sell our email list.

We’re growing (and occasionally foraging) all sorts of crops throughout the year – we’re known for our overwintered spinach, carrots, and tomatoes and we are literally obsessed with growing veggies. It’s hard to predict down to the week, but here’s a running list. For a peek into what we’ve provided in the past, as well as all sorts of inspiration on how to use local produce, check out our blog, or be sure to sign up for our sneak peek newsletters.

We also offer a myriad of staples and provisions that are eligible for meeting your box minimums each week - eggs, meats, cheeses, breads, preserves, ferments, and specialty products galore.

We’ll send you an email each Friday afternoon once we’ve published the inventory for the week. You then sign into your account, customize and add as many items as you like. You have until Saturday at 11PM CT to customize, add to, or skip your week’s box.

In addition to what we offer in your weekly box, there are hundreds of items you may also add to your delivery. These items live here for our sanity, based on how we track our inventories. They do not count towards your weekly box minimum, but you may add as many items as you like!

Yes! You can select weekly, bi-weekly or monthly deliveries for a select group of staples, and you may do so via the farmers’ pantry storefront.

Customizing your farm share couldn’t be easier. Simply login to your account and add or remove items as you wish. The order deadline is Saturday at 11:00pm Central Time (CT) for the coming week.

We offer 4 sizes:

Solo Share ($16 worth of produce, staples, specialties. Good for folks that just feed themselves & occasionally cook)

Small Share – ($24 worth of produce, staples, specialties. Good for 1-2 folks who occasionally cook, or 1 person who cooks often)

Medium Share – ($36 worth of produce, staples, specialties. A good amount for 1-3 folks who are cooking on a more regular basis)

Large Share – ($54 worth of produce, staples, & specialties. For families who cook, or single folks and couples who are hardcore about eating local).

Please remember that these are very general guidelines. The appropriate size for you is dependent on your eating and cooking habits. You can always make adjustments to your deliveries through your member dashboard.

The availability of seasonal produce is unpredictable and may change based on many variables. We reserve the right to substitute items as necessary.

For instance, we may be expecting red potatoes, but we get yellow potatoes because the farmer was not able to clean their red potatoes in time due to an equipment breakdown. There can be a myriad of unexpected factors like this that can impact our farm and our partner farms. This is not uncommon when working with smaller operations, and why you do not often see produce from small operations in local supermarkets, Co-ops, or bigger organic retailers. We account for these irregularities by simply substituting any missing item with a reasonable substitution. Not happy with your substitution? Just reach out to us and we’ll provide you with a credit.

Nope. We’re committed to sourcing the highest quality produce and that produce has been properly harvested and properly cared for post harvest. This means we’re simply not concerned with irregularities in size or shape. We want the best stuff. Sometimes the best stuff isn’t what you expect it to look like.

That said, what we call our “seconds” – apples with bruises, for example, that are still perfectly good to eat, but won’t keep as long due to handling or crop issues, are either given to our team members, or donated to individuals in need via the Chicago Food Sovereignty Coalition.

If any items arrive damaged or unusable, they are of course eligible for credit and/or replacement. Please reach out and we will address on a case by case basis.

If you forget to pause or skip your box, refunds will not be issued for farm shares. It is the member’s responsibility to either donate or place a hold on their share no later than the order deadline, each Saturday at 11:00pm Central Time (CT).

Members are charged for their first farm share delivery and any farmers’ pantry orders upon signup.

Subscriptions are billed on a recurring basis and will continue until a member requests a cancellation. Charges are based on member’s share size, any additions + home delivery fee.

Farmers’ pantry orders are charged at time of purchase. Members must have a valid payment method on file.

Any changes to your farm share for the coming week must be made prior to the order deadline of 11:00pm Central Time (CT) each Saturday. If the member’s payment method fails for any reason and is not resolved before our team commences work on putting the box together, Tomato Mountain Farm reserves the right to hold or donate the member’s farm share.

Each Saturday at 11:00pm Central Time (CT) you are charged for your upcoming farm share. This charge includes the base cost of your share (Solo, Small, Medium, Large) + any additions or recurring subscriptions you have setup. Farmers’ Pantry orders are charged at the time of checkout. Each box has a standard delivery fee of $11, which is waived for boxes with a value of $99+.

All folks are billed for their first farm share & any farmers pantry items you have added upon signup.

Deliveries are made to the address on file for each member, using the member’s specific delivery instructions.

Changes to delivery addresses or delivery instructions must be made prior to order deadline, 11:00pm Central Time (CT) each Saturday.

Deliveries may be routed to an alternate address on a case by case basis by contacting support@tomatomountain.com. Arrangements for delivery to an alternate address must be made at least seven (7) days in advance of the date of service.

Deliveries are made on a recurring basis, and the delivery schedule is location-based. Members will be assigned a delivery day based on their delivery address upon signing up.

Tomato Mountain Farm reserves the right to change or modify the delivery schedule or a member’s delivery day at will, either for a specific one-time circumstance, or permanently.

Yes, the delivery fee is a flat $11 per box. Transportation is one of the more costly aspects of the food system. The delivery fee helps to cover trucking to and from the farm, vehicle maintenance, fuel, and paying drivers a living wage.

Yes, if your box is $99 or more, delivery is on us.

Nope. When you sign up, simply give us the delivery instructions you would like us to follow. If your home or building has unique circumstances please reach out to us directly; we can accommodate most situations.

Not a problem. We are happy to be buzzed in and leave your farm share at the location of your choosing. We can also collect a key, door code, or use a lock box if that is more convenient.

We go to specific areas of Chicagoland each day. Deliveries happen from 8AM - 7PM on Wednesday-Friday and 7AM – 4PM on Saturdays.

Delivery times cannot be guaranteed but are generally consistent. There may be rare circumstances (disabled vehicle, inclement weather, etc) that push deliveries as late as 10:00pm.

We will text you when we are on the way and once again when the delivery is complete.

Please see our Home Delivery Map to determine which day you can expect your delivery.

We transport your weekly items in reusable waxed boxes.

We prefer that all members to leave out a labeled cooler (first & last initial, Tomato Mountain) for their delivery, so we may put their items in the cooler and take the box back with us. This also protects your produce from critters and holds it at a more consistent temperature. Remember to leave an ice pack in your cooler during warm weather!

If a member is unable to leave out a labeled cooler, the member must be sure to return the waxed boxes each week. Please leave them out for us where you receive your box, or contact us to schedule a pickup.

Freezer sleeves, plastic bags, egg cartons, planter pots, pint containers and quart jars. They can be left in your cooler, or where we leave your box.

We understand that some buildings or HOA’s have restrictions on leaving out a cooler. Most will accommodate something like this. If not, we will leave the waxed cardboard box for you. Please be sure to give them back to us either with each week’s delivery or when it is convenient for you and your building.

We recommend the following cooler sizes. Remember to increase your cooler size if you are receiving eggs or products from our storefront.

Solo – 25qt (36 cans) or larger

Small – 25qt (36 cans) or larger

Medium – 28qt (38 cans) or larger

Large – 38 qt (53 cans) or larger

We offer three options for members who will be away for their regularly scheduled delivery.

1. Donate your delivery – your donations go directly to community organizations with programs to assist food insecure individuals via the Chicago Food Sovereignty Coalition (request through your member dashboard by the order deadline and you are charged for that week’s share).

2. Skip your delivery. To skip, sign into your member dashboard before the order deadline and opt out of the week you’d like to skip. You will not be charged for that week’s share. All skips must be placed by the order deadline. You will be charged for your delivery if your hold is requested after the order deadline, and your farm share will be donated if you are unable to receive it.

3. Request your delivery be made to an alternate address within our delivery area (please contact us at support@tomatomountain.com and we can help on a case-by-case basis) Deliveries to alternate addresses must be set up in advance. We require notification at least 7 days in advance to accommodate delivery to an alternate address.

You may choose to hold a farm share via the member dashboard. You will not be billed for farm shares that are put on hold. Holds made via the member dashboard must be made by the order deadline, 11:00pm Central Time (CT) each Saturday. If requested after the order deadline, 11:00pm Central Time (CT) each Saturday, you will be charged for the share. Farm shares will be donated if you are unable to receive delivery.

You can donate your farm share via the member dashboard. Members are billed for donations.

Donate your delivery – your donations go directly to community organizations with programs to assist food insecure individuals via the Chicago Food Sovereignty Coalition (request through your member dashboard by the order deadline and you are charged for that week’s share).

They do a great job of the very difficult thing that is distributing perishable produce and we are deeply grateful for your contributions, and the tireless work they do here in Chicago.