We are excited about the new 2016 farm season! With a bold restructuring of the produce packs, we hope to better serve our customers and increase our farm viability.
We are planning to have more choice in what vegetables are offered each week; offer two share sizes; extend pick up hours; and deliver the shares to more locations.
These changes should make our life as farmers better by reducing time spent on administration, and more time doing what we love — growing food.
Our proposed solution follows. It’s not perfect but we thinks it’s progress. Suggestions are most welcome, we need your input to make this work
Consolidated pick-up location with increased hours, and deliveries
Our only pick-up would be at Victoria Park in downtown Halifax, every Thursday from noon until six pm. We would also deliver pre-made boxes to several locations in HRM (including Bedford and Fleming Heights). If you have a proposed location for pack deliveries, please get in touch with us!
At Victoria Park, we will offer large shares 8-10 items ($600) and small shares 6-8 items ($450). The pre-made boxes will all be the large size.
Home delivery
We are considering the option of doing a home delivery route in addition to centralized drop-offs. Home delivery would cost $150 extra for the season ($7/week). We could potentially deliver anywhere in HRM where there is a cluster of interest. Please let us know if this is something you would like.
More choice
We are planning to greatly expand the swap box, making it a swap table. This will allow a wider selection of crops every week.
Simplified payment
Large shares would be $600, small shares, $450 for the season. If this is not practical, we offer a payment plan of three equal payments.
The lower price and increased choice will come with a trade off. We won’t allow customers to put the packs on hold. We will still give refunds if you want to cancel for the rest of the year. The payment is for a season of produce. The value will change week to week, generally increasing as the season progresses. We are planning to distribute shares from the beginning of June until the end of October (22 weeks).
Sharing the harvest
The increased choice will generate more extra food on Thursday evening. We intend to distribute this to people in need. We have been giving away our leftovers at the church we attend and have been amazed at the impact it’s had on the congregation’s eating patterns and health. With more food available to give away or sell at a reduced price, we could increase this important part of our farm’s mission.
A new vision, a new name. Introducing the Abundant Acres Farmshare
These changes reflect what we have always wanted the farm to be: a place where people from all walks of life can share life’s simple pleasures of good food and community. We want this relationship to be mutually beneficial, providing connection to the land, the farmers that work it, and the ever-changing abundance it brings forth.
We hope this vision resonates with you and that you are willing to invest in our farm. We appreciate each one of you that has supported us so far and look forward to many more years of sharing the farm with you.
Your famers,
David, Jen, Marshall, Lori, Sarah, Hyla, Dakota, David M, and Erin.
Abundant Acres Farm 
I was dreaming about Abundant Acres carrots today and already looking forward to another season! As feedback, I think the new vision is great and you can count me in 🙂
Thanks for your continued support Sandra, year after year 🙂
Love you guys.
I’m do excited to get our first produce packs!!
We’re excited to meet you Christine!
Last year was our first time getting the produce packs and can’t wait for them to start again! Like Sanda, I have also been dreaming about Abundant Aches produce, fresh salad greens! Cannot get enough of them! Please count us in again and we are spreading the word about your farm among our family and friends to join in too!
Thank you for spreading the word Darlene! I’m glad you like the salad greens. I like them too 🙂
Thank you. Jennifer. I wonder if I may continue to buy select produce at the Victoria Part location, as I used to last year.I also wonder if you could grow okra, which is very popular among people from the Indian subcontinent. In particular, I’d but it every week if I could. About five years ago, Rick Rindero, a farmer who had a stall at the brewery market in Halifax, said he had grown different varieties of okra on his farm somewhere in the Bridgewater area but lost it all to deer, which would jump over the fence and eat it. He said he had lost about $40,000 in the process; after that I saw him only a couple of times. It appears that he quit farming in disgust returned to Mission, BC, where he was originally from. Since you and David seem to know how to prevent deer from invading your farm, perhaps you wouldn’t have that problem. Anyway, it is just a suggestion for your consideration. Thank you.
Sastri
Dear Sastri,
You are most welcome to buy whatever you like at the pick up location in Victoria Park. We will be trying okra, but have no experience with it. We’ll see what happens…