CSA Membership Basics
"CSA" is Community Supported Agriculture
Think of a CSA as the original butcher box where you receive a monthly package of products at a discounted price level. Our CSA members get the best prices of the year (21% savings). As a CSA member you'll also receive a 10% discount on any items you decide to add to your CSA based on what's available at the market on the day of pickup.
Full year CSA members receive priority reservation for Holiday Turkey & Duck at a 10% discounted price.
Whole Chicken CSA
Best annual price locked for duration of CSA @ 5.19 lb (+21% savings). Order as many whole chickens as you would like (min. 3 per month half year or 2 per month full year). You can select to have some of your chickens cut up for an additional fee of $3 per chicken.
To join our CSA you pay $12 per chicken now to lock in your membership, then pay the difference at each pickup for birds taken that day based on weights of your chickens.
Example: Select the 2 Chickens Per Month CSA for 8 Months. That’s 16 chickens total @$12 per bird = $192 membership. Pickup 2 chickens on each of the next 8 months. At pickup, you’ll pay the difference between the total chicken weights multiplied by your discounted price per lb and minus your @$12 per bird pre-paid with your membership.
Egg Add On Option
HEN EGG ADD-ON Option for 2+ dozen eggs reserved with (15% discount)
DUCK EGG ADD-ON Option for 1+ dozen eggs reserved with (15% discount)
Flexible Duration
- Half Year CSA - 4 months (May-August) - min. 3 chickens per month
- Full Year CSA - 8 months (May-December) - min. 2 chickens per month
10% Discount on Pickup Day Additions
Save 10% on any other items purchased at the time of pickup (Lamb, Turkey, Duck and Additional Chicken products available at time of pickup)
Payment Options
Sign up by Feb. 29 and you can split up your payments with an initial $50 deposit now with the remainder due over 2 equal payments, one in March and another in April.
Sign Up Today!
Let's get you signed up. Click below to provide us the basic information for your CSA Membership. We’ll send you an emailed invoice to pay your initial deposit online followed by two equal payments in March and April.
Done!
2020 CSA Pickup / Delivery Locations
Richland Park Farmers Market - Saturday 9:00 am til 12:30 pm
4711 Charlotte Pike, Nashville, TN 37209
Nashville Farmers Market - Saturday 8:00 am til 3:00 pm
Our store is in farm shed #1
900 Rosa Parks Blvd, Nashville, TN 37208
Shipping - +$10 per month (available for TN, GA, NC, SC, KY, MO, AR, MS, AL) Egg add on is not available for shipping option.
FREE - Local home delivery zips (37072, 37073, 37080, 37146, 37148, 37172, 37188, 37203, 37204, 37205, 37206, 37207, 37208, 37209, 37210, 37211, 37212, 37213, 37215, 37216, 37218, 37220, 37228)
2020 CSA Pickup Dates
- Saturday, May 16
- Saturday, June 6
- Saturday, July 11
- Saturday, August 1
- Saturday, September 5
- Saturday, October 3
- Saturday, November 7
- Saturday, December 5
Nashville Farmers Market customers can elect to pickup on the Sunday following each months pickup day if that's more convenient for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I buy pasture raised chickens?
An independent study funded by the USDA Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education (SARE) Program found that compared to conventionally raised chickens, pasture raised chickens had 21% less total fat, 30% less saturated fat, and 28% fewer calories. The pasture raised chickens had essentially no fat in the breast meat, but had 50% more vitamin A and had significant levels of omega-3s, where conventional chickens had none.
Our chickens contain omega 3 fatty acids, which is something your body needs to maintain health. Up to 30% of our chickens’ diet comes from the pasture grasses they live on, making them a great source for this healthy nutrient.
How are the chickens raised?
Our chickens are raised on pasture, eating bugs, grass, and supplemental GMO-free grain and minerals without herbicides or pesticides. They live happy and healthy lives in low stress environments making the meat very tender and nutrient dense. They are given NO drugs of any kind. They enjoy fresh air, sun shine, and stress free lives. We keep them moving across the farmstead pastures to keep them on fresh pasture every day during the outdoor growing season.
How do you benefit?
Besides having the best chicken you will ever eat, there are a number of ways you benefit from the CSA. Here are a few examples:
• As our input prices fluctuates during the year and weather and other factors influence our production levels our pricing can be adjusted to address the realities of the growing year. Your CSA member prices are locked in for the year so you are protected from these price adjustments.
• Demand for our chicken keeps increasing year over year so availability can be tricky during periods of high demand. As a CSA member you are first in line for our chickens so this guarantees you good food all through the growing season.
• You can save the chickens for another day in the freezer which is usually not practical with vegetable CSAs. Each chicken will provide you with several meals so your protein costs will be offset.
Where are the chickens grown?
All the meats we sell are raised by our family on our local farmstead. By joining this Chicken CSA you are investing locally. We are locals, we buy our supplies from local businesses, and we support other local farmers.
What happens if I'm out of town or not able to pick up on the dates listed?
If you have a conflict that prevents you from picking up on the main CSA pickup weekend just let us know ahead of time and we'll work with you to find an alternate that works for your pickup.
How do the chickens arrive, fresh or frozen?
All our chicken is fresh-frozen. We utilize a USDA processing facility where each bird is inspected and air chilled to remove excess moisture prior to packaging. The average store bought chicken contains 8%-12% added fluids which inflates the price and introduces the potential for contaminants. This air chill process eliminates these issues. Once packaged the chicken is quickly frozen to lock in freshness and providing for up to a year of storage in the freezer and 5-6 days of freshness once thawed and refrigerated.
How much does each chicken typically weight?
Our per chicken target weight is 4 lbs. Your actual final weights will likely be a little below the target in the early months and a little above the target in the later months based on seasonal pasture conditions.
Why do CSA pickups not begin until May?
The chicken growing season for Tennessee is limited by weather conditions. Chickens won't grow well on pasture in the winter. There are not enough nutrients in the winter pasture to support healthy growth and cold temperature extremes can cause significant losses so our outdoor growing season starts in March allowing the first harvests in late April or early May.
Why buy the CSA early in the year?
The demand for our chicken has grown exponentially year over year since we started our farmstead in 2014. The total number of chickens we can grow is limited to the amount of resources we have available to us. We also provide our best discounts of the year exclusively to our CSA members so we can only afford to sell the years pre-planned percentages at these discount levels. Once we reach the maximum number of memberships for the year we will not offer the CSA enrollments again until 2021.
Why are Duck Eggs only available to a limited number of CSA memberships?
Our Duck layers are a new addition to our farm this year. The group of duck layers is not very large compared to our chicken layer flock so there are a limited number of duck eggs available this year. We expect that most if not all of our Duck eggs will be allocated to our CSA members for the first half of 2020. We will be growing our group of duck layers over the course of the year so more should be available for retail customers by August or September.
Have additional questions?
Just email us (melissa@purepasturefarms.com) or stop in and see us any Saturday at Richland Park Farmers Market or any Saturday or Sunday at Nashville Farmers Market. We are at both locations year round, winter, spring, summer and autumn and love to talk about our healthy and nutritious growing protocols or anything else you want to know.