Taking the Broadview on CSA<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\nWhen it comes to Community Supported Agriculture, there has been a common complaint voiced over the years even by dedicated subscribers. At some point, your CSA farm might provide a box of products that you don\u2019t exactly know what to do with \u2014 summed up by the stereotypical big box of kohlrabi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tim and Delicia Brown are among the farmers who address this issue by taking a more specialized approach with the CSA they run at the Broadview Farm and Gardens<\/a> in Marengo, located in northeast Illinois at the edge of metro Chicago. Their featured subscription is the Salad Bowl CSA<\/a>, available June to October, that highlights lettuces and 10 varieties of tomatoes, all chemical-free from their Certified Naturally Grown<\/a> farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cI’m going to grow what I normally grow, which is lettuce and spinach and cucumbers and tomatoes, things that I know the vast majority of people want,\u201d says Tim Brown. \u201cIt’s not going to be difficult for me to sell anything. I don’t grow anything exotic. I make it a point not to grow anything exotic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Browns also have a flock of laying hens that enable them to stage an Egg CSA<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBroadview Farm became the Browns\u2019 landing spot in 2014 after a long physical and personal journey. Tim and Delicia were born and met in Los Angeles. They developed unhealthy eating habits \u2014 Tim says he maxed out at 325 pounds \u2014 but they adopted better diets and quit smoking as they started a family that now includes three young children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They also moved first to the Northwest Side of Chicago, then to a house with a backyard in Elgin. Tim fulfilled a longtime dream to grow a vegetable garden and started to contemplate a second career in farming. At the same time, he became increasingly disenchanted with his day job with an audio-visual firm. \u201cI was just obsessed with gardening,\u201d Tim says. \u201cThe only thing I wanted to do is come home and spend time in my garden.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He tested the waters in the Farm Dreams and Farm Beginnings programs presented by Angelic Organics Learning Center<\/a> in Caledonia, Illinois. In 2013, he took a giant leap, quitting his job, initiating a land search with Delicia that landed them in Marengo, and working for two years at organic CSA farmer Janet Gamble\u2019s Turtle Creek Gardens<\/a> in Delevan, Wisconsin to learn the ropes.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBroadview Farm and Gardens started full production in 2016 but initially eschewed CSA. After a long stretch of surging growth, CSA was struggling at that point in the Chicago region. Tim attributes that mainly to oversaturation, as small farms surged into the space and competed for subscribers. There were other issues too, including limited say over what goes into the CSA boxes, and the challenges getting product to consumers (as few CSAs did home delivery at the time).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet the Browns eased into CSA, recruiting subscribers through the personal relationships they had developed vending at the Woodstock Farmers Market<\/a> in McHenry County and the Edgebrook Farmers Market<\/a> in Rockford. Their farmstands also became their primary pickup points for CSA customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe couple addresses the product selection issue by focusing on the salad ingredients that they feel they do best, and the upfront price issue by creating subscription plans of varying lengths and creating a la carte options. Like many such farms, Broadview rode the CSA revival during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, as supply chain issues and empty shelves prompted many consumers to look to local farms for secure access to food. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And this year, Broadview is tackling the convenience issue by initiating home delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Broadview is on trend in other important ways. The Browns are bullish on the opportunities that hoop houses provide for year-round growing. \u201cThe rewards that they can bring are significant,\u201d Tim says. \u201cI think that anybody growing in the Midwest should have them. I want to put in as many as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He concedes, though, \u201cI can honestly say that I do enjoy the natural built-in breaks in the season like right now. I don’t want to be outside every day battling with the cold, dealing with iced-over equipment and all that kind of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Browns also intend to take advantage of the new Illinois Home to Market Act<\/a> that greatly expands opportunities for farmers to sell value-added products made in their own kitchens to the general public. \u201cThe cottage food law that the Illinois Stewardship Alliance<\/a> was able to help get pushed through has been amazing,\u201d Tim says. \u201cWe can convert some of our stuff into jams, jellies, nectars, preserves, chutneys, whatever, and legally sell it without issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nAnd Tim notes that Broadview will actually be adding kohlrabi to its lineup… just not whole boxes of it. \u201cI’m growing kohlrabi this year for the first time in like seven years. It’s a very limited amount, but I have seen areas where I can fill in my CSA or I can throw them on the [farmers market] table,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/buyfreshbuylocal.org\/illinois\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/Broadview-product-1024x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFind CSAs Near You<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nYou can find CSA farms near you at www.buyfreshbuylocalillinois.org<\/a>. Just use the filters to search by proximity. Below are just a handful of CSA farms across the state:<\/p>\n\n\n\nCedar Valley Sustainable Farm Meat CSA<\/a>, Ottawa: Northern IL<\/p>\n\n\n\nHenry\u2019s Farm<\/a>, Congerville: Central IL<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI’m going to grow what I normally grow, which is lettuce and spinach and cucumbers and tomatoes, things that I know the vast majority of people want,\u201d says Tim Brown. \u201cIt’s not going to be difficult for me to sell anything. I don’t grow anything exotic. I make it a point not to grow anything exotic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Browns also have a flock of laying hens that enable them to stage an Egg CSA<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Broadview Farm became the Browns\u2019 landing spot in 2014 after a long physical and personal journey. Tim and Delicia were born and met in Los Angeles. They developed unhealthy eating habits \u2014 Tim says he maxed out at 325 pounds \u2014 but they adopted better diets and quit smoking as they started a family that now includes three young children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They also moved first to the Northwest Side of Chicago, then to a house with a backyard in Elgin. Tim fulfilled a longtime dream to grow a vegetable garden and started to contemplate a second career in farming. At the same time, he became increasingly disenchanted with his day job with an audio-visual firm. \u201cI was just obsessed with gardening,\u201d Tim says. \u201cThe only thing I wanted to do is come home and spend time in my garden.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He tested the waters in the Farm Dreams and Farm Beginnings programs presented by Angelic Organics Learning Center<\/a> in Caledonia, Illinois. In 2013, he took a giant leap, quitting his job, initiating a land search with Delicia that landed them in Marengo, and working for two years at organic CSA farmer Janet Gamble\u2019s Turtle Creek Gardens<\/a> in Delevan, Wisconsin to learn the ropes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Broadview Farm and Gardens started full production in 2016 but initially eschewed CSA. After a long stretch of surging growth, CSA was struggling at that point in the Chicago region. Tim attributes that mainly to oversaturation, as small farms surged into the space and competed for subscribers. There were other issues too, including limited say over what goes into the CSA boxes, and the challenges getting product to consumers (as few CSAs did home delivery at the time).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet the Browns eased into CSA, recruiting subscribers through the personal relationships they had developed vending at the Woodstock Farmers Market<\/a> in McHenry County and the Edgebrook Farmers Market<\/a> in Rockford. Their farmstands also became their primary pickup points for CSA customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The couple addresses the product selection issue by focusing on the salad ingredients that they feel they do best, and the upfront price issue by creating subscription plans of varying lengths and creating a la carte options. Like many such farms, Broadview rode the CSA revival during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, as supply chain issues and empty shelves prompted many consumers to look to local farms for secure access to food. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And this year, Broadview is tackling the convenience issue by initiating home delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Broadview is on trend in other important ways. The Browns are bullish on the opportunities that hoop houses provide for year-round growing. \u201cThe rewards that they can bring are significant,\u201d Tim says. \u201cI think that anybody growing in the Midwest should have them. I want to put in as many as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He concedes, though, \u201cI can honestly say that I do enjoy the natural built-in breaks in the season like right now. I don’t want to be outside every day battling with the cold, dealing with iced-over equipment and all that kind of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Browns also intend to take advantage of the new Illinois Home to Market Act<\/a> that greatly expands opportunities for farmers to sell value-added products made in their own kitchens to the general public. \u201cThe cottage food law that the Illinois Stewardship Alliance<\/a> was able to help get pushed through has been amazing,\u201d Tim says. \u201cWe can convert some of our stuff into jams, jellies, nectars, preserves, chutneys, whatever, and legally sell it without issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And Tim notes that Broadview will actually be adding kohlrabi to its lineup… just not whole boxes of it. \u201cI’m growing kohlrabi this year for the first time in like seven years. It’s a very limited amount, but I have seen areas where I can fill in my CSA or I can throw them on the [farmers market] table,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find CSA farms near you at www.buyfreshbuylocalillinois.org<\/a>. Just use the filters to search by proximity. Below are just a handful of CSA farms across the state:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm Meat CSA<\/a>, Ottawa: Northern IL<\/p>\n\n\n\n Henry\u2019s Farm<\/a>, Congerville: Central IL<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFind CSAs Near You<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n