NA Confidential: Grasshoppers Distribution

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Grasshoppers: Fresh local food for easy pick up at BSB.

Many of you may know about community supported agriculture projects (CSAs), local food distribution networks that help provide stable, predictable incomes to farmers in return for a share of their crops and production.

You may also know about Grasshoppers Distribution, a local CSA that distributes out of their warehouse in Louisville's Portland neighborhood.

From their web site:

Grasshoppers has improvised on this (CSA) model, to offer a multi-farm, all-natural and organically grown program that provides beef, chicken, pork, milk, cheese, and eggs as well as produce. Many of our CSA farms also have their own CSAs and sell at Farmers' Markets or other outlets. Our program provides them with a stable market and fair prices for the additional crops they can produce, creating another stream of income on the farm.

The income generated for Grasshoppers helps us pursue the new frontiers of local food opportunity, such as hospitals, schools, and other institutions. Our farmer-owned business is dedicated to building a local food economy on all levels, and we enthusiastically invite you to join us!

What you may not know is that Grasshoppers has been making deliveries to its New Albany customers each week at the New Albanian Bank Street Brewhouse for the past couple of seasons and wants to continue.

That's where you come in. In order to justify continued weekly deliveries for BSB pick up, Grasshoppers needs to increase its New Albany customer base. If enough people sign up for a CSA share of $18 or more per week and specify New Albany as their pick up location, Grasshoppers will deliver a box of fresh, local, organic food for them weekly or bi-weekly direct to the BSB patio for easy pick up every Wednesday from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. The spring/summer season runs from May 4 - November 18.

There's a wide variety of farm-fresh products available including fruits, vegetables, assorted meats, milk (in real glass bottles), cow and goat cheese, eggs, Blue Dog bread, and even locally produced desserts. You can mix and match the above items, choose a share for two or four people and weekly or bi-weekly delivery, and pay for it all with an upfront investment or on a monthly installment plan. Shareholders can also usually add extra, individual items to their regular weekly or bi-weekly deliveries.

CSAs shares work really well in conjunction with local farmers markets, too, potentially helping to supply items that may not be regularly available at the markets. Do both and consider the Downtown New Albany Farmers Market as well.

An updated Grasshoppers web site with added features like community areas for recipe sharing, guest bloggers, and online order add-ons should be launched soon, but for now:

A Grasshoppers brochure that specifies everything available and prices is here.(PDF)

Online registration and payment is available here.

Be sure to specify New Albany as your preferred pick up location. The spring registration deadline is April 18.

Any questions can be directed to April at Grasshoppers, april(AT)grasshoppersdistribution(DOT)com

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Spread the word about Grasshoppers Distribution/CSA, Wednesdays at Bank Street Brewhouse, and sign up.

Lindsey Gibbs from Grasshoppers Distribution writes:

"We have the Community Supported Agriculture drop at Bank Street Brewhouse on Wednesday evenings. We are trying to increase the New Albany membership to 30 more members for the Harvest Season (August-November). I just wanted to touch base with you and see if you have any suggestions for spreading the word. Just curious if you have any input of things that have worked for you all in the past or have not. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for all that you do. Particularly giving me a place to buy beer on Sunday. (We just became New Albany residents.)"

We can thank the legislature for Sunday growlers. Here's the brochure.