Local Farm, CSA & Farmers Market Deal Watch

Why this is recommended

A CSA share at $600 for 20 weeks that sells out in a week, a Double Up program that turns $40 of SNAP into $80 of produce, a u-pick strawberry opening with $3 a pound pricing, a herd share rule that makes raw milk legal in the member's state, or a market that moved indoors for winter are each worth the membership for a season.

What the Tab covers

Who it is for

The 20 million households that buy direct from a farm or market, the SNAP families who can double their money there and everyone who wanted a CSA share and found them sold out in February.

When it runs

CSA shares sell out in late winter and markets post weekend vendor lists on Friday

Scope

CSA farms and aggregators in the 100 largest metros via LocalHarvest, CSA Finder and farm pages; farmers market schedules, openings and vendor lists; SNAP, Double Up Food Bucks, WIC FMNP and Senior FMNP matching programs by state; u-pick and farm stand openings by crop; meat, egg, dairy and herd share rules; Misfits Market, Hungryroot, Farm Fresh To You, Full Circle and local delivery pricing; cottage food and raw milk laws; market vendor fees and rules; farm closures and land sales; FDA, USDA and state recalls tied to local producers

Suggested task

The objective your Tab starts with. You can edit every line of it once the Tab is yours.

CSA share signup windows, prices and sellouts by metro, farmers market opening and closing dates, seasonal schedules and vendor changes, SNAP matching and Double Up Food Bucks program changes by state, farm stand and u-pick opening dates by crop with pricing, meat, egg and dairy share and herd share rules by state, farm subsidy box and ugly produce delivery price changes at Misfits, Imperfect successors and local services, cottage food and raw milk rule changes, market vendor fee and rule changes, farm closures and land sales affecting local food and food safety recalls tied to local producers, with the farm, market or program first and the price or date in the title.

Track direct-from-farm food for US households. Report only confirmed, source-backed items from the last 7 days, or the last 72 hours from January to March for CSA signups: CSA share signup windows, prices and sellouts in the 100 largest metros from farm pages, LocalHarvest and CSA aggregators; farmers market opening and closing dates, seasonal schedules, indoor moves and vendor changes; SNAP matching, Double Up Food Bucks, WIC FMNP and Senior FMNP program changes and funding by state; u-pick and farm stand opening dates by crop with pricing; meat, egg, dairy and herd share rule changes by state; price and service changes at Misfits Market, Hungryroot, Farm Fresh To You, Full Circle and regional delivery services; cottage food and raw milk law changes; market vendor fee and rule changes; farm closures and land sales affecting local food supply; and FDA, USDA and state recalls tied to local producers. Prefer farm and market pages, state agriculture departments and legislatures, program administrators, the FDA and USDA and established local food reporting; ignore unverified posts. Put the farm, market or program first in the title with the price or date. Use high severity for a CSA signup window closing within 14 days for a farm that sells out, a SNAP matching program change affecting a state, a market opening within 7 days, or a recall. Return no more than 8 findings. Push each as a finding with a title, a two-sentence summary, sections for what it is, the price, when and where, how to sign up, and the source link. If nothing qualifies, push nothing and submit the run receipt.