Weekly Pre-Order Info, Rock to Rock and Virtual Workshops

Subscribe to our 2020 CSA

Dear friends of the farm,

Small farms are playing an extremely important role in providing food to communities during this pandemic. The weekly pre-order and farm pickup that we have been offering is part of that, and the CSA (community supported agriculture) we offer, which runs from June through October, is the best way to secure fresh, organic produce from us this summer. If you haven’t done so already, this is the time to subscribe to our CSA to receive 10 or 20 weeks of fresh vegetables over the season. A fruit add-on is also available from High Hill Orchard. We have seen a great surge of interest over the last month, as well as a number of questions on how we plan to operate. Know that we are committed to making our produce available to you in a safe manner and are prepared to make adjustments to our CSA if needed, including continuing the no-contact pickup protocols, pre-bagged or boxed distributions that we are currently using with our weekly pre-orders. We are exploring expanded delivery options for subscribers, and more “add-on items” from other farms like we currently offer with the fruit. We will be in communication with regular updates from the farm and CSA details in the weeks ahead and leading up to our anticipated first CSA distributions in mid June, tentatively scheduled for either the week of June 8 or 15.

Spring Seedling Sale

We know that in addition to bringing food safely in to your home, many of you are interested in growing your own food as well. We have been offering an organic seedling sale each May over the last decade as part of our Celebrate Spring event. Though we don’t typically make seedlings available before then, we’ve shifted a bit this year in response to COVID-19 so that we can offer plants later in April and throughout the month of May. Stay tuned to our newsletter and social media posts, as we’ll announce seedling availability and offer them for sale on our web store.

Weekly Online Pre-Orders Continue

Please follow these instructions to place an order to be picked up at the farm on Friday, April 10.  Order and pre-pay on our web store by Wednesday night, 8pm.
You will receive a confirmation email with a link to schedule your pick up.
Please be sure to use the link in your confirmation email to schedule a pickup time slot on Friday.  Pickup at the farm is Friday afternoon, 11:30am-5pm. Pickup times are divided in to 30 minute increments, with limited number of pickups allowed to prevent traffic and crowding. The first pickup time-slot is 11:30am-12pm, the final time-slot is 4:30-5pm.
The online store seems to send a noted time when your order will be ready, PLEASE IGNORE IT, the time-slot you select for pickup is the time when you should come to the farm and your order will be ready for you.
Your order will be pre-assembled in a bag or box, with your name on it.
We will greet you at a safe distance outside the barn when you arrive, take your name, and bring out your order. Your order will be placed on a table for you to pick up. If needed, we can set your order in the trunk of your vehicle while maintaining social distance.
When you come to pick up your order, please use extra caution, extraordinary hygiene and social distancing. The barn, fields and animals are otherwise closed to visitors at this time. The nature trail is open for walking.

Products available for pre-order on our web store:

Massaro Community Farm
Produce Bundle – $16/bundle for 1lb of baby carrots and 1lb of mixed kale/chard
Heirloom Salsa – $6/jar, 4 jars for $20 (limit 4 jars)
Marinara Sauce – $8/jar, 2 jars for $15 (limit 4 jars)
Crushed Tomatoes – $8/jar, 2 jars for $15 (limit 4 jars)
Local Honey – $6/8oz jar (from Jones Apiaries)

Kids Take-Home Education Kit: Bees, Butterflies, Oh My! – $12
This week, kids will start their very own pollinator garden, make a special home for solitary bees, create a “save the pollinators” bracelet, and try some honey! As always, kids will have the option to join our live video call on Saturday, or create the crafts at their own pace while following along with the recorded video.

Four Root Farm – East Haddam, CT
Daffodils, 10 stem bunch – $11
Anemones, 10 stem bunch in a pint jar – $16

Before and After Farms – Woodbridge, CT
Sweet Italian Sausage, 1.5 lbs – $15
Hot Italian Sausage, 1.5 lbs – $15
Hot Cheese and Parsley Sausage, 1.5 lbs – $15
Breakfast Sausage, 1.5 lbs – $15
Kielbasa (fresh, not smoked), 1.5 lbs – $15
Oui Charcuterie Salami: sweet, medium or hot – $15

Seacoast Mushrooms – Mystic, CT
Shiitake Mushrooms, 4oz – $4
Chef’s Mushroom Mix, 8oz – $8

Five Acre Farms – partnering with farms in CT, NY and VT
Eggs, dozen – $6
Whole milk, half gallon – $4
Buttermilk, quart – $5
Kefir, quart – $5
Greek yogurt, 32oz – $7.50

The health of our farm guests, volunteers and staff is a priority at Massaro Community Farm. We are closely monitoring guidance issued by the Town of Woodbridge, State of Connecticut, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control to evaluate program offerings and keep you updated.

Rock to Rock 2020 – Support Fresh Vegetable Donations to Hunger Relief

The annual Rock to Rock Earth Day celebration will go on this year in a slightly modified format. Massaro’s Team Melonheads joins other registrants in opting for their own activity (cycling, walking, or another climate-friendly activity) to raise funds for our food donation program. Massaro Community Farm relies on this event as a significant source of funds.  Won’t you join our team ($5 registration fee!) or make a pledge to one of our team members as they collectively work to reach a 1,000-mile team relay? (We already passed our 500-mile goal and are increasing our team goal!) The fundraising platform will remain open through the end of May. If your income hasn’t been impaired by the current crisis, and you’ve saved on routine expenses (gas, dry cleaning, movies, restaurants), consider applying those savings to the Massaro Melonheads fundraiser. You’ll be supporting the donation of thousands of pounds of fresh vegetables to local hunger relief, which we know will be needed more than ever in 2020.

Upcoming Virtual Workshops

Register today for our Beekeeping Workshop on spring hive inspections, April 18 at 9:00am. This will be brought to you LIVE via Zoom. Use the link below to register and you’ll receive a link to join us LIVE online Saturday morning. Can’t make 9:00am? We’ll share the video afterward.  In the spirit of producing your own food, on Saturday, April 25 at 9:30am, we’ll conduct a FREE LIVE virtual workshop on Keeping Backyard Chickens. This workshop is anticipated to run ~90 minutes. It will also be recorded and shared later for you to view at your convenience. However, if you’d appreciate the opportunity ask questions of our livestock expert, Corey Thomas, you are encouraged to register and join us on Saturday morning. Once registered, we’ll send you a link to join us online.