Troy Farm CSA
Offering certified organic CSA shares since 2001
We are moving forward with the Troy Farm community engagement process, and we are looking for input from community members and supporters as the first step in that process.
Rooted manages the 26-acre property at 502 Troy Drive on the Northside of Madison, home to Troy Farm, Troy Community Gardens, Troy Kids’ Garden, a native forest, a food forest, a prairie, and walking trails open to the public. As we look toward the future of this vibrant space, we want to ensure that our plans align with the needs and wishes of our community.
We invite you to share your thoughts and feedback through the Troy Farm Future Survey. Your input will play a crucial role in guiding the future development and enhancements of this cherished site. We look forward to hearing from you and working together to make Troy Farm and Gardens an even better place for our community.
Troy Farm is a vegetable production and education project of Rooted. The farm has been growing certified organic vegetables on Madison’s Northside since 2001, and we are proud to be one of the city’s oldest urban farms.
After much reflection, Rooted decided to pause our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership program at Troy Farm for the 2024 growing season.
What is CSA?
CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, is a relationship between farmers and eaters, or members. CSA is based on a model created by a black farmer named Booker T. Whatley called a Clientele Membership Club. He created it as a way for farmers to sell their produce, connect with customers, and mitigate risk by getting a commitment from customers at the beginning of the growing season. Members were asked to commit to buying a “share” of the harvest from the farmer upfront for the entire season in exchange for a bounty of fresh produce offered throughout the season. Troy Farm is grateful for this model that Booker T. Whatley created to help rebuild local food economies and we continue this tradition by offering CSA members a wide range organic, nutrient dense, and super fresh produce, convenient pickup, and other benefits. Check out the other FAQs to learn more.
The most important aspect of CSA is the relationship part. Farming, as we all know, is very difficult and involves many risks related to weather and several different market factors that can be volatile. At Troy Farm we depend on this relationship with you, as our member, to make growing produce possible. Thank you for your support!
About Troy Farm CSA
Why get a CSA membership from Troy Farm?
- We grow a wide range organic, nutrient dense, and super fresh produce that you can pick up right at the farm on the Northside of Madison! Our location is super convenient and we are right on the B bus line.
- Troy Farm is part of a beautiful 26 acre property full of community gardens, a prairie, and forested areas. We have walking trails that are open to the public, so you can stay a while and enjoy the space. Not to mention we regularly host community events including Pizza nights on our Thursday night CSA pickups!
- Our free U-pick flower, herb, and vegetable garden is located right next to the pickup so you can get extra special goodies when you come.
- We will keep you up to date on farm happenings as well as all the great things we do at Troy Farm and Rooted to provide food access, land access, and urban agriculture education. The CSA is the foundation to support our other work in the community, and you, as a member, are an important part of that!
- Health insurance rebates and incentives for CSA membership are available through GHC and Quartz insurance companies. Ask your insurance provider what they offer. For more information, check out this resource.
How does the Troy Farm CSA work?
Members sign up before the growing season starts in June and pay for their “share” of the produce upfront so that Troy has money to buy seeds and supplies for the season. The farm grows a wide variety of produce in order to offer many different veggies throughout the season. Once the produce is ready to harvest, we clean it and get it ready to distribute.
Each week of the CSA season we will have 10-14 different items available for members to pick up at our farm stand and pack into their own bags. We will let members know how much of each item they can take to make up their produce share. If there are items you don’t want, you can put them into the exchange box for other members to take.
Members are also welcome to pick produce from the U-pick herb, flower, and veggie garden next to the farm stand any time they want. We encourage members to join us for Pizza Nights, and enjoy the walking trails and nature on the 26 acre Troy Farm and Gardens property when they come to pick up their produce as well.
When and where do I pick up my CSA share?
We will be distributing produce shares weekly at the Troy Farm stand every Thursday from June 19th to October 16th between 4:00pm and 7:00pm. Members can sign up for an every week or every other week share.
If you are purchasing an Every Other Week Share, you can choose if you would prefer Schedule A or Schedule B. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to accommodate your selection, but you are more likely to get the schedule you want by making a selection. If you have no preference, you can select the no preference option and we will assign you a schedule.
Schedule A every other week pick up dates are: 6/19, 7/3, 7/17, 7/31, 8/14, 8/28, 9/11, 9/25, and 10/9
Schedule B every other week pick up dates are: 6/26, 7/10, 7/24, 8/7, 8/21, 9/4, 9/18, 10/2, 10/16
The farm stand is located next to the Kids’ Garden towards the front of the Troy Farm and Gardens property at 502 Troy Drive, Madison, WI 53704.
Q&As
What if I can’t afford the cost of membership?
If you can’t afford to make an up front payment for a Troy Farm membership, we do offer an installment payment option that splits the cost of membership into 5 payments over the course of the season.
Thanks to our partnership with the Fairshare CSA Coalition, you may qualify for a discount of up to $350 off the cost of a membership at Troy Farm. You will need to sign up for your Troy Farm membership on the Fairshare website through their Partner Shares program to receive the financial assistance. Sign up starts on January 15, 2025. The program offers flexible payment options such as paying in installments and accepts checks and EBT/SNAP. If you would like to learn more and sign up, please click here. There are a limited number of discounted memberships, so sign up today!
You may qualify for health insurance rebates and incentives for being a CSA member, depending on your provider. Currently GHC and Quartz insurance companies offer these benefits. For more information, check out this resource.
Another affordable option is to work at Troy Farm in exchange for a produce share. If you would like to learn more about volunteering at Troy Farm and receiving a weekly produce share through our worker share program, please click here.
Can I work in exchange for a CSA Membership?
You betcha! If you would like to learn more about volunteering at Troy Farm and receiving a weekly produce share through our worker share program, please click here.
What if I can’t make it to pick up my produce share on a given week?
Farming is a very low profit margin business, and we have to be extremely efficient in the way we market, plan, grow, harvest, and distribute our produce. For this reason, we cannot accommodate cancellations during the growing season. If you cannot come on a given week to pick up your produce, we encourage you to ask a friend, family member, or neighbor to pick it up for you. If you will be out of town, letting them keep your produce is a really nice gift! Signing up for an every other week share can be a way to avoid this problem as well. If no one picks up your share during the pickup time on Thursdays, we will donate the produce to community centers we work with on the Northside of Madison to be distributed to low income families.
What do you grow and what can I expect in my share?
We grow the following vegetables:
Arugula, Basil, Beets, Bok choy, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts , Cabbage, Cauliflower, Carrots, Chard, Cilantro, Collards, Cucumber, Dill , Edamame, Eggplant, Garlic, Garlic Scapes, Green Beans, Green Onions, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lemongrass, Lettuce, Onions, Parsley, Pea Shoots, Hot Peppers, Sweet Peppers, Potatoes, Radishes, Spinach, Summer Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Turnips, Watermelon, Winter Squash
The farm grows a wide variety of produce in order to offer 10-14 different items on a given week throughout the season. Please keep in mind that there are occasionally challenges that are beyond our control such as extreme weather. This may affect what produce and how much we can offer in our CSA share during the season. We aim to grow a diverse selection of crops to mitigate this risk, but we can’t guarantee anything. We appreciate your commitment to share in the risks of farming with us!
What are your growing practices?
We are certified organic! That means we:
- Don’t use synthetic pesticides or fertilizers
- Purchase certified organic seeds and inputs
- Practice crop rotation, cover cropping, and other cultural methods to manage pests and diseases while building the health of the soil
- Use low- and no-till production practices to disturb the soil as little as possible. This protects the biology in the soil as well as the soil structure, which means healthier and more nutritious crops!
- Use organic compost and chicken manure, and organic soil balancing minerals to provide the best nutrition to our crops
- Get inspected every year to ensure that we are following the Organic rules set by the USDA
I can’t become a member at this time, but I want to support Rooted and Troy Farm. How can I do that?
Thank you so much for your interest in Rooted and Troy Farm. There are 3 great ways to support us:
- Volunteer your time and talents to help us make a difference in the community. Troy Farm and Rooted have a variety of opportunities for folks to contribute in ways that speak to them. If you are interested in volunteering, please click here.
- If you would like to make a firm commitment to volunteer 4 hours a week during the growing season at Troy Farm in exchange for a produce share, please click here.
- We always welcome donations in any amount and at any time. Rooted has a large impact on the community, from increasing food access and land access to providing urban agriculture education for youth across Madison. Your donation helps make all this happen! Please click here to donate.
Get involved at Troy Farm
Troy Farm Annual Plant Sale
The Troy Farm Plant Sale is May 11, 2024. It’s the perfect place to stock up on plant starts and seeds for your home or community vegetable gardens.
We're hiring
Rooted is hiring for several seasonal positions at Troy Farm. Full job descriptions and information about how to apply can be found on the careers page.
Worker Shares
A worker share volunteer helps the farm and gets a weekly free pre-packed produce box in return. Troy Farm offers a number of different worker shares.
Volunteer
Are you interested in volunteering at Troy Farm or in another Rooted program? Our programs are possible thanks to the support of community members who help us plant, harvest, sort, weed, and more. There are many types of volunteer opportunities available. Please fill out our volunteer interest form to receive more information.
Thursday Nights at Troy
502 Troy Drive, Madison
Thursdays 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Our farm stand is more than just a place to find farm-fresh vegetables, it’s a community event. On Thursdays starting in mid-June, meals prepared by local chefs featuring Troy Farm veggies are available for purchase during the farm stand. Prices and menus will vary from week to week, so be sure to check the Rooted events calendar and our social media pages for details. Many weeks, we will also have live music and activities. Grab a picnic blanket or sit at a picnic table under the tent and join us!
Where to purchase
Troy Farm Stand
502 Troy Drive, Madison
Thursdays, 3:30pm-6:30pm
June – October
Join us for Thursday Nights at Troy for farm fresh prepared food, live music, fresh produce at the farm stand, fun activities, and tours of Troy Land and Gardens.
Northside Farmers Market
2901 N Sherman Avenue, Madison
Sundays, 8:30am-12:30pm
May – October
The Northside Farmers Market has been bringing fresh, healthy food to the Northside of Madison for 15 years.
Wholesale
Sprouts
We started our sprout business in 2006. We are excited to grow something fresh that we can supply year-round. We offer a full line of sprouts, including mung beans, lentil mixes, peas, broccoli, and mixes with alfalfa and clover.
Customers can find our fresh sprouts year-round at several grocery stores in Madison including:
- All three Willy Street Co-op locations
- Metcalfe’s Market (Hilldale Shopping Center)
- Eastside Hy-Vee at 3801 East Washington Ave.
Herbs
We grow and package certified organic basil, thyme, mint, oregano, chives, sage, parsley, and dill. Customers can find our packaged herbs for sale seasonally at Willy Street Co-op locations and Metcalfe’s Market at Hilldale Shopping Center.
Special thanks to our wholesale partners
We are MOSA-certified organic farm!
