Farm Bags
We partner with Sun Produce to distribute locally grown fruits, vegetables, and prepared food items though a community-supported agriculture program.
Each Farm Bag subscription is loaded with locally grown produce from farmers right here in Arizona. Each bag contains 4-8 different types of produce.
Summer Pick Up : 1St. Saturday of the Month – 9:45–10:45 – June thru September.
School Year Pick Up: 1st & 3rd Saturdays of the Month – 9:00 am -10:00 am – October thru May
Order Deadline: Noon on Saturday prior to the following Saturday distribution.
Order Your Fresh Produce Bag
You will receive a Farm Bag of freshly harvested produce on each Saturday morning. 8% of your payment will be donated to support the Clark Park Community Garden.
Farm Bag F.A.Q
Why should I sign up for a Farm Bag subscription?
A Sun Produce Farm Bag subscription provides you with locally grown and freshly harvested produce that is healthy for you, your family, and the community. It saves you time at the grocery store, and keeps your fridge stocked with fresh produce to keep your well-being on track.
What is CSA?
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Traditionally, a CSA is a mutually beneficial way for local farmers and community members to help one another. Participating CSA members benefit by receiving local, naturally produced, and the freshest and most long-lasting produce. And the farm members receive consistent monetary support through the community members’ continued CSA subscriptions. They grow a calculated amount of food to meet the needs of the community. This in turn limits food waste and helps prevent the miscalculation of needed products.
Sun Produce Co-Op’s CSA / Farm Bag program promotes greater food security for our state, helps keep our member farms farming, and even promotes a cleaner environment, since there are less food miles from the farms to your table.
How does the Farm Bag subscription work?
The Co-op’s CSA / Farm Bag program provides easy affordable access to nutritious local food options and supports place-based wellness strategies. It offers a healthy fundraising component for your school or business while supporting local farmers. At the locations participating in the fundraising component, a portion of the sale of each bag goes back to the site to support specific programs and projects.
Since the Farm Bag subscription is site-based, depending on the site you choose to support and participate in, you will pick up your produce either weekly or bi-weekly. You will receive a variety of items based on what is in season. The site you choose may offer different sizes of Farm Bags, each with a different price – to meet the needs of different households. You will be able to choose the size and price you prefer.
After you create an account and choose the site and size bag you want, you will create a subscription and begin your journey to plan your meals to include the freshest local veggies and fruits while supporting local farmers!
How do I pay with SNAP / EBT?
Sun Produce Co-op gladly accepts SNAP / EBT as a form of payment. Because this type of purchase must be made in person, if you are a SNAP / EBT customer, please follow this process to ensure you receive your Farm Bag: Sign yourself up for a site location, select the SNAP / EBT Bag size you want, and when you check out, it should have automatically chosen “pay-by-check” option. You do not need to send or bring a “check.” Just bring your SNAP / EBT card to pick-up location to pay for your Bag.**
Some sites offer a price-match option for customers paying with their SNAP / EBT cards. This match program is called Double Up Food Bucks AZ and is sponsored by Pinnacle Prevention. The match program is like getting half off the price of the Bag. It works like this: Because we can’t process SNAP / EBT online, you would pay the first time you come to pick up your Farm Bag for the option you have chosen.
**USDA SNAP rules mandate that SNAP / EBT customers have to swipe your Quest card in person plus put in your PIN themselves. When you order this way, you won’t be charge anything on your card – you are just letting us know to make up a bag for you. However, you ARE making a commitment to come pick up your Bag so it does not go to waste. The Co-op still has to pay the farmers whether it is picked up or not and we know you also want to keep it from going to waste. Please remember to bring your SNAP Benefits card to each pick up so we can collect payment.
How Do I Get My Farm Bag?
Your Farm Bag will be delivered to the site you choose at a specific day of the week and time. Please check that the pick-up times are convenient for you before subscribing.
What happens if I do not / forget to pick up my Farm Bag?
Any unclaimed boxes will be donated to a local food bank or community organization. There are no credit, refunds, or exchange for unclaimed Farm Bags.
Can I place my Farm Bag on hold?
Life happens and we are not always home or able to pick up and/or use our farm bag. Subscribers can go on-line and place a hold on their subscription at any time. To make sure you don’t have to pay for the bag you want held, your hold must be placed by noon the Friday before the pick-up you would like to place on hold.
How do I cancel my subscription?
To cancel your subscription, log into your member dashboard, click on “view modify subscription,” select “cancel my subscription.” At this point a box will pop up. Just select “cancel my subscription” again. From here, you will get a confirmation page. If you do not, please notify us at sunproducecoop@gmail.com.
What happens when I cancel my subscription?
Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. However, if your subscription is cancelled after that week’s deadline (Friday at noon the week before), you will be billed for that box, and the cancellation will take effect for the following week. There are no auto-refunds, credits, or exchanges. Once you have been billed for the box, a cancellation for that week is not possible. If you are billed for a box because you did not cancel in time, you can pick it up. If not, it will be donated to a family in need.
About Sun Produce Cooperative (SPC)
Sun Produce Cooperative (SPC) is a multi-stakeholder agricultural and marketing organization that includes agricultural producers, distributors, buyers and market specialists.
Its mission is to create viable alternative distribution streams for Arizona’s smaller-scale producers, reduce barriers to market entry, gain economies of scale through its aggregate size, and leverage cooperative branding and marketing and supply purchasing efforts, while creating demand for and expanded access to fresh in-season local food.
The co-op model supports its members to combine product volume and variety as well as resources and expertise in order to expand reach into new markets. SPC connects increased consumption of local food for better over-all individual and community health to farm viability and economic development.
The co-op coordinates farmer- and distributor-member production, aggregation and distribution to increase sales of locally-produced fruits and vegetables. It serves children and families, restaurants, wholesalers, neighborhood grocery stores, farmers markets, schools, food banks, hospitals and others who want to provide locally-grown food to their customers. Partnerships with Pivot Produce in Pima County and farms in Yavapai County allow Sun Produce to offer produce throughout the Valley of the Sun, southern Arizona, and to be working to expand its reach north.
For more information on becoming a co-op member, contact sunproducecoop@gmail.com
Looking for a Volunteer Opportunity?
Come help us distribute produce from local farms to families in your neighborhood!
Activities Include:
-Help receive the biweekly order from Sun Produce
-Help sort the produce into individual bags
-Ensure each bag contains the right items
-Having fun with your fellow volunteers
-Learning about organic agriculture
While being able to lift/carry heavy items will be helpful, it is not required. The ability to sort, pay attention to detail, and have fun is of much greater importance.
