Home Delivery FAQ
When does the service begin?
For 2012, the service will begin the first week of May for new members. For members choosing the 6 month option, this will give the best representation of what produce is available over the growing season. We hope to provide enough items year-round that members will decide to renew their membership through the cold months, as well.
What are your prices? How much will it cost per week?
We certainly understand concerns over pricing, and it can be difficult to weigh out the cost of products vs. the worth to you individually. In general, you can expect our prices to be often lower than what you might find for comparable items at a farmer’s market or grocery store that offers natural, local, sustainably-raised food. The prices fluctuate with the market and are dependent on a few factors:
For 2012, the service will begin the first week of May for new members. For members choosing the 6 month option, this will give the best representation of what produce is available over the growing season. We hope to provide enough items year-round that members will decide to renew their membership through the cold months, as well.
What are your prices? How much will it cost per week?
We certainly understand concerns over pricing, and it can be difficult to weigh out the cost of products vs. the worth to you individually. In general, you can expect our prices to be often lower than what you might find for comparable items at a farmer’s market or grocery store that offers natural, local, sustainably-raised food. The prices fluctuate with the market and are dependent on a few factors:
| • | Goods generally come from one individual farm over the growing season. |
| • | Members pay in advance for the season and have a box prepared for them weekly. Weeks missed are generally lost, given away or donated. |
| • | Members must go to a drop-off point or to the farm to pick up their box. |
| • | Members take a shared risk with the farmer - if the farmer has a great growing season, boxes will be abundant and diverse; a poor growing season may have opposite results. |
| • | Braise sources from many regional farms, each with unique strengths. We also offer everything available locally, including meat, dairy, dry goods and prepared items. We will also be offering house-made bread and other baked goods, jams, relishes, and other prepared items. |
| • | Braise does bring in membership fees up front, but members are billed week-to-week for what they receive. There is no requirement to order weekly. |
| • | Braise will deliver to your home or office every week |
| • | Braise has greater consistency, variety and diversity of product to offer from a large pool of growers and producers. If certain crops are not doing well on one farm, we can often source from another farm. |
Why aren’t you offering the shares like previous years?
Many members love getting a hand-picked box of seasonal, local food. However, each member has different wants, needs, budgets and expectations. We wanted to keep the spirit of the shares while giving many more options and much more flexibility. The Personal Shopper option allows each member to fine-tune their boxes to exactly how they like to eat and on a schedule that works for them. We can accommodate both a family of 5 vegetarians cooking at home every night of the week, or single person who travels 2 weeks out of every month. Want a whole hog every other month? No problem. If you want to structure your deliveries exactly like past years, we can do that, too.
Many members love getting a hand-picked box of seasonal, local food. However, each member has different wants, needs, budgets and expectations. We wanted to keep the spirit of the shares while giving many more options and much more flexibility. The Personal Shopper option allows each member to fine-tune their boxes to exactly how they like to eat and on a schedule that works for them. We can accommodate both a family of 5 vegetarians cooking at home every night of the week, or single person who travels 2 weeks out of every month. Want a whole hog every other month? No problem. If you want to structure your deliveries exactly like past years, we can do that, too.
Traditional CSA
Braise Home Delivery
How is Braise Home Delivery different from a CSA?
| A. | The market can change week-over-week, or year-over-year. This makes it difficult to give out a general price list. |
| B. | We support farms from many different sizes and capabilities, and base our prices on their pricing structure. This ensures that the farmer can operate profitably for their individual farm. |
For example, potatoes from Farm A may be $.60 per pound, while potatoes from Farm B may be $.80 per pound. The difference may be that Farm A has special equipment to help harvest those potatoes, whereas Farm B harvests all of their potatoes by hand. Farm B may have fantastic potatoes, but they need to account for their labor, so their mark-up is higher.
Is all the food organic?
Why do you charge membership fees? What does my membership fee go toward?
Membership fees, broken down by week, range from $2.30 for the 1 year Custom Order to $5.38 for the 6-month Personal Shopper. As with any small business, cash flow is the key to success. It is especially important working with small producers, as timely payment to them ensures a sustainable business for them and for us. We often have to put a deposit down on product or pay upon delivery, so we must keep enough reserves to accommodate this business model.
In addition, it is our goal to have the prices of our food accurately reflect the true cost of the food rather than having a substantial markup built into the price. Membership fees help pay for administrative costs such as the totes to transport the product, office supplies to process the orders and technology to facilitate communication. The membership fees are not deposits for food.
Membership fees, broken down by week, range from $2.30 for the 1 year Custom Order to $5.38 for the 6-month Personal Shopper. As with any small business, cash flow is the key to success. It is especially important working with small producers, as timely payment to them ensures a sustainable business for them and for us. We often have to put a deposit down on product or pay upon delivery, so we must keep enough reserves to accommodate this business model.
In addition, it is our goal to have the prices of our food accurately reflect the true cost of the food rather than having a substantial markup built into the price. Membership fees help pay for administrative costs such as the totes to transport the product, office supplies to process the orders and technology to facilitate communication. The membership fees are not deposits for food.
| • | 95% of the products we source are at or above organic standards |
| • | 80% of the farms are certified organic; the remaining farms use practices that are above organic standards. |