Growers Co-op offers produce alternative this fall

The Western Montana Growers Cooperative brings an alternative for getting produce throughout the fall to Lincoln.

In addition to supplying the wholesale market with fresh local food, the WMGC also delivers to individual community members through their Community Supported Agriculture programs.

The fall season of deliveries runs from Oct.17 through Nov.21 and is now available for sign-ups through their website at wmgcoop.com/csa. If you are not already a member, you will need to login and create an account to place your order for the fall share. Choose Lincoln as you delivery site.Orders must be placed by Oct. 1 to receive the weekly delivery of local produce.

Cost for the fall share is $200, which includes a $30 fee for delivery to Lincoln. Although the amount may seem like a lot, the CSA reminds you to think of the time and expense it usually takes to get into town to shop. Broken down, the cost is roughly $33 per week and includes organically grown produce directly from Montana. Some of the produce supplied, such as squash, onions and apples can be stored to carry participants into the winter months.

Participants may also use their SNAP benefits to purchase all or part of their share.  If it seems like the amount of produce seems too large for you and your family, the WMGC suggests splitting a share with a friend or neighbor. Payment for the share is due in full at the time of purchase and is non-refundable. \

Once signed up, participants can expect to receive a newsletter from CSA Coordinator Claire Battaglia the week prior to delivery explaining what is in the next week's delivery. This enables participants to plan their commercial purchases around what they will receive in their delivery. Also included in the newsletter are recipes and food saving ideas, which can be helpful when there's an abundance of something in the share folks might not know what to do with.

Shares will be available for pick-up from the delivery site during the designated pick-up window and are delivered to each site in either a blue or gray plastic crate labeled with the shareholders name. Once all produce has been gathered, the crates are left with the CSA.

In addition to the produce share, participants are also able to order additional items such as eggs and honey through the website. Orders for these items must be placed by 5 p.m. on Monday of the delivery week. Payment for these items will be due at the time the order is placed and will be delivered that week with your share.

For more information, please contact the CSA directly by phone at 406-544-6135 or via email at [email protected].