Rancocas Creek Farm (RCF) and Cooper Health Care are excited to offer a box share of fresh, chemical-free vegetables, herbs and flowers to Cooper employees. RCF grows a lot of different produce on their farm in Southampton, NJ. Your boxed share will include food like lettuce, sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, garlic, cucumbers, tomatoes, melons, onions, squash and beans. And you’ll get some perhaps lesser-known crops like okra, bok choy, winter radish, collard greens and leeks. Not to mention flowers and herbs.
Fresh, Local Produce—Made Easy with Payroll Deduction
Cooper Health employees can now sign up for a 21-week CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share from Rancocas Creek Farm— with no upfront cost. Through payroll deduction offered at Cooper Solutions, the Health System pre-pays for your share and you reimburse gradually through your paycheck, removing one of the biggest barriers to buying local food.
Why Join the Cooper CSA?
- No large upfront payment – spread the cost over the season
- Save on groceries with a consistent supply of fresh, seasonal produce
- Support a trusted local farm serving South Jersey
- Eat healthier, effortlessly, with weekly inspiration and recipes
Cost to participate
A Full Share (21 weeks) is $700. Cooper Health Care will collect the cost of the shares via a regular payroll deduction during the CSA season that runs from June to October.
Pick-Up Details
- Convenient on-site pickup at Cooper Health Hospital Lobby (in front of the gift shop)
- Thursdays, from 11:30 am to 3:00 pm for the 21 weeks of the CSA starting in June.
Extras You’ll Love
- Weekly emails from Rancocas Creek Farm with box contents, farm updates, and recipes
- A complimentary copy of the Teaspoon of Love cookbook from Roots to Prevention
How to Sign Up
MORE DETAILS NEEDED
Employees enroll via Cooper Solutions payroll deduction.
Fresh food. Flexible payment. One easy pickup each week.
Rancocas Creek Farm
Rancocas Creek Farm (RCF) is a sustainable farm that Pinelands Alliance launched on 72-acres of land that was donated to the Alliance in 2019 by Cindy Yingling, Louis Eni, and Chris Eni. The land, which immediately adjoins the Alliance’s property, had been conventionally farmed for decades in soy.
The goals for the Rancocas Creek Farm are to solve severe stormwater runoff into Vincentown Village and Rancocas Creek; heal damaged soils that do not infiltrate and treat stormwater as they should; create habitat for pollinators and grassland birds; and launch an economically productive chemical-free farm. RCF is located at 17 Pemberton Road, Southampton, NJ 08088.
What is a CSA?
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It is an idea that has been in the United States since the mid-1980s. It is a covenant between the farmers and the members of the community in a relationship that benefits both sides. People purchase a share to the farm before the farm season. Then during the season, members get a weekly distribution from the farm of fresh, chemical-free produce, fruits, flowers, and herbs. This system allows the farmer to mitigate some risks by having a known number of customers and income which also helps immensely in the crop planning and marketing aspects of the farm. And the individuals and families who join get a great value for their food dollar! They receive extremely fresh, delicious produce throughout the growing season.
Our goal is to provide a selection that is diverse, high quality and gives you a lot of value for your food dollar. The CSA model has grown because it works. It has allowed thousands of farms to survive financially and it has helped them put the ‘culture’ back into agriculture.
What food is in a share?
Your CSA share will vary in size and volume from week to week. The share will be lighter early in the season as we produce more lettuces, greens, and peas but will soon grow to include beets, cucumbers, squash, and cabbage! A CSA share, including u-pick crops, will average about 12-15 pounds per week with some weeks weighing in much higher (think late summer!) Our goal is to give you a wide diversity of produce mixing things you probably know and love like lettuce, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, melons, and potatoes, with foods you may not be as familiar with like okra, fennel, collard greens and ‘husk cherries’. We will also provide you with plenty of information about the produce and ways you can cook, store, and enjoy them! Much of this will come in the form of a weekly CSA email with all the news about the food and the farm for the week!
Click here for a list of foods we expect to grow for you.
The actual list will include even more crops AND there will often be many varieties within each crop i.e., cucumbers – slicing cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, white ‘kirby’ cucumbers etc.! And we value your feedback to help guide our future crop plans.
Donate to help families in need
As part of our mission, we will be donating as much produce as we can to those in need. When you purchase your share you have an option to make a tax-deductible donation to the Pinelands Alliance. For every $10 we raise we will grow an additional 15 pounds of fresh produce which will go to New Jersey Farmers Against Hunger, the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen or another meal provider.
