Community Supported Agriculture program
The Soul Food Farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program offers pastured chickens, eggs, and a few other products for delivery to centralized pickup locations in the Bay Area.
What's available:
- Chickens (regular): Fresh (not frozen), whole, with heads and feet attached ($6.50/lb., 3.75-4.25 lbs each), shrink wrapped. You may order up to 10 chickens per delivery.
- Chickens (damaged): Chicken legs (and wings) occasionally get damaged during slaughterhouse processing. Alexis has the damaged leg removed and turns the intact mate into confit (see below). These chickens are breast & carcass only. Great for a quick meal + stock. ($4.50/lb, about 1.75-2 lbs.; only 15-20 available per week)
- Eggs: Mixed brown, white & blue/green usually. $6.50/dozen; limited to 1 dozen per customer per delivery as of November until egg production resumes at full strength in the spring. (Chickens lay fewer eggs in the winter unless you employ artificial lights and forced molting practices, which Soul Food does not.)
- Giblets: Hearts, kidneys, gizzards (0.5-lb pkgs, $4/lb)
- Livers: 1-lb pkgs, $6/lb (about 8lbs avail per week)
- Chicken leg confit*: $8/lb, 2 legs per package, or just over 0.5 lbs. The confit is prepared for Soul Food Farm by duck producer Grimaud Farms from Soul Food Farm chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks; see above under Damaged chickens) that have been cooked for 2 hours in duck fat at around 195 degrees. Confit will be available only every few months. For more info, see the Confit FAQs section below.
- Olive oil*: Soul Food Farm's new pastured chicken partner Albert Katz makes olive oil under his Katz label; it is the only California olive oil Chez Panisse uses. Albert is offering CSA members a special deal on his KATZ Organic Chef's Pick EVO 750ml and the Organic Meyer Lemon Olive OIl 375ml, which is terrific with chicken.
*Available starting Nov. 11
Delivery schedule
Deliveries are weekly to rotating locations on Wednesdays, from 5:30-7:30 pm. Pickup locations are private homes manned by member-volunteers; we provide exact addresses when you join the group, and timeliness/promptness guidelines thus apply. See the Delivery FAQs below for minimum order and frequency requirements.
- 1st Wednesday: Emeryville (San Pablo Ave near 62nd Street) & Soul Food Farm in Vacaville
- 2nd Wed: San Francisco/Potrero (Hampshire St. near 22nd)
- 3rd Wed: Berkeley (California St. near Dwight) and Soul Food Farm in Vacaville
- 4th Wed: San Francisco/Hayes Valley (Page St. near Laguna), in Hayes Valley
If we don't offer a pickup in your area, but you would like to be notified if we ever do, please fill out this waiting list form.
Joining & payment
To join, the CSA, new members must pay a $100 deposit up front via PayPal or check. This pays for your first order(s) in advance: it is to insure that if you fail to show up to collect your chicken, we are covered for your order. When you have spent your $100 "commitment" fee, you will pay by cash or check at time of pickup.
To join the CSA, please fill out this form and pay via the guidelines in it.
Frequently asked questions
Please read through the following and if your question is not answered there, email CSA manager Bonnie Powell at csa@soulfoodfarm.com.
Is there a minimum order for delivery?
Yes: at least one regular chicken or 2 damaged chickens per delivery, or if you don't want any chickens, then $25 worth of other items, such as 2 dozen eggs ($14, the current maximum) and 2 packages of liver ($12). Otherwise it is not worth the hassle it causes us to record, process, label, bag, and deliver your order.
Do I have to order every week or every month?
No. Once you pay your $100 advance payment/deposit, you can order as often or as rarely as you like.
Can I order for pickup in Emeryville one week and San Francisco the next?
You order for pickup at any location you choose.
Can I order just eggs?
Sorry, no. Those who want "eggs only" must find a chicken-loving neighbor to team up with for ordering. The eggs are in very high demand with restaurants and we sell them to our CSA members as a courtesy.
Can I order extra eggs?
Sorry, no. Egg production is currently lagging and we are short eggs, which is why there is a 2-dozen maximum per customer per order.
I can't come on Wednesdays. Will you hold my order and let me come another day?
No can do. This is too much trouble to ask of our volunteer hosts, who are busy people just like you. Unless you are picking up from the farm in Vacaville, which case if you arrasnge ahead of time and can pick up before 6 pm the following day, we can hold your order.
What if I join and I decide this isn't for me?
If you are not happy with the CSA, you are free to quit at any time. However, we will not refund the $100 commitment fee or remaining credit unless we have majorly screwed up somehow.
How long will the fresh chickens last in the fridge?
The chickens were slaughtered two days earlier, then rested in a cold-water bath to relax the muscles. They are packaged the day before they are delivered to you. They are thus fine in the fridge for 3-5 more days. Bonnie, the CSA manager, who has somewhat cavalier attitudes to food safety, has cooked them up to 7 days after delivery. They are best if rinsed thoroughly, including the cavity, and then patted dry before cooking.
Can I freeze them?
Yes, Soul Food Farm chickens freeze beautifully in their packaging. It's best if they go in the freezer within a day or two of receiving them.
Can I get my chicken without heads or feet?
No, sorry. We have made this choice with the processor, although they have slipped up a few times and not included them.
OK, OK, but I have never cut off a head or feet before. How do I do it?
Use a big cleaver or sturdy knife to cut between two vertebrae for the neck — one good whack will often do it. For the feet, bend the legs the wrong way back to expose the underside of the knee joint, and you should clearly see where you can cut through the interlocking balls of the joint with a small, sharp knife. They provide great body for homemade chicken stock or tasty dog snacks.
Then what do I do with the heads and feet?
Put them in a bag in the freezer to lend body to the stock you make from your accumulated Soul Food Farm chicken carcasses. What? You don't save your roasted chicken carcasses in the freezer for a big stock-making day? You are missing out! It's easy — here's Alton Brown's recipe, but all you really need for it is the chicken, celery, onions, carrots, and parsley.
How long do the eggs last?
The Soul Food Farm eggs you receive have been laid that very day or the day before. They are thus incredibly fresh compared to supermarket eggs. If refrigerated, they will easily "last" a month or more. Eggs start to lose moisture through their porous shells and to dry, and the membranes begin to loosen; the yolk may not be anchored in the center of the white once the egg is broken. Note: Bonnie, the aforementioned cavalier CSA manager, does not refrigerate her eggs but instead keeps them on the counter, as the English and French do. They cook much better and more conveniently at room temperature, she believes.
Which bits are which in the giblets, and what do I do with them?
Apartment Therapy has a nice visual guide. Note that we sell the livers separately.
What can I do with the giblets besides make gravy and put them in stock?
Spoil your cats (no need to cook them; just slice up and serve to Fluffy. Very good for her healthy.) Serious Eats readers have some ideas for what humans can do with them.
What do I do with the heads and feet?
Many cutures cook and eat them; see this list of recipes. We tend to put them in a bag in the freezer to lend body to the stock you make from your accumulated Soul Food Farm chicken carcasses. What? You don't save your roasted chicken carcasses in the freezer for a big stock-making day? You are missing out! It's easy — here's Alton Brown's recipe, but all you really need for it is the chicken, celery, onions, carrots, and parsley.
How do I heat up the chicken confit?
We recommend you warm up in the oven (some people use microwave) skin side up, approximately 10 to 5 min at 400 degrees or until warm through. Since they are cooked you could also serve them at room temperature.
What do I do with chicken confit?
As Mark Bittman said in his New York Times Bitten blog, chicken confit can serve as "a simple, no-fuss main course that can be crisped up in about 15 minutes. The chicken is good whole or shredded over a bed of lightly dressed greens. Another option is to shred it into a pot of beans with the garlic and some of the olive oil. Or you could go all out and integrate it into a cassoulet."
How long can I store the chicken confit?
12 weeks refrigerated, 2 years if frozen and seal is not broken.
I filled out the form but I didn't get my invite to the Google Group. What do I do?
Did you get a confirmation screen after you clicked Submit? if not, your form did not go trough; please do it again. If you did, but have not gotten a Google Groups invite after a few hours (Bonnie does this manually). then check your spam folder: it would appear to have come from Bonnie's azabpowell Gmail address. Next, go to the Group home page and request an invite.
OK, I joined and went through all your techno-hoops — I paid, I filled out your form, I'm in the Google Group — how do I order?
The delivery schedule, pickup and links to order forms are on a page within the Google Group. It is linked under "Orders and Pickups" in the right column, or find it here. (Only current CSA members can see it.) It also appears in the footer of all Google Group-sent emails.
I got a rotten egg. Ewwww! What do I do?
Let us know, and accept our apologies. Although Soul Food Farm eggs are collected fresh every day from the laying houses, with truly free-ranging hens, every now and then an egg might get overlooked one day and collected later, and if it has a hairline crack, it might have spoiled. The good news is, your nose and eyes will tell you when that has happened.
Pickup is in an hour and I am stuck in traffic/at work/in the emergency room etc. What do I do?
Try to get a friend or family member to pick up in your stead, even if it means mailing payment later or PayPal-ing. If you can't find a sub, email/call the host (their contact info is on that magic page) and ask if you can pick up slightly later, or reschedule. Pickup outside of the regular window is entirely up to their discretion and convenience. Please be mindful of the fact that you are inconveniencing them. If you regularly request an exception at the last minute you may be asked to leave the CSA.
I totally spaced on picking up. What happened to my order?
Most likely the host tried to reach you and when s/he couldn't, made space for it in her fridge. You get one Get Out of Jail Free card for failing to show up (my flight was canceled, my kid was projectile vomiting and I forgot, etc). The host will attempt to store un-picked-up orders in fridge/freezer for up to 48 hours. You are responsible for contacting them ASAP to arrange a mutually convenient second chance. Bonnie will record your no-show. If it happens a second time, you may have to forfeit your order if you have prepaid -- the host gets it for their inconvenience — and if you haven't prepaid, you will still have to pay for it or politely be asked to de-join the CSA.
If your question was not answered here, email CSA manager Bonnie Powell at csa@soulfoodfarm.com.