Live in North Cowichan or Duncan? Get farm-fresh, locally grown produce delivered to your door this summer . . . by BIKE!
Hold onto your socks . . . Makaria Farm and Cowichan Recyclists have combined forces to offer bicycle delivery of farm-fresh Cowichan produce to North Cowichan & Duncan homes and workplaces this summer.
Every Tuesday from June through November, Cowichan Recyclists will deliver bags of Makaria Farm’s fresh-picked vegetables to homes and workplaces around downtown Duncan and neighbouring streets using bicycles and trailers.
What’s the deal?
We (Makaria Farm) offer an awesome Vegetable Share (CSA) Program each summer. Our members get a bag of tasty produce every week for 21 weeks, from June to November. Each bag includes 7 to 9 different kinds of vegetables that are in season that week, from lettuce and baby spinach to carrots and broccoli. Everything is organically grown and picked fresh from our farm.
We wanted an environmentally-friendly way to deliver these bags, and just happen to have an amazing local company in Duncan that uses bikes and trailers to pick up recycling: Cowichan Recyclists!
We’ve partnered to offer bicycle delivery of our produce in North Cowichan & Duncan this summer as a pilot project.
What does it cost?
Just under $23 per week, including delivery, for a “full share” bag of vegetables.
Plus, if we deliver 3 or more bags to a single address each week, delivery is FREE and the vegetables cost just under $21 per week.
Why delivery?
Instead of having to fit in a trip to the grocery store between work and dinner time, your bag of vegetables will be delivered to you each week at your home or workplace, or wherever it’s most convenient for you.
What is CSA?
“Community supported agriculture” is a win-win arrangement between a farm and its customers. Customers sign up and pay in early spring, which helps us plan our farming season and pay for seeds and other expenses. Then, CSA members receive a share of the harvest through the growing season. (For more details on our CSA program, click here.)
Will the vegetables stay fresh and clean when being transported by bike?
Yes. Cowichan Recyclists have custom-designed a trailer with new, clean totes to ensure the vegetables stay cool and shaded while they’re being transported. The vegetable bags will be delivered within hours of being packed at the farm.
What’s the deadline to sign up?
You can register anytime before June. But it does help if you sign up earlier, because it helps us plan what to grow, pay for seeds and hire early-season farm staff.
What’s the bike delivery area?
Cowichan Recyclists will deliver to our CSA members within the mapped area below. Deliveries to members outside of the area will be made by Makaria Farm in a vehicle. All members also have the option of picking of their weekly bags directly from the farm in Cowichan Station.
View CSA Bike Delivery Zone in a larger map
How can I support this pilot project?
Everyone in the Cowichan and Victoria is invited to sign up for our Vegetable Share CSA Program. We offer vehicle delivery to Cowichan communities from Chemainus to Mill Bay, and in the Victoria area. If your delivery address is within the North Cowichan & Duncan bike delivery area, Cowichan Recyclists will be bringing a bag of fresh vegetables to your door each week this summer. To sign up, click here.
