Spots in the CSA program are limited for this first year.
DOTHAN , Ala. - A fourth-generation Wiregrass farmer is giving locals a new way to eat fresh this summer — and you only have until May 19th to get in on it.
Bell Farms is launching its first-ever Community Supported Agriculture produce box program in Dothan. For $250 paid upfront, subscribers get a box of locally grown fruits and vegetables every week for 10 weeks — each box valued at $35. That’s a savings of roughly $100 compared to buying each box individually.
“It’s a 10-week program. You pay up front $250. You’re guaranteed 10 weeks a box of various produce with a $35 value. So you’re saving basically $100 by paying up front,” said David Bell, owner and farmer at Bell Farms.
“It’s a program that’s sort of called Community Supported Agriculture. It’s a CSA program. ” The program kicks off with first pick-up on May 26th. Each week, subscribers receive an email Sunday or Monday letting them know what’s in the box, then head to pick it up Tuesday or Wednesday.
What’s inside changes week to week based on what’s at peak on the farm. Bell Farms works several hundred acres of produce throughout the year. Early in the summer, expect strawberries, cucumbers, squash, and new potatoes. As the season rolls on, the boxes get even fuller.
“As the summer goes along, we get started on our tomatoes and our pepper and watermelons, cantaloupes,” Bell said. “We’re tied up with a peach orchard up in Chilton County. So peaches will be incorporated into it — it’ll just be a variety of local produce grown here around our area. ” The idea itself came from Bell’s oldest daughter, a student at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia.
Bell Farms is a true family operation — David works alongside his father, his two daughters, and his wife, who comes straight to the farm after her day job every evening.
“Actually, this was an idea that my oldest daughter had over in school at ABAC,” Bell said. “She said, ‘Hey, let’s try it. ’ I said, ‘Hey, go for it. It can’t hurt nothing.
’” The timing of the program is no accident. Spring is the most expensive season for farmers — when all the money goes into the ground before a single dollar comes back in. Bell says input costs have skyrocketed in recent months. Fertilizer that ran $400 to $450 per ton last year now costs close to $1,000 — nearly double.
Fuel costs have surged too, with tractors burning diesel at $4 to $5 a gallon.
“Right now we’re seeing record input costs — high fertilizer, high fuel — and that puts a toll on us because we’re spending it with very little coming in,” Bell said. “So that helps us out and it helps the consumer to guarantee you 10 weeks of local produce. ” The upfront payment from CSA subscribers helps offset those costs before the harvest even begins — and for locals, it means knowing exactly where their food is coming from.
“It helps the farmers out and when you shop local, the money is going back into the community,” Cunningham said. “When you’re out at the farmers market, the producers are there and they talk about the fruit and everything. So it makes you feel really welcoming just knowing, hey, I’m supporting someone local. Just knowing where the fruit is coming from, knowing who the farmers are, and knowing that they’re local — that’s very important.
” Bell Farms also sells produce at its stand on Highway 231, which is opening soon, and participates in several area farmers markets, including Poplar Head Farmers Market at the Farm Center, the Eufaula Farmers Market, and the Ashford Farmers Market, which is returning this year. Spots in the CSA program are limited for this first year. The deadline to pay is May 19th, with first pick-up beginning May 26th.
The sign-up form is available on the Bell Farms Facebook page. Download the WTVY News4 app to get alerts and stories the moment they are published. Available for FREE in theJudge imposes longest non-life sentence in Houston County history
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