CSA Member Handbook

About the Farm

Meet Tom & Constance Broz

In the mid-1990s, Tom and Constance Broz — a self-described city boy and his wife — moved to Watsonville and joined UC Santa Cruz's Farm Apprenticeship Program. What started as a way to reconnect with community and the natural world quickly became a lifelong calling. In 1996, they launched Live Earth Farm, gradually transforming 20 acres of overgrazed pasture into the diverse, thriving 65-acre organic farm it is today. Tom's fundamental goal remains the same after nearly three decades: bringing food production and nature back together.

Certified Organic, Naturally Grown

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For us, organic means more than avoiding synthetic chemicals — we treat our farm as a living organism, developing a deeper connection with the earth, the community, and the environment around us. We grow over 50 different crops across 65 acres using sustainable, regenerative methods that prioritize healthy soil and protect local biodiversity.

Learn more about our growing practices here.

Membership Perks

Join 800+ households who receive a fully customizable box of certified organic produce every week. Unlike traditional CSAs, Live Earth Farm lets you choose exactly what goes in your box — swap items, adjust quantities, and skip weeks whenever you need to. It's farm-fresh eating on your terms, year-round.

  • Your choice of freshly harvested items every week
  • Weekly recipes
  • Convenient local pickup
  • SMS alerts and reminders
  • Add-on extras (like fruit and bread!)
  • Skip when you need to

Add-Ons

Add extras to your order by the cutoff (Monday at 11am). No need to grab your credit card—we’ll automatically charge the one you have on file.

Pickup & Delivery

Skip or modify your upcoming order by:
Monday at 11am

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We'll text/email you each week before we harvest, and you'll have until that week's cutoff time to select your custom items, add extras to your order, and/or to notify us if you need to skip the week's share.

Heading out of town or need to skip a week? No problem - just reply “skip” to the weekly harvest alert by your order cutoff time.

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⏭️ How to Skip an Order

FAQ & Policies

What is the weekly order minimum?

The minimum value of a CSA only Share is $28.00.

There is no maximum to the amount you can order, so if you want to double up on your Share one week, you could double the quantities of each item in it. You will also be able to add other items, not part of the pre-selected contents, that may be available in limited quantities.

Can I add and remove items from my Share?

Yes, based on the week’s harvests and availability, you can both add to and remove from the pre-selected items already in your Share. For instance, the Share could contain beets and carrots, and you will be able to remove the beets and add more carrots if you wish. There may also be other items, available in limited quantities and not included in the pre-selected contents, that you can add to your Share.

What happens if I don’t edit my Share contents?

If you do not edit the contents of your Share, you will receive the pre-selected items as your Share for the week. All Shares will be labeled with the name of the member to whom it belongs. The total average value of the pre-selected Share contents will be $28.

What are the member terms and policies?


As a Member of our Community Supported Agriculture Program, it is your responsibility to pick up your Share during listed Pick-up Hours on the correct Pick-up Day for the Location you are signed up at.

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Live Earth Farm does not reimburse for Shares not picked up during listed hours when pick-up protocol and other instructions were not followed.

‍Any Shares remaining at the close of Pick-up Hours may be donated by the Site Host, so be sure to pick up your Share during the listed hours on the correct day.

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It’s very important to understand and follow our Pick-up Protocol and Policies, as they are meant to make the CSA experience a positive one and are integral to the successful operation of our program! Not following instructions leads to problems, and chronic abusers may be asked to leave our membership.

Subscription Policies

‍CSA Subscriptions are Ongoing

Weekly CSA Shares continue based on our Pick-up Schedule unless a Delivery Hold is placed (see below) or a Subscription is canceled (see Cancellation Policy below).

Missing, Incorrect or Spoiled Items

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If an item is spoiled, missing or incorrect, let us know right away by emailing the office at farmers@cruzio.com.  

We will always credit for something that arrives in poor quality. The cause of missing or incorrect items could include a packing mistake or substitution. If/when we know in advance, we do our best to send email notice of substitutions or missing items. We will always credit for a substitute item you can’t use, or a missing one we didn’t already remove from an online order prior to charge.

‍Missing CSA Share

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If your Share is missing at the Pick up Site during listed hours, let us know right away by emailing the office at farmers@cruzio.com.  We will give credit for the Share if it is determined it was taken by someone else or otherwise missing due to an error on our part.  Shares must be picked up on the correct day during listed pick hours.  

The farm does not credit for Shares that are missing outside of pick up day/hours.

‍Subscription Delivery Holds

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It is your responsibility to schedule and manage Delivery Holds, which you can place on your subscription through your online account.  

When a Delivery Hold is in place, nothing is delivered and nothing is debited from your balance. Holds can be for one or more weeks at a time.
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Cancellation Policy

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Subscriptions are for a minimum of 4 Shares. We kindly request two weeks notice of cancellation.

Giving notice allows time to cancel automatic recurring payments and work out how a credit balance, if there is any, can best be used up. For example, if you decide you need to cancel your subscription three weeks after joining and give us two weeks notice, you could receive up to a total of 5 Shares to use up an initial pre-paid credit of $150 on account.

Once shares are stopped, any credit balance left on your account after all Shares and other possible costs have been deducted will be refunded to you by check (see Refund Policy below).

‍Refund Policy

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We hope to be able to work with you to use up any credit balance with a final Share, or you may donate your balance (see below).
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Any “Bonus Credit” added at the time a payment was made will NOT be included in the refund amount, so deducting this credit from an account balance may result in no refund.Refunds are made by check within 30 days of the last Share and are mailed to the address in your account Contact Info unless you provide us with a different
address.

‍DONATE YOUR REFUND TO OUR EDUCATION PROGRAM
Support our food education non-profit, Farm Discovery, by donating all or part of your credit balance, and receive a tax deduction! Farm Discovery is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, so all donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Farm Discovery will provide you with a donation thank-you letter with their Tax ID for your records. And the children who participate in and benefit from this educational program will be most grateful!

‍Payment for Shares is In-Advance

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At the end of each pick up day the value of the order is deducted from a pre-paid account balance.  If a balance goes negative and remains so, the CSA Subscription can be put on hold by the farm without further notice.

‍Returned-check Policy (this includes EChecks)If a paper check or an ACH/Electronic Check payment is returned for any reason, we reserve the right to collect a fee equal to the amount of all bank fees we are charged plus $25.00 to cover the logistical costs inherent in correcting the situation/arranging for replacement payment, etc.

‍Splitting a Subscription

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You are welcome to split a Subscription with someone, however, the Subscription is the responsibility of the Primary Member who signed up.  We do not manage the splitting of Share contents, and the Primary Member listed on account is responsible for any balance due for the Subscription.The person splitting the Subscription can be added as a Secondary Contact in the Account.  Click on the Contact Info tab in your online account to add their email address and click a box so they will receive any member-specific email communications and alerts. Or, use a shared email address (set it to forward reminders to your individual addresses) and password so you can both log in to the web store to edit Share contents.

‍Communications

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We communicate with our membership primarily through email, social media and posts published on our web site.  Member-specific emails include information about what will be in your upcoming CSA Share and other details about your CSA Subscription. We also send newsletter-type announcements to our CSA Community about upcoming Farm Events and Community Farm Days.

‍As a member of our CSA program, you understand it is your responsibility to open and read the emails we send so that you stay informed.  
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If your email address changes, you need to update it in the Contact Info tab of your online account (to continue to receive member-specific alerts).

‍To help you receive and filter emails from us, we do our best to include either Live Earth Farm or Live Earth Farm CSA in the Subject line of our emails.  The address our member-specific alerts are sent from is hello@gofarmhand.com so please make sure to add this address to your contact list so our alerts reach your inbox.  

Weekly emails include –Reminder emails for making changes to Share contents and your Subscription are sent on certain days prior to Pick-up Day.  

Though we send reminder emails, it is your responsibility to remember to edit your Share Contents or schedule a Delivery Hold, and we highly recommend creating your own reminders rather than relying on the emails.

A “It’s Pick-up Day” email/SMS is sent the morning of your Pick-up Day if you are receiving a Share for the week.  This email confirms your Share contents, Pick-up Location and its Pick-up Day and Hours, and other Subscription details.  We highly recommend creating your own reminder for picking up your Share during listed Pick-up Hours on the correct Pick-up Day.

‍If you are not receiving these member-specific emails, check your junk/spam folder since emails sent through our CSA software service sometimes end up there (see above about filtering emails).  We also suggest using a personal email address instead of a work one.

Member Tips & Resources

Preserving Your Produce

We get it—bringing home a box bursting with fresh, unfamiliar produce can be a bit overwhelming. No worries! Consider us your culinary compass, steering you with fresh recipes and tips.

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Storage Tips:

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We harvest our produce at its prime, ensuring peak freshness and longevity compared to grocery store counterparts. Follow these tried and true tips to make that farm-fresh flavor last:

  • Get your farm box to a cool location ASAP. Nothing ruins fresh produce faster than the hot sun! If you’re out running errands, we recommend making the farm your last stop to avoid spoilage. If you get delivery, please be sure you have a shady spot for us to leave your box.
  • Take the tops off your carrots and beets right away when you get home to preserve freshness.
  • Wash, dry, and store your greens in a bag (our favorites here!) with some wet paper towels and place in the fridge.

Remember to thoroughly wash all produce before consuming!

Kitchen Tools & Gadgets

Level up from CSA Member to CSA Master with tools and gadgets handpicked to help you maximize the enjoyment of your farm box.

  • Salad spinner: Quickly clean and dry CSA produce, saving time and ensuring freshness. Efficient, convenient, and enhances longevity.
  • Good kitchen knives, along with a knife sharpener (or local business who sharpens knives!).
  • Reusable glass containers and mason jars to keep your food as farm-fresh as possible.
  • Sheet pans for roasting delicious veggies!
  • Food processor: The one “big-ticket” item we recommend. Use it for making salsa, pesto, pizza dough, and pureeing items like soups and sauces.