How to Add Microgreens to Your CSA Without Growing Them: The Wholesale Partner Model

Most farms that have considered adding microgreens to their CSA have stopped at the same place: "this would require a greenhouse, growing equipment, a microgreen-specialist staff member, and a learning curve I do not have time for." 🤝

They are right that those are the requirements if you want to grow them yourself. They are wrong that growing them yourself is the only path. The wholesale partner model lets a regional microgreen farm supply your members through your CSA without any of that infrastructure.

Here is how it actually works.

The Operational Flow 📦

• Step 1: Member opt-in. Your members opt in to the microgreen add-on through the same signup process they use for the main share. Add-on price is $10/week for the season ($240 for 24 weeks).
• Step 2: We get the weekly count. You send us the opt-in count by Friday for the following week. We harvest based on that count Monday morning.
• Step 3: We deliver to your pickup site. Tuesday or Wednesday morning we drop the week's microgreens at your CSA pickup location. Pre-portioned, pre-labeled, ready to add to member shares.
• Step 4: Your team distributes. Members pick up their main share plus their microgreen add-on at the same time. Your team adds the microgreens to opted-in member packages.
• Step 5: We invoice you weekly or monthly. Settle on whatever cadence works for your accounting. We invoice for the wholesale rate, you collect the member rate, the difference is your margin.

What You Do Not Have to Do 🚫

• You do not have to grow microgreens. No greenhouse, no grow room, no seedling trays.
• You do not have to learn microgreen agronomy. Soil mixing, seed soaking, light cycles, harvest timing, all of it is our problem.
• You do not have to handle food safety paperwork. We are PA Preferred certified by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and carry the food-safety documentation appropriate for our wholesale operations.
• You do not have to invest in equipment. Trays, lights, watering systems, packaging machines, climate control. Zero capital expense from the partnership.
• You do not have to hire someone for it. Your existing CSA pickup-day workflow accommodates the add-on with minimal additional time.

What You Do Have to Do ✅

• Sell the add-on to members. Most farms add it to their CSA signup page as an opt-in. We can provide member-facing copy for your signup form.
• Coordinate weekly counts with us. One quick email or shared spreadsheet by Friday for the following week's harvest planning.
• Distribute at pickup. Add the microgreens to opted-in member shares during your normal pickup day operations.
• Collect and remit. Members pay you for the add-on. You pay us the wholesale rate. The pricing is structured so the partner farm has a real margin per member.
• Pass along feedback. When members tell you what they think about a variety or have requests, share that with us. We adjust the rotation accordingly.

A Few Calibrating Questions 🤔

• If you could add an in-demand product to your CSA without any new infrastructure, what would the operational lift actually feel like?
• How are your existing CSA members currently sourcing microgreens? Most have probably given up looking because the supermarket options are not fresh enough.
• What does adding $10/week per member do to your CSA revenue at scale? Multiply by your member count.
• If a partner farm absorbed the entire microgreen supply chain risk and you only had to distribute, would the partnership math feel different than if you tried to grow yourself?