Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Options
A CSA is essentially a partnership between a community and a farm. By paying a one-time subscription fee, members will enjoy a weekly box of vegetables for the duration of the growing season (25 weeks). This system benefits members and farmers alike. Members will relish the experience of eating new, unique veggies within their corresponding season, having a deeper understanding of Central Illinois agriculture, and learning about and supporting local food in a community environment.
Here is what you receive with a CSA Membership:
25 shares each week starting May 20 and ending November 11 containing 7-8 vegetables of the farmers choosing
10% off our Online Store for ALL OF 2026
Several video share walk throughs with one of our team members
Option to swap out one item from each share
Opportunity to add eggs or other farms’ products onto your share each week with your pickup
Down River Farm Canvas Bag and Sticker
Digital version of our CSA Handbook
Weekly Newsletters featuring recipes, storage tips, and farm updates written by the farmer himself
Vacation share rescheduling - miss a week, double up on a different week
The central idea of a CSA is the concept of shared risk. Because farmers have to deal with so many factors and variables beyond their control, namely weather, members agree to take on a little bit of that risk. In that vein, the farmer chooses the vegetables that go into your share based on seasonality and peak ripeness.
Our primary goal is to give members the best shares that we possibly can. We welcome feedback throughout the process as to what you’d like to see more or less of in your shares because we ultimately want you to be pleased with the experience. We work hard on the farm to ensure you get the best share you can even if it means occasionally supporting our friends’ farms to supplement our offerings.
If you have strong feelings for or against certain vegetables, or if you are on a strict diet, we would not recommend the CSA program. We have other options that might work better. If you’re willing to go with the flow, try new things, and maybe even try cooking a vegetable that you dislike in a different way to see if you might change your mind, the CSA is PERFECT for you.
What’s in a share?
When we construct a CSA share, we aim to check a few boxes in order to most easily feed you from week to week to week. This is the general outline that we follow, it is in no way an exhaustive list and shifts significantly throughout the seasons (ie there are no fruit items until summer, likely just more roots):
One Salad Green (salad mix, head lettuce, arugula, etc)
One Cooking Green (kale, mustards, spinach, stir fry mix, etc)
One Allium (onion, garlic, shallot, scallion, etc.)
One Root (potatoes, carrots, beets, salad turnips, radishes, etc.)
One Fruit (tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, summer squash, peppers, green beans)
One Snacking Vegetable (cherry tomatoes, carrots, sugar snap peas, etc)
One Seasonal Specialty (broccoli, fennel, green beans, sweet potatoes, broccolini, etc.)
*An herb might replace any one of these items based on seasonality (cilantro, basil, dill, parsley, thyme, sage, etc.)
Full Season Shares
Peoria Full CSA Share: $584 for 25 weeks of delicious vegetables that can feed from 3-4 people a week depending on how much you cook.
Pickup Location:
2224 E Grandview Ave, Peoria
Groveland CSA Share: $584 for 25 weeks of delicious vegetables that can feed from 3-4 people a week depending on how much you cook.
Pickup Location:
18844 Springfield Road, Groveland
PLEASE, fill out the 2026 CSA Sign Up Form if you wish to join this program!
This price includes processing fees. To bypass these, fill out the CSA Sign Up Form and then mail a check for $556 made out Down River Farm and send to:
1696 County Road 2250 E
Benson, IL 61516
Farm Card
Purchase a preloaded card and get savings back! Upon purchase, we will mail you a card with extra buying power loaded onto it to be used at the Peoria Riverfront Market or our weekly-updated Online Store. Our current options are:
Spend $150; get $165, Save 10%
Spend $300; get $340, Save 12.5%
Spend $500; get $575, Save 15%
Remaining balances expire January 1, 2027.
Week-by-Week Shares
These are our shares that we offer on a week-by-week basis that allow you to buy them as you wish. There is no commitment. These shares are offered for pickup at our Peoria pickup, Groveland pickup, or to your home for an additional charge. Keep your eyes peeled in April for our first share of the year!
