1. I'm interested in your farm, can I come see your operation? Yes! We host a farm tour on the 4th Saturday of every month from 11am to 1pm. If you can't make this date please give us a call and see if there is another time when you come down. We will try to accommodate your schedule but please know that we are incredibly busy with the farm work and it's easier to carve out time once a month.
2. I don't want to purchase milk, do I still have to pay the $10.00 membership fee? Yes, we do require that all of our farm members pay the $10 membership fee, even those who just want to give our garden produce a try. If you find our farm isn't the right fit for you we will happily refund your membership fee.
3. I want to order milk but it says I'm "waitlisted" what does that mean? We've had a great deal of interest in milk and a lot of people interested in becoming part owners of the dairy herd. We want everyone who wants their milk to be able to get some so we have to waitlist any new sign-ups until we are certain that we have enough supply to meet the demand. You are welcome to order anything else we have available on the webstore, and quite often the "wait" to be placed on a standing order for milk is just a matter of days.
4. Do I have to have a standing order for milk?
Yes, in order to get milk each week you do need to place a "standing" order, or an order that is automatically scheduled for you each week. We do understand that needs change, vacations happen, the economy goes up and down, and sometimes your milk consumption will change as well. Just email us and let us know of any change you want to make to your standing order and we will do it for you.
5. Can I have a standing order for anything else?
Yes! We offer standing order options for eggs, chicken, and produce.
6. Do you have a regular CSA "Surprise" basket?
Yes we do. After you have logged in and created an account on our farm store you will see under the "Veggie" ordering tab a series of "Basket" options. These are scheduled deliveries of smoothie greens, salad greens, and a garden basket and they vary in size and cost. Meat, eggs, and dairy must be added separately.
7. Why do you require a $20.00 bottle deposit? We've had a lot of milk bottles leave the farm never to be returned again, and it's really expensive. The $20 bottle deposit is a one time fee that we hope we never have to draw from! If a farm member doesn't return their bottle complete with lid, ring, and their name written in permanent ink on the bottle shoulder we take $2.00 from that bottle deposit fee to cover the cost of replacing it. If you ever decide that you don't want milk anymore, if you move out of state, etc. we will refund this amount as long as all of your bottles are returned and accounted for. Farm members who don't order milk do not have to pay the deposit fee.
8. I'm a new member, how do I return my bottles? It's really simple. Here's the bottle return protocol:
1. Pick up your milk from your drop site. Take it home and use it as you see fit. Wash the empty bottle, place the lid and ring back on the top and write your name on the "shoulder" of the bottle, right where the date was written.
2. Return your empty, washed, complete bottle to your drop site when you pick up your next order. IMPORTANT: You do NOT need to make an extra trip to return the bottles before your scheduled pick-up day. We know gas is pricey, save your money, we'll get your bottles next week.
3. Repeat. If you go on vacation or something else prevents you from returning your bottles, just let us know. We know life happens!
9. I'm a new member, how do I go about picking up my food? We have a great bunch of farm members all over Portland and the surrounding area who have graciously offered to let us use their front porches, garages, and back steps to hold coolers for other farm members to keep their farm goodies as fresh as can be until you can get there to pick them up. It is important that you develop a relationship with your drop host BEFORE you go for your first pick-up. Each host is different, some may prefer that you visit in person, some may just want an email or a phone call, but getting in touch in some way is really important. You will receive an email with drop host contact information when you sign up, please let them know that you'll be picking up there.
10. How do I know when my delivery has arrived at my drop site? Our awesome delivery guy, Jon, keeps our farm members up to date via Twitter. If you have access to a computer just follow "youronlinefarm" on twitter and he'll update you with every drop he makes.
11. Why do I have to pay for my food in advance? Because we operate a dairy herd share program we are required to split the dairy products between farm members rather than retailing them. Because of this legality we have opted to make all of our farm operation a "pre-purchase" system to avoid confusion and account errors. We offer a lot of payment amounts and options to fit every budget.
12. Do you take EBT payments? We aren't currently set up to take this kind of payment, but we are actively working on it. As soon as we get it figured out I am looking forward to writing "Yes!" on this question.
13. I see you offer bulk grains on your webstore, do you really raise all of that?! Someday we hope to be able to raise many of our own grains, but until then we offer a variety of dry goods that we purchase in bulk through Azure Standard.
14. I see that sometimes you offer produce from "Milk Creek Produce" who are they? Milk Creek Produce is a small produce stand in Mulino, OR run by our neighbor John Feary. John carries a lot of locally grown produce and we like to give our farm members the opportunity to get quality, locally and regionally grown items that we are unable to grow at this time. We really believe that the success of small agriculture depends on local and regional sustainability. We want small family farmers to be able to grow what they grow best and get a good price for it regardless of political boundaries. We always mark the items that come from Milk Creek Produce with "Milk Creek Produce" or "MCP" in the description.
15. How do I add money to my account? When you log into your farm account from the "Member Log-in Area" on the C'est Naturelle Farms homepage you will see a small green box that says "Make a Payment" click on it and you will be directed to add funds to your account via PayPal, credit card, or check.
16. My drop site doesn't provide a cooler, what should I do? We ask that all of our farm member s be responsible for providing their own cooler at the drop site. Some hosts have enough coolers to share space with everyone, some even have refrigerators, but this is not a standard service. Each member is responsible for providing their own cooler and in picking up their order in a timely fashion so that their items are as fresh as possible.
17. I received a product I'm not too happy with, do you have a refund policy? We are more than happy to refund your purchase price for any product you receive that you are unhappy with. We do ask that you please notify us within 48 hrs if this is the case so that we can solve any problems as quickly as possible. We are sorry but given the fragile nature of our products we can't offer refunds after the 48 hours.
18. I heard that you offer classes, what are they for and can I attend? Absolutely! We offer classes on culturing (yogurt, kefir) and gardening. We post announcements for these classes on our blog www.realfoodfarming.com . We urge you to subscribe to the blog to hear more about what's happening on the farm.
Do you have a question that you don't see here? Email us to get an answer!
C’est Naturelle Farms
(503)956-2902