We are a group of individuals who are committed to help steward the legacy of Zinniker Farm into the future and who wish to benefit from the extraordinarily vital, flavorful, nutrient dense food produced on the farm. We are in the process of forming a new kind of economic and cultural association whose goals are to:

1. Ensure the farm continues to be selflessly stewarded in perpetuity using the best organic, biodynamic, and regenerative farming practices;

2. Grow the number of people who can benefit from a connection to the farm and to the vital, nutrient dense food produced on the farm; 

3. Help Mark and Petra Zinniker, the current stewards of Zinniker Farm, earn a good living and start stepping back from full responsibility for the farm operations and move toward, and into retirement;

4. Help a new farm family to get established on Zinniker Farm who can help move the current farm enterprises into the future and diversify the farm’s offerings so that the farm can provide more and more of the food needs of the ZFSA members;

5. Nurture the farm’s role as a center for cultural renewal and farmer and consumer education.

Each year, the members of ZFSA, through a core group that includes the farmers, will establish an annual budget for the farm. This budget will include everything needed to run the farm in the coming year, provide a dignified living for the farmers, and insure the long-term sustainability of the farm, including capital improvements and the costs necessary to bring new farmers into the land. Members of the ZFSA will then make pledges and contributions sufficient to cover the entire budget of the farm and in turn, the entire output of the farm will be distributed to the members of the Association. The exact legal structures and systems that will be used to operate and manage ZFSA are still in the process of being worked out, but we imagine that in addition to the core group, ZFSA will have committees to manage outreach, distribution and farm-based and community events. At present we assume that ZFSA will need to contract with one or two part time people to help coordinate these efforts.

While ZFSA will have some similarities to a typical community supported agriculture (CSA) program, it is different because we are focused on the long-term stewardship of the farm as a whole and not just on buying food for one growing season. Specifically, this means:

1. The farm’s budget will be developed in partnership with ZFSA members and there will be full transparency with the members regarding every aspect of the farm’s finances and management.

2. ZFSA members are not simply buying a share in a portion of the farm’s output but rather making financial commitments and gifts to cover the whole annual budget of the farm and in turn receiving the entire output of the farm.

3. We anticipate that the amount of each member’s contribution will be different based on their unique financial circumstances, rather than paying a common flat rate. Some individuals and organizations may also choose to make contributions to support the work of Zinniker farm who do not wish to gain access to the food. 

We anticipate that many of ZFSA members will be people who love and want to support Zinniker Farm but who live too far away, or for other reasons, do want to partake of the harvest from the farm. There is a place on the membership form where you can tell us you will be a non-food member. Keep in mind, however, that the Zinnikers are happy to ship non-perishable products like soap, honey and the biodynamic preparations, to members who live at a distance.