Q: Is your produce spray-free, organic or…?

A:  While we don’t provide certified organic produce, we make the best effort to find produce grown without pesticides or grown with certified organic sprays. The ratio of spray-free to low-spray items depends on the season and the year. It is easier to grow spray-free produce in the Spring and Fall, when the weather is cool, than in the Summer, when the rain and humidity cause fruit to rot. Most of the fruit harvested in July and August must be treated with non-organic fungicides. That said, most of the non-organic (synthetic) pesticides our farmers use are chemically equivalent to their certified organic (plant-based) cousins.

We promise that crops labeled “low-spray” are exposed to the smallest amount of treatment possible – far lower than large-scale agriculture would consider. (After all, Mennonite kids play in these fields and orchards.) But given this reality, we advise that all of our fruits and mid-summer veggies be thoroughly washed before being consumed.

Q: Can I sign up after the season begins?

A: Yes, you can sign up at anytime and the online store will automatically pro-rate the season for you.  If you want to begin picking up your shares on a given week, you must sign up by midnight on Monday before your chosen delivery day. Otherwise, you will need to wait a week to pick up.

Q: Can I upgrade or downgrade or change my order during the season?

A: Yes, you can upgrade, downgrade, modify, interrupt, cancel or begin your subscription(s) at anytime. No commitment is necessary. Just log into your online account manager and click on the change subscription link on the right of the screen under Summary.

Depending on how you’ve changed your shares, you will either have payments drafted less frequently or more frequently.  We will receive an email notifying us of your changes and we’ll be in touch to let you know how it has affected your payments.  If you want to cancel your produce share, please email us and we’ll take care of that for you.  Because our produce share payment amounts are the weekly average, when you cancel we’ll need to settle up your account based on the actual dollar value of what you’ve received.

Q: I have a vacation or other scheduled conflict that will prevent us from picking up our share this week. What should I do?

A: You have several choices:

•You can enter the days that you will be missing in your online account manager under the “Vacation” tab and you will not be charged for those deliveries. (Since we won’t be charging you, you can NOT make up the missed shares.)  You must do this by Monday at midnight of the week you want to miss.

•You may ask a friend or family member to pick up your share for you and give them your share as a gift. (Tell them “Happy Birthday!” or “Merry Christmas!”, and then you won’t have to go shopping for them when that event occurs.)

•You may ask a friend or family member to pick up your share for you and have them hold it for you until you return (you do not need to notify us, unless this person is picking up at a different location).

•You may skip your share while you are away and double up one week either before you leave or after you return. By doubling up, we mean that you may come during the last 15 minutes of any pickup site (including your own) and get two shares OR you may come to your regular pickup site (at any time) and then come to a second pickup site that week (during the last fifteen minutes) to receive a second share. If you miss several weeks, you can continue to double up to make up for those weeks (if you miss 3 weeks then you can double up for the next three weeks in a row to make up for it). Also, if at any time we run out of produce for your makeup share, let us know and we will offer items from the A La Carte Table at an equal dollar amount!

Q: What do I do if I miss my pick-up and I didn’t give you any notice?

A: You may always come to another pickup location that week or the following week to pick up a make-up share, however, we ask that you come during the last 15 minutes of that pickup location’s scheduled time. Single share subscribers can come on a non-single share week to pick up a make-up share, too.  We do this to ensure that folks coming to their regular pickup (your make-up) location get their complete share. We’ve never turned away a make-up person, because even if we run out of share items, we can substitute things from the A La Carte Table. In other words, we’ll take care of you.

Also, if you live in Charlottesville, you can come to our warehouse (1810 Broadway Street) on Friday to make up your share between noon and 5pm (April – December only).

Q: If I miss my Single share week, can I come pick up on the following,  non-Single share week?

A: Yes, you can come during a non-Single share week to make up your missed share, but you’ll need to come during the last 15 minutes of that pickup location’s scheduled time. You do not need to contact us.

Q: How do I cancel my subscription?

A: To cancel your egg, bread, granola, or cheese subscriptions, please log into your account manager and click on the “x” next to your listed subscriptions under the Summary section that you’d like to cancel.

To cancel your produce or meat shares, please email us and we’ll take care of that for you.  For produce, we will have to total the value of the weeks of produce you received and deduct the payments you made.  Since our produce is given out in a bell curve (less than the weekly average in the spring/fall, more than the weekly average in the summer), when you cancel we’ll need to settle up your account based on the actual dollar value of what you’ve received. For meat shares, we will charge you for the actual pounds of meat you received (since the prices per delivery are estimates), so you should expect a settlement refund or fee.

We will get in touch with you regarding your refund or balance due.  You must cancel by midnight on Monday prior to your delivery day. Otherwise, you will need to pick up that week.

Q: My friend picks up produce at a different location than I do and came home with different items in his/her share. Is this normal?

A: Yes, at the beginning and end of our season, this is likely to occur, as we are unable to procure some items in large enough quantities to ensure that the shares at every pickup location contain the same items. We keep detailed records of what is distributed to each pickup location every week to ensure that there is a fair distribution of goods and to track the monetary value of the share delivered.

Q: May I purchase a gift certificate?

A: Yes, we have gift certificates available.  Please email us at office@horseandbuggyproduce.com to ask for one. They are available in any denomination.

Q: I have never cooked a “-fill in the blank-”. Do you provide recipes?

A: Yes, we keep a Recipe Blog where you can view and comment on recipes posted by Horse & Buggy Produce staff and subscribers. If you would like to submit a recipe, please email it to masha@horseandbuggyproduce.com. If you are looking for something to do with a certain ingredient, type that in the search field, click on “Recipes” in the drop-down menu to the left of it, and relevant recipes will appear.

Q: Can I change my pickup location?

A: Yes, you can change your pickup location at any time, but you will need to change your location by midnight on the day prior to your scheduled delivery day. Please log in to your account manager and change your location by clicking on the change location link, next to the pickup site title on the right side of the screen under Summary.

Q: What if I’ll be out of town or I’ve missed my pickup during a meat, bread and/or granola week?

A:  If you didn’t ask for your shares to be held, then those shares will be returned to our Charlottesville warehouse.  You can arrange to pick them up at our warehouse or we can bring them to your next pickup. Please email us at office@horseandbuggyproduce.com to make arrangements.

Q: If I signed up online and made my first payment, do I need to log back in and make my second payment?

A: No, once you sign up online and make your initial payment, the remaining payments will automatically be charged to your checking account/credit/debit card when your account balance drops below $25.00 (if you chose the auto-pay option).  If you didn’t choose the auto-payment option, then yes you’ll need to log-in and make a payment.  You’ll receive an email when this is due.

Q: What if I want to use a different credit/debit card for my remaining payments?

A: You need to call or email us and we’ll tell you how to do that.

Q. Is there any way I can donate my share to a charitable organization since I won’t be able to pick it up this week?

A.Yes, the Haven (www.thehavenatfirstandmarket.org) would be glad to get that fresh, local food into the hands people who otherwise couldn’t afford it. Please call or email the office by Friday to donate your share for that week.