GoFarm in Golden, Colorado, is on a mission to connect people with local agriculture, increase access to nutrient-dense local food, and train and support local farmers. In 2024, the organization supported 102 farms and provided food to 1,850 households, including 560 members of the Local Food Share CSA program that runs in the spring, summer, and fall. In addition to the CSA, GoFarm runs a mobile market, hosts occasional pop-up sales throughout the growing season, and provides educational classes and workshops for new farmers.

To stick to its goals and values, GoFarm runs a pretty complex CSA operation. The organization offers more than 30 different types of shares, all with multiple frequency options. There are numerous pickup sites spread throughout the region. GoFarm accepts SNAP, offers flexible pricing, and gives discounts and incentives to participants in WIC and similar programs.

On the supply side, GoFarm buys from small farmers as much as possible. “Our biggest farmers can send a bunch of things in bulk, but we like to look at the small farms and see what they have because we know our support is more important to their ability to make a profit,” said Ge’Von Martin Collins, Director of the Local Food Share Program. This means they have a lot of partners to keep track of.

Since transitioning to the LFM platform in 2024, GoFarm is finding its easier to manage all of the moving pieces associated with its CSA. In fact, it’s making plans to add new features for customers — most notably, the ability to customize shares. “We have very small, local vendors who sell shelf-stable ingredients like coffee and honey, mostly in the off-season,” said Ge’Von. “We usually sell them at pop-ups, but this will give our subscription customers a chance to buy things they wouldn’t normally buy locally, especially from November to March.”

Here are some of the features that help GoFarm save time and stay organized so they can focus on offering new features for customers and growing their programs.

Producer Communication is Streamlined

Given that GoFarm works with more than 100 producers, it’s crucial that they have a way to efficiently gather information about what producers have available each week. With LFM, producers can quickly log in to the platform and update their availability in real time so Ge’Von and the GoFarm team have accurate information to work from. In addition, producers receive final orders via email automatically and can monitor orders online.

“It really keeps our schedules in line, especially when it comes to ordering and distribution,” Ge’Von said.

This feature is also key when it comes time to pick what will go in the share each week. Ge’Von can see what’s available from producers and build from there. This is especially important since GoFarm buys from so many small farms. If one farm doesn’t have enough romaine lettuce or butternut squash to fill all of the CSA boxes, Ge’Von can search for identical products from other farms and combine their products so there’s enough to distribute to all customers. Or he can limit the products from one producer to a single delivery location.

Local Food Marketplace really keeps our schedules in line, especially when it comes to ordering and distribution.”

—Ge’Von Martin Collins, GoFarm 

Reports Help with Communication, Business Decisions

LFM can produce dozens of reports with the click of a button, and Ge’Von uses several on a regular basis.

The Subscriber Pickup Checklist report allows GoFarm to provide its CSA pickup sites with a list of names and phone numbers on distribution days. “It’s a helpful check and balance for distribution,” Ge’Von said.

Sales reports allow Ge’Von to quickly generate details about how much GoFarm has sold per month at each location, both in volume and dollars.

Comprehensive Support for Food Access, Including Coupon Codes and Custom Pricing

Calculating the price of a final order with all of these discounts and special prices offered by GoFarm could be a lot of work given how many customers the organization serves.

LFM automates the process of accepting coupon codes, benefits, and discounts (not to mention sales tax) and coming up with a final price for every order, no matter how many special prices or promotions apply. “It makes it really easy for us to customize orders depending on what each customer’s needs are,” said Ge’Von.

Learn How LFM’s CSA Software Can Help Your Business

Are you curious how LFM can help your business offer customizable CSAs, stay organized, save time, and make better business decisions? Watch our recording webinar, “Is Your CSA Ready for a Makeover?”

Watch the webinar here!

CSA programs are evolving, and yours can too! Today’s members are asking for more choice, flexibility, and convenience. But how do you know which model is right for your farm or food hub? And how do you manage it all without drowning in spreadsheets?

In this free session, we’ll cut through the confusion and show you what’s possible. Here’s what you’ll learn:

🌟 From Farmer’s Choice to Fully Customizable: Explore different CSA models supported by LFM and find the one that fits your operation.

🌟 Ditch the Spreadsheets: Discover powerful tools for holds, reschedules, labels, reports, and communication that save you time and stress.

🌟 Voices from the Field: Hear directly from Ge’Von at GoFarm about the CSA model the organization chose, why it works, and the LFM features they rely on.