LotFotL offers one of the Milwaukee area's only customizable winter CSAs

April Yuds and partner Tim Houth didn’t have any experience farming when they leased a 130-acre farm in Elkhorn. But what they did know how to do was build community around food. Yuds managed Good Harvest Market in Pewaukee and had a deep desire to understand food systems and sustainability. Houth was willing and able to learn by trial and error.

So in 2011, Yuds and Houth started LotFotL — an acronym for “Living off the Fat of the land” — to bring together people who value food that is produced in intentional ways. Today they grow organic vegetables on five acres of the land and organic corn and soy, prairie flowers and hay on the rest of it to sell at farmers markets and through Community Supported Agriculture programs. In the past they’ve had pigs, chickens, turkeys and bees on the farm, but they are finding it’s more beneficial to partner with other purveyors to streamline their operations.

At the beginning of the year, Yuds and Houth purchased the house and outbuildings on the farm, but they continue to find balance operating with a slim staff.

“The labor shortage has been really difficult for us. In the summer we had three full-time employees, but in the winter, we will only have one,” Yuds said. Volunteers also help weed, harvest and pack at the farm.

The South Shore Farmers' Market in Bay View and the Urban Ecology Center were the two main ways they began supplying Milwaukee communities with fresh produce. Primarily through word of mouth and social media, their summer and winter CSA program grew quickly.

“CSA isn’t really a concept in rural areas, probably because people are already growing their own food. We’ve enjoyed the strongest support and deepest history with people in the Bay View and Shorewood areas,” Yuds said.

Customizable CSAs year-round

Through an online platform called Farm Match, LotFotL allows CSA participants to select exactly what they will receive each week. In fact, they are one of the first farms serving the Milwaukee area to allow for customizable CSA shares year-round.  The winter CSA serves about 75 families, which is about half the amount of customers in the 18-week summer program.

As the fall harvest begins, Yuds and Houth have the Herculean task of preparing for the winter by storing fresh produce in large refrigerators and freezers since they don't grow anything in the winter. Hearty vegetables like potatoes, onions, carrots, winter squash, sweet potatoes, cabbage, turnips, kohlrabi, rutabaga and parsnips stay fresh with refrigeration into early December. In January and February, the produce selection declines for customers, but by way of partnerships, LotFotL can offer fresh winter spinach and mushrooms, along with other speciality items. Next year they hope to bring hydroponic lettuce to their farm.

Also in the offering for the winter CSA program are frozen tomatoes, peppers and blueberries.

“We stock fun vegetarian frozen items from River Valley Ranch (based in Burlington) like tamales and veggie burgers, as well as salmon burgers from Rushing Waters (in Palmyra) that are very popular,” Yuds said.

“I feel that we get a ton of variety in the winter, and in some ways it's an even better time to do the CSA because good produce is harder to find at that time of year,” LotFotL customer Jessica Sprague-Jones said via email. “We have tried and loved a lot of vegetables that we would probably be too intimidated to buy at the store — all kinds of squash and greens in particular, many of which I've actually never even encountered anywhere else.”

Sprague-Jones, who lives in Shorewood, has been a year-round customer for several years because of her desire to eat seasonally fresh, locally and sustainably grown food. She said LotFotL’s CSA is the easiest and most affordable way of doing that that she has found.

Partnering with other purveyors

Because they were not able to raise pigs at LotFotL this year, Yuds and Houth work with Golden Bear Farm in Kiel to supply pork that is raised in line with their same values.

“They are rotationally grazed on outdoor pastures with fresh water, sunshine and space to exercise,” Yuds said. “Golden Bear never use pesticides, herbicides or any artificial additives, and never feed their animals corn, soy, processed foods or any GMOs.”

LotFotL sources 100% grass-fed beef and organically fed and pastured chicken from a couple different local farmers as well. CSA customers can even get local cheese and baked goods in their weekly shares.

In searching out partner organizations to offer what they cannot produce on their own, LotFotL connects with producers that support their mission to build community through local, sustainable food. Whitewater’s Komboocho Brewing is one such company that sources all their ingredients locally and offers a unique product.

They also partner with companies that might not grow their products locally but still work to build community.

“Although coffee isn't grown locally, it’s a classic community builder, so we found Blended House Coffee (in Delavan) that actually uses it to build families,” Yuds said. “They have adopted children and use the profits from their coffee roasting company to help make adoption accessible to other families.”

New this year, LotFotL is working with Johnny's Hot Sauce and Hill Valley Dairy, both produced in Milwaukee. In addition, they tapped their neighbor Good Oak to supply artisan sourdough breads, like garlic parmesan with herbs.

“We also starting working with Doudlah Farms (in Evansville) to provide things like dried beans and whole wheat flour,” Yuds said. "They are not only organic, but biodynamic, taking sustainable food to a whole new level.”

Food equity program

Not only is LotFotL’s farming mission-driven, but they have also created a food equity program that is purely community-driven. Customers and subscribers to the CSA have the option to donate money so that LotFotL’s food is accessible to people who might not be able to afford it on their own. There is an application on LotFotL’s website so people can apply for funds to cover up to 50% of the cost of their CSA program.

LotFotL also matches SNAP tokens and WIC coupons at their South Shore Farmer’s Market stand so that for every $6 of fresh produce someone buys with those benefits, they will receive $12 worth of food.

“We believe this is an important part of building community, and so we also work with other community programs that need food donations to bring food to folks that need it,” Yuds said.

LotFotL Winter CSA

Deadline to sign up: October 28

Buy in: $600, $1,200 or $1,800 in credits to be used over 15-week period (November 2023-February 2024). Sunday home delivery is $150 for season or pick up at the farm (W7036 Quinney Road, Elkhorn).

Sign up:  lotfotl.com/winter-choice-csa

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: LotFotL offers one of the Milwaukee area's only winter CSAs