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Ordering Instructions

Open a Winter Harvest Account

Complete the application form and submit it. You can pay the $50 application fee to open your account either by PayPal or by check. Make sure PayPal payments are sent to info @ farmtocity.org. (You will then receive $50 in free credit for use in 2011-2012.) PayPal option is provided on the application form. If you pay by check, mail your make it out to Farm to City and mail it 5 days before the ordering deadline to:

Winter Harvest
1315 Walnut St, Suite 1325
Philadelphia PA 19107

If the name of person writing check or paying by PayPal is different from that of applicant, be sure to let us know in memo line on check or by e-mail if PayPal so we know how to attribute payment.

We will acknowledge receipt of your application and payment by email. Use your email address and your password to log on to your account.

Once your account is open, you can order from our bi-monthly product list through the online order manager, drawing on your initial payment.

We will send you precise information on your pick-up site and time several days before the first delivery of your first month of the season.

Check your balance before you place an order

Log onto your account and click on Account Balance History under the Account Management heading. If your balance is less than you expect to spend in the upcoming ordering period, you must deposit more money in your account through the PayPal link at the top of this page or mail your check to the address given there.

When you receive a message from PayPal, your funds have been transferred to Farm to City's bank account. Our bookkeeper must then credit your Winter Harvest account, which may take a day depending on when your payment was made. Our bookkeeper does check several time a day just before the ordering deadline then more often on the morning of the deadline. Best is to send payment via PayPal then check your Account Balance History before you order to see if your payment has been posted.

If you submit your order and get a screen message telling you that your balance does not cover your order, you should delete items from your order and resubmit it until it goes through, to save most of your order. Then submit payment and wait until payment is posted to your account before returning to your order sheet to add back in orders for the deleted items.

Order From Winter Harvest Product List

Members can place orders twice a month for weekly deliveries. See chart below for ordering deadlines.

To place an order, return to this website(farmtocity.org), click on "Buying Clubs" from the main page, then Philadelphia Winter Harvest. In the left panel, click on "My Account". Log on with your email address and password. Click on "Manage current buying club order". Note that this choice is only available during the ordering window. At other times it will say "The deadline for placing an order for the buying club has past."

The order form shows the supplier, item name, item description (when available), cost and the unit of measurement (e.g., lb., piece, loaf, bag, box, quart, pint, 6 oz) for each item. Certain meat items are sold by the pound. The prices for these items are indicated by the unit, per lb. After the farmer sends us the weight of what you received, we are able to charge your account for total amount. This will be listed as an adjustment sometime after you receive your order.

To the right of each item in the form are columns with the delivery dates for the two week ordering period. Type the quantity you would like to receive in the box to the right for the week you want it. Be sure to check the unit of the item ordered when you specify quantity. Several members have mistakenly put in numbers in double digits and are very surprised when more than 10 arrive!

Note that most items are available every week. However, certain items are only available one or two weeks of the month. Turkeys are only available in November.

Once you have completed your order, click the "save order" button, located at the top and bottom of the form, to submit your order.

You may review, change and re-submit your order whenever you like before the order deadline. After the deadline, your online order will be locked in. You will be able to view your order but you will not be able to modify it further.

Orders must be submitted by noon on the deadline dates below. We have to be strict with this deadline because we have minimal time to process the orders and get them to the producers. We cannot add orders after the deadline since we found from experience that this is a major source of delivery errors.

Ordering Schedule (2011-2012 Season)

Delivery Period Date Product List Is Posted Noon Order Deadline For Delivery on
November A
October 23 October 27 November 3 and 10
November B
November 4 November 9 November 17 and 23
December A
November 18 November 23 December 1 and 8
December B
December 2 December 7 December 15, 22, and 29
January A
December 23 December 28 January 5 and 12
January B
January 6 January 11 January 19 and 26
February A
January 20 January 25 February 2 and 9
February B
February 3 February 8 February 16 and 23
March A
February 17 February 22 March 1 and 8
March B
March 2 March 7 March 15, 22, and 29
April A March 23 March 28 April 5 and 12
April B
April 6 April 11 April 19, and 26

Note: All deliveries are on Thursdays except the delivery of Thanksgiving week on Wednesday. Dec B and March B have three delivery periods; all the rest have two.

You may place orders whenever the order manager is active. When the order manager is inactive, i.e. after an order deadline to the beginning of the next order period, you will still be able to log onto your account to view past orders, account information, member profile, etc.

We will accept and process your order provided we receive it by the deadline and your account balance is sufficient to cover the order.

Pick Up Your Order

Each Thursday for which you have placed an order (except during Thanksgiving week when pickup is on Wednesday), you will go to your pick-up site during its open hours, typically 2 hours between 4 to 7 pm. At most sites your orders will be assembled by the site host. Look for the bag or box with your name on it. At a few of our larger sites, you will assemble your order and be checked out by the site host. We encourage you to bring your own cloth or plastic bag for your order.

Be sure to check your items carefully against your printed order sheet, which will be at your pick-up site. Check off each item you received. If any item is missing, make sure it is marked by you or your site host on the order sheet. The site host will let us know what is listed on the sheets as missing so we can reconcile your account. It is your responsibility to make sure you have all your items, or note otherwise on your order sheet, before you leave the pick-up site with your order.

Replenish Your Account

Please keep track of the charges against your account so you know if you need to replenish your account before the deadline for the next order period. If your account has a sufficient balance, your order will go though. If not, you will be asked to reduce your order until your balance covers its cost. At the end of the season, you can request a refund if you have an unused balance. We will send you an invoice for any money you owe.

Cooperation

Winter Harvest is a cooperative effort between the farmers, participants, and site hosts. It creates new communities around locally produced food at each of the drop-off sites. Farm to City encourages Winter Harvest participants to introduce themselves to each other and to assist their site host in assembling orders. Offer to to help out at one or more of the weekly deliveries. Also check each week if the site host needs bags and bring some the next week if she/he does.

When You Contact Farm to City:

Be sure to identify yourself by first and last name if your name is not apparent in your e-mail address. Also state your pick-up location. This helps us get an answer to you more quickly.

For bookkeeping questions: danieg at farmtocity.org
For orders, uncredited missing items, and general questions about Winter Harvest: lella at farmtocity.org. Put "MISSING ITEM" or "QUESTION" in subject line.
For general questions about Farm to City: Info @ farmtocity.org. Put "WINTER HARVEST QUESTION" in subject line.