CSA Policies & Member Responsibilities - New Farm Box
If you have any questions about how Gopal Farm Box CSA works, please stop your transaction at this time and contact us or return to the main “Indian Farm Box” page and review "How it works" in detail. By subscribing to the share, you agree that you have read through all relevant information for subscribing.
For Self-Pick-up: It is your responsibility to remember to pick up your Box share during the listed pick-up hours for the Pick-up Location you are assigned before the season starts as per your zip code. Gopal Farm does not reimburse for Box Shares missed because you forgot to pick up or did not follow instructions.
It’s very important to understand and follow our Pick-up Protocol and Policies, as they are meant to make the CSA experience a positive one and are integral to the successful operation of our program! Not following instructions leads to problems, and chronic abusers may be asked to leave our membership. Any Shares remaining at the close of pick-up hours may be donated by the site hosts, so be sure to pick up your Share during the listed hours on the correct day.
Delivery Policies
- Our weekly delivery schedule is from Mondays to Fridays. We may not be able to accommodate your desire to customize the delivery schedules to your home as we deliver in pre-scheduled routes.
- The box will generally be delivered any time from 7:00am - 9:00pm and will be left outside on your porch, apartment lobby, or apartment office (or you can add specific instructions for our Delivery drivers ). Our drivers will not be able to take the box up a flight of stairs or inside a building other than to the lobby. The drivers are on a tight schedule and they have to deliver boxes to other members the same day so everyone can receive their boxes - fresh. So kindly do not request them to deliver the boxes in other locations.
- We strongly advise that you keep a Cool Box in the location you would like our driver to deliver the box - on the porch, garage, lobby or office. So that your produce may remain fresh (especially in summer heat) if you are not home, remain free from contamination and be sanitary safe while awaiting your pickup. Please move the contents as early as you can to your refrigerator. You may buy these Cool Boxes in Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes etc. Please label your Cool Box with your Subscription Name, address and contact number prominently, especially in apartment buildings, so that there is no confusion with other members in the same building. And, please do not forget to keep ice bag(s) in it for the day of delivery.
- The Farm Box is packed to handle the ride on the way. Our endeavor is to ship your produce securely as soon as we harvest it so that you can receive them fresh. Please do ensure that either someone is there at the home to receive the box or have the delivery driver drop your box in the designated Cool Box that is properly labeled and has ice. We will not be held responsible for vegetables not remaining fresh or wilting or contaminated after the box is delivered to your designated location. The Driver will take photos of the box - of the outside and inside of contents while and after placing it in the designated location / Cool Box. These photos will be available to you and to us so that there is no misunderstanding.
- Within 12 hrs of delivery of box please contact us if you see any item missing or damaged with photos. If it is our fault, generally the credit will be issued the same day to your account.
- You may Track your delivery ( Live Tracking ) by using the notification links that are sent to your Mobile Phone as well as Email to help you make arrangements for quick pickup.
- There is a flat Delivery fee of $15 (Since the gas prices went up. Will reduce the cost once the gas prices come low) paid at weekly checkout. This fee is not included in the prepaid CSA subscription.
- We do appreciate if you include Tips at checkout for our farm workers, packers and delivery drivers. They work hard and their's is a hard job while we safely and conveniently receive our weekly produce at home. 100% of the tips go to them.
- Combined Delivery to Temples/Community Centers: To save shipping costs, many temples and community centers act as delivery points. We can come and deliver minimum 50 boxes at each location with a flat rate of $5 for each Box. If you are interested to organize this, please contact us.
Shipping Policies
To all those who fall beyond our Delivery Region, we ship by UPS from New Paltz, NY.
- UPS ground (next-day or 2-day) [BETA]: $20 flat fee; All zones marked in yellow and brown in the below map other than the ones that fall within our Delivery Region.
- UPS Next day Air for 48 states: For all other colored regions, or those who do not want to be part of the Beta testing in the Yellow and Brown regions, please contact Customer Support and we will let you know approx. shipping costs. As it will be expensive we recommend placing the orders Bi-weekly.
- UPS Shipping fee will be displayed at the time of weekly checkout after filling in your cart and be paid there. It is not included in the prepaid CSA.
- Our UPS shipping schedule is on Tuesdays & Wednesdays ONLY. The box will be delivered to you from Wednesdays to Fridays.
- As the UPS Next day Air shipping costs are high we may divide the order into two boxes to some closer regions. We can ship durable vegetables like potato, onions, garlic, coconuts, green banana, green papaya etc. and many grocery items via UPS Ground & ship the other fragile vegetables via UPS Next Day Air. Our team continues to analyze the most efficient method of shipping for you.
- We are currently Beta Testing the refrigerated boxes for preserving the fragile produce for UPS Ground for Next-day and 2-day shipping to Yellow and Brown regions in the map above. So sometimes the fragile produce may not arrive in the best of condition. We do not take the responsibility of the vegetables arriving in not the perfect condition. If you do not want to be part of this Beta Testing, we will ship your produce by UPS Next Day Air.
- The box will generally be delivered by a UPS Truck any time from 8:00am - 9:00pm and will be left outside on your porch, your garage, apartment lobby, or apartment office where your UPS driver generally delivers your packages (or you can add specific instructions for the UPS). UPS drivers will not be able to take the box up a flight of stairs or inside a building other than to the lobby.
- We strongly advise that you keep a Cool Box in the location you would like the UPS driver to deliver the box - on the porch, garage, lobby or office so that your produce may remain fresh (especially in summer heat) if you are not home while awaiting your pickup. You may have to write a specific delivery instruction for the UPS Delivery and also inform your usual UPS Driver. Please move the contents as early as you can to your refrigerator. You may buy these Cool Boxes in Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes etc. Please label your Cool Box with your Subscription Name, address and contact number prominently, especially in apartment buildings, so that there is no confusion with other members in the same building. And, please do not forget to keep ice bag(s) in it for the day of delivery.
- The Farm Box is packed to handle the ride on the way. Our endeavor is to ship your produce securely as soon as we harvest it so that you can receive them fresh. Please do ensure that either someone is there at the home to receive the box or have the UPS Delivery driver drop your box in the designated Cool Box that is properly labeled and has ice. We will not be held responsible for vegetables not remaining fresh or wilting after the box is delivered to your designated location.
- On receiving the box, you may immediately take photos of the outside of box and the inside contents for possible claims with us or with the UPS.
- Delivery delays can be in the hands of Mother Nature due to inclement weather, or unforeseen UPS truck breakdowns or accidents. Once the order leaves us it is in the hands of UPS but we endeavor to pack such that the vegetables can handle another day in the box in case of delay. If the UPS does not deliver in time, and the produce is spoiled, we can process a claim for full refund that will be credited to your account.
- Within 12 hrs of delivery of box please contact us if you see any item missing or damaged with photos. If it is our fault, generally the credit will be issued the same day to your account.
- You may Track your delivery by using the notification links that are sent to your Mobile Phone as well as Email to help you make arrangements for quick pickup.
- We do appreciate if you include Tips at checkout for our farm workers, packers and delivery drivers. They work hard and their's is a hard job while we safely and conveniently receive our weekly produce at home. 100% of the tips go to them.
Delivery & Shipping Charges : They will be charged at the time of check out Each week
Communications
We communicate with our membership primarily through email and posts published on our web site. These emails and posts include information about what will be in upcoming share boxes and recipes. We also send email announcements to our CSA Community about upcoming Community Farm Days and other Farm Events.
As a member of our CSA program, you understand it is your responsibility to open and read the emails we send so that you stay informed. If your email address changes, you need to update it in the Contact Info tab of your online account (to continue to receive member-specific alerts) as well as informed to us by contacting us.
To help you receive and filter emails from us, we do our best to include either Gopal Farm or Gopal Farm CSA in the Subject line of our emails. The address our member-specific alerts may be sent from – farmbox@gopal.farm so please make sure to add this address to your contact list so our alerts reach your inbox. This is a send-only address; please do not use it to communicate with us because we will not receive your email.
Weekly emails include–
– “Reminder to edit your share” emails are sent Friday and Monday morning. Though we send reminder emails, it is your responsibility to remember to edit your Share Contents so we highly recommend creating your own reminder rather than relying on the emails.
– A “what’s in your share” email is sent the morning of your Delivery Day if you are receiving a Share for the week. This email confirms your Share Contents, Pick-up Location / Delivery address and Delivery Date, and your Subscription.
If you are not receiving these emails, check your junk/spam/promotion folders since emails sent through our CSA software service sometimes end up there (see above).
Subscription Policies
CSA subscriptions are ongoing and deliveries continue based on our Seasonal Delivery Schedules unless a Delivery Hold is placed (see below) or a subscription is canceled (see Cancellation Policy below).
Fees and other Charges
we do charge some of the fees during and in the beginning of the season and we do not have any hidden fees. (check below for our fees).
Weekly Indian Farm Box
- New CSA Customer-
- Subscription fee - $99
- Delivery Fee - $15 (If you are in Delivery zone)
- Shipping Fee - $$ (Charged at the time of shipping your box)
- Delivery Hold charges (Please read our Delivery Holds Policies)
- Cancellation or Refund Charges(Please read our Cancellation Policies)
- Insulator fee -$100 ($75 is refunded after the season)
- Returning Customer -
- Subscription fee - $0
- Delivery Fee - $15 (If you are in Delivery zone)
- Shipping Fee - $$ (Charged at the time of shipping your box)
- Delivery Hold charges (Please read our Delivery Holds Policies)
- Cancellation or Refund Charges(Please read our Cancellation Policies)
- Insulator fee -$100 ($75 is refunded after the season)
Bi- Weekly Indian farm Box
- New CSA Customer-
- Subscription fee - $99
- Delivery Fee - $15 (If you are in Delivery zone)
- Shipping Fee - $$ (Charged at the time of shipping your box)
- Delivery Hold charges (Please read our Delivery Holds Policies)
- Cancellation or Refund Charges(Please read our Cancellation Policies)
- Insulator fee -$100 ($75 is refunded after the season)
- Returning Customer -
- Subscription fee - $39
- Delivery Fee - $15 (If you are in Delivery zone)
- Shipping Fee - $$ (Charged at the time of shipping your box)
- Delivery Hold charges (Please read our Delivery Holds Policies)
- Cancellation or Refund Charges(Please read our Cancellation Policies)
- Insulator fee -$100 ($75 is refunded after the season)
Weekly Small share Indian Farm Box
- New CSA Customer-
- Subscription fee - $59
- Delivery Fee - $15 (If you are in Delivery zone)
- Shipping Fee - $$ (Charged at the time of shipping your box)
- Delivery Hold charges (Please read our Delivery Holds Policies)
- Cancellation or Refund Charges(Please read our Cancellation Policies)
- Insulator fee -$100 ($75 is refunded after the season)
- Returning Customer -
- Subscription fee - $59
- Delivery Fee - $15 (If you are in Delivery zone)
- Shipping Fee - $$ (Charged at the time of shipping your box)
- Delivery Hold charges (Please read our Delivery Holds Policies)
- Cancellation or Refund Charges(Please read our Cancellation Policies)
- Insulator fee -$100 ($75 is refunded after the season)
Indian Farm Box Try Out Special (Trial Box)
- New CSA Customer-
- Subscription fee - $55
- Delivery Fee - $15 (If you are in Delivery zone)
- Shipping Fee - $$ (Charged at the time of shipping your box)
- Delivery Hold charges - No delivery Holds
- Cancellation or Refund Charges - No cancellation or refund
- Insulator fee -$100 ($75 is refunded after the season)
- Returning Customer -
- Subscription fee - $55 (Can be waived if renewed the subscription)
- Delivery Fee - $15 (If you are in Delivery zone)
- Shipping Fee - $$ (Charged at the time of shipping your box)
- Delivery Hold charges - No Delivery Holds
- Cancellation or Refund Charges - No cancellation or Refund
- Insulator fee -$100 ($75 is refunded after the season)
Delivery Holds or Vacation Holds.
You can place holds on your subscription through your CSA account. Holds can be for one or more weeks at a time. Look below for Delivery Hold Instructions and fees.
Weekly Indian farm Box
- You can place your account on hold up to 4 times in the season, meaning if for any reason you want to skip the box, you can do so up to 4 times.
Note :If you have to skip the farm box more than 4-6 weeks (4-Delivery Holds), there is a $30 fee we charge per every skipped week/Box after the 4 week hold.
Ex:Each week box price is - $60. Skipped week/Box fee after the 4 week hold is $30.
Bi - Weekly Indian Farm Box
- You can place your account on hold up to 3 times in the season, meaning if for any reason you want to skip the box, you can do so up to 4 times.
Note :If you have to skip the farm box more than 3 weeks (4-Delivery Holds), there is a $60 fee we charge per every skipped week/Box after the 4 week hold.
Ex:Each week box price is - $120. Skipped week/Box fee after the 4 week hold is $60.
Weekly Small Share Indian Farm Box
- You can place your account on hold up to 4 times in the season, meaning if for any reason you want to skip the box, you can do so up to 4 times.
Note :If you have to skip the farm box more than 4 weeks (4-Delivery Holds), there is a $25 fee we charge per every skipped week/Box after the 4 week hold.
Ex:Each week box price is - $40. Skipped week/Box fee after the 4 week hold is $25.
Indian Farm Box Try Out Special (Trial Box) -
- No Delivery Holds for this Special Box
Alternatives to putting your subscription on hold are to share your CSA program with those who might be interested – have it delivered to your friend or neighbor while you’re gone, or give it to the person who house or pet sits for you while you’re away (please be sure they are familiar with these procedures); or you can arrange to donate it. You may accomplish this by having your box delivered to the other address. You may change the delivery address in your Account once created before the Subscription is started.
Please note: changes to your Delivery can be made Wed 8:00 AM – Fri 11:00 AM for the upcoming week. The system prevents changes during other hours while we run reports, prepare for deliveries and post them to member accounts. Click here for instructions for changing your Location.
Cancellation Policy
Subscriptions are for a minimum of 4 deliveries. The notice of cancellation is 2 weeks. For example, if you decide you need to cancel your subscription three weeks into it and give us 2 week’s notice, you will receive a total of 5 deliveries. A $100.00 cancellation fee may apply.
Note: The above mentioned cancellation policy is applicable only for
- Weekly Indian Farm Box,
- Weekly Small Share Indian Farm Box
- Bi-Weekly Indian Farm Box.
Indian Farm Box - Try Out Special (Trial Box) No Cancellation- Use it ! or Lose it !
Any credit balance left on your account after all deliveries and fees will be refunded to you by check/Card/Paypal (see Refund Policy below - vvvv).
Refund Policy
Refunds are made by check/card/Paypal in 4-6 weeks after the season is over.
Note : There is fee at certain times of the season please check below
Weekly Indian Farm Box - $2200
- If you are cancelling in the first 3 months of the season then 50% of the amount is only refunded from your balance available.
- If you are cancelling in the first 5 months of the season then 40% of the amount is refunded from your balance.
- If you are requesting the refund after the season is over and if you have not reached the threshold amount of $1575 then there is a 20% charge on the available balance and rest will be refunded.
- If you are requesting a refund after the season is over and if you have reached the threshold amount of $1575 or closer then we will refund your balance without any charge which is - $525 (Please try to purchase grocery, fruit & Vegetable to save the money).
Bi - Weekly Indian Farm Box - $2100
- If you are cancelling in the first 3 months of the season then 50% of the amount is only refunded from your balance available.
- If you are cancelling in the first 5 months of the season then 40% of the amount is refunded from your balance.
- If you are requesting the refund after the season is over and if you have not reached the threshold amount of $1540 then there is a 20% charge on the available balance and rest will be refunded.
- If you are requesting a refund after the season is over and if you have reached the threshold amount of $1540 or closer then we will refund your balance without any charge which is - $500 (Please try to purchase grocery, fruit & Vegetable to save the money).
Weekly Small Share Indian farm box - $1459
- If you are cancelling in the first 3 months of the season then 50% of the amount is only refunded from your balance available.
- If you are cancelling in the first 5 months of the season then 40% of the amount is refunded from your balance.
- If you are requesting the refund after the season is over and if you have not reached the threshold amount of $1125 then there is a 20% charge on the available balance and rest will be refunded.
- If you are requesting a refund after the season is over and if you have reached the threshold amount of $1125 or closer then we will refund your balance without any charge which is - $275 (Please try to purchase grocery, fruit & Vegetable to save the money).
Indian Farm Box Try Out Special (Trial Box) : Use It ! or Lose It !
- No refunds will be given for the special box.
Note: Some emergency cases are considered with a valid reason.
Note: Box can be replaced if you have received a broken or damaged box (with a photo evidence ) it can be refunded onto CSA account and new box will be shipped or delivered to you ( They should be reported in less than 2-3 hours of the delivery.
Note: Any Lost or stolen box will not be refunded by us because we will be sending you notification and live updates regarding your delivery and shipping
DONATE YOUR REFUND TO THE COWS
Support the cows on our ethical Gopal farm, by donating all or part of your refund. The cows will be most grateful!
Food Safety Policy
All farm fresh products from Gopal Farm should be considered UNwashed. We suggest you always wash farm-fresh produce before consuming to ensure your own personal health and that of the people to whom you serve that product.
Consumer Privacy Notice
This privacy notice discloses the privacy practices for www.gopal.farm. This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website. It will notify you of the following:
- What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the website, how it is used and with whom it may be shared.
- What choices are available to you regarding the use of your data.
- The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information.
- How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.
Information Collection, Use, and Sharing
Gopal Farm is the sole owner of the information collected on this site. We only collect information that you voluntarily give us by means of the subscription sign-up. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone.
We will use your information to process your subscription service. We will not share your information with any third party outside of our organization, other than as necessary to fulfill your request, e.g. to manage the CSA subscription (Farmigo), to fulfill an order (UPS), and such necessary tools.
Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about specials, new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy.
Your Access to and Control Over Information
You may opt-out of any future contacts from us at any time. You can do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address or phone number given on our website:
- See what data we have about you if any.
- Change/correct any data we have about you.
- Have us delete any data we have about you.
- Express any concern you have about our use of your data.
Security
We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline.
Wherever we collect sensitive information, such as credit card data, that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the Web pages.
While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to serve you as a customer are granted access to personally identifiable information.
If you feel that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, you should contact our Operations Manager immediately via email.