Our fort wayne csa sold out in 18 hours! how you can still get in

Hungry Dog Farm started in 2020 with a small group made up of friends. Since then we've expanded to sixty CSA members (learn more about the CSA model here). Just a few years ago, to fill those spots, I was flyering downtown and asking for referrals.

In 2025, we turned a corner when the summer CSA sold out within two days of opening public signups. Then, in 2026, we sold out the summer CSA in 18 hours.

What is going on here? Are Fort Wayne CSA memberships the next​ Taylor Swift tickets? And how can you secure a spot in our vegetable farm share even if you missed the deadline? Here's what's happening behind the scenes--and how you can still sneak in. 

Note: At the time of writing, we have 4 spots left in our Fall CSA. You can sign up for that and for our Spring Egg Share (and get on the summer waitlist) here. 

Why Our Fort Wayne Farm Share Sells Out So Fast

In one word? Retention.

Generally, retention is a challenge for CSAs. This is due to a variety of factors--people can't come during pickup hours, they can't finish their veggies, they find way too much kohlrabi in their prepacked boxes, you name it. According to a CSA retention report by Practical Farmers of Iowa, CSA retention rates are typically around 45%.

Our retention has always been higher than that. I think this might be for a few key reasons:

• We let people hand-pick what goes into their weekly share. That solves the "I don't like the veggies in my farm share" issue.
• Our CSA pickups are at our farm, not a farmer's market. This means people who miss farmstand hours can come get their late pickup at any time for days following main pickup. This fixes the issue of unavailability during pickup hours. 

This year, over 88% of our CSA was filled by returning members. We are over the moon and so grateful to have such loyal customers. 

​Because we currently cap our membership at 60 people, we had very few spots left for new members by the time public signups rolled around. And those spots went very quickly. 
​

What We're Doing About It: Future Plans for Our Fort Wayne Farm Share

At Hungry Dog Farm, we have very high standards for quality and want to serve our members as best we can. We absolutely will not expand until we can do so without sacrificing our CSA experience. At present, we are throttled by two main limiting factors: greenhouse space and manpower. Here's where we're at with those--and what we're doing to potentially expand in the future. 

Greenhouse Space: Hungry Dog Farm has been erecting a new greenhouse pretty much annually. We are up to six hoop houses now, including a fancy new one from Nifty Hoops largely sponsored by our very first EQUIP government grant last year. We have materials to put up another greenhouse this year, which should push us over the edge into being able to grow for more customers. 

Labor: Our only full-time worker is Farmer Andy, though we have some beloved volunteers and part-time workers.  Farmer Andy is just one man and is therefore limited in what he can do. (Elaina unfortunately has a lot going on and can't help in the fields on a daily basis.) This year, Andy will likely be scaling back his wintertime employment in favor or working towards all-seasons farming (winter share??). We are also taking steps towards being able to hire a more active employee in the future, which would allow us to expand the number of shares we offer. 

How to Join the Hungry Dog Farm CSA

With our Fort Wayne farm shares selling out so fast, it might seem like it's impossible to join our CSA. We completely get the frustration. However, we do have a few tips on how you can secure a spot.

At Hungry Dog Farm, we go out of our way to ensure our existing CSA customers get first dibs and don't get left out. Once you're in the main CSA, you're in. So, in short, you just need to get a foot in the door. Here are some great ways to do that.

Get On Our Waitlist: Our waitlist is your first move. We let our waitlist folks know one by one if a spot becomes available.

Join our Email List: Make sure you are on our email list and that our emails aren't going to your spam folder (this does happen). That way, you'll be notified promptly if we have a spot for you.

Overflow Shares: We started offering overflow shares in 2025, and many of our overflow share members have graduated to our main farm share. Overflow shares are essentially a way for us to capitalize on the bounty of peak season, which usually hits mid-July and carries through to first frost somewhere in October. Our overflow members are notified when we're ready to start this, and they come get a pre-packaged box of goodies each week for the same price as the standard share. Overflow members get first dibs if a regular CSA spot becomes available. 

Spring Egg Share: Our spring egg share provides you with a dozen fresh Fort Wayne eggs per week from our happy flock of chickens. The ladies have been busy munching on spring grass in the field and are laying like crazy! Here are the details: 

• 5 total pickups (two dozen every other week)
• Now - May 25th
• $54 total (one free dozen based on our market price)
• Prorated shares are available if we have space. 

You can sign up for the spring egg share on our site or by emailing us. Slots are first-come, first-served. ​​

Essentially, get in contact with us. Start buying from us where and how you can. And, very soon, you will probably find yourself in our Fort Wayne CSA, enjoying pesticide-free local veggies, flowers, and eggs. We can't wait to start growing for you.