Local Raised™Real food, reserved at a real farm
Every Local Raised reservation is a specific, physical thing — an animal share, a tree, a quantity of a crop — raised for you by a farmer nearby. Here's what a season looks like.
Adopted harvests 🍎
Adopt an apple tree, a beehive, or a run of maple taps. The farmer tends it all season — and its harvest is yours.
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A specific tree, hive, or taps
You're not picking from a bin. Your name is on one tree, one hive, one set of taps — and what it produces is yours.
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Tended by the farmer
Pruning, pests, weather — your farmer handles all of it, and sends updates as the season turns.
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Harvest day is yours
Come pick your apples, collect your honey, or take home your syrup — or have it ready-packed for pickup if you'd rather.
Harvest pledges 🌽
Commit early to a share of a crop — a bushel of tomatoes, a fall storage-vegetable box — so your farmer plants with certainty.
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Pledge before planting
Your early commitment, with a deposit, is what lets a small farm plant a row knowing it's already spoken for.
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A set quantity, not a mystery box
You pledge for a defined share — a bushel, a box, a crate — of a named crop from a farm you chose.
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Pick up at harvest
When the crop comes in, your share is set aside and you collect it at the farm or a nearby pickup point.
Honest answers
Freezer shares
What exactly is a freezer share?
A reservation for a quarter or half of a live animal, raised by a nearby farm. After the season the animal is processed for you at a local processor, and you pick up your share cut, wrapped, and labeled. You’re reserving the animal share itself, ahead of time — not shopping from a case.
How much freezer space do I need?
A quarter share typically fits in a small chest freezer (about 5–7 cubic feet); a half share needs roughly double that. Many households start with a quarter and a dedicated chest freezer.
Is this a subscription?
No. Every reservation is a single, discrete purchase — one animal share, one season. Nothing renews unless you choose to reserve again next season.
Can I choose my cuts?
Yes. Before processing you’ll set your cut and wrap preferences — roasts vs. steaks, ground sizes, that sort of thing — and your share arrives labeled accordingly.
Adopted harvests & pledges
What do I actually get when I adopt a tree?
The harvest from your specific tree, hive, or taps that season — whatever it produces, it’s yours. Farmers describe the typical range before you adopt, and you’ll get updates as the season goes.
What if the harvest fails?
Farming is weather and luck as well as skill, and we won’t pretend otherwise. If your animal, tree, or crop doesn’t come through, your farmer offers a comparable substitution — or you get a full refund. You’ll never be left holding an empty pledge.
Do I have to do any of the work?
No — the farmer raises and tends everything. You’re welcome to visit on farm days, and harvest-day picking is optional fun, not a chore you owe.
General
Where is Local Raised available?
We’re starting with farms in New York’s Capital District — the Albany, Troy, Schenectady, and Saratoga area — and expanding from there. Join the waitlist and we’ll let you know when farms near you come on board.
Am I buying part of the farm?
No. You’re reserving food for your own table — a fraction of one animal, one tree’s harvest, a set quantity of a crop. It’s buying your food ahead of the season, directly from the farm; it is never a piece of the farm business itself.
How does payment work?
You place a deposit when you reserve, and the balance is due around processing or harvest. Every reservation shows its full price up front, and each one is a one-time purchase.
How is the food raised?
Every farm’s practices are its own, and each listing describes how that farm raises things. Better yet, you can ask the farmer directly — that’s rather the point.
I'm a farmer — how do I join?
We’d love to hear from you. See Local Raised for farmers or email waitlist@localraised.com.