CSA pickup reminder texts for a whole season
Text each CSA member on pickup day with the time, the place and what's in the share, using one list per pickup site. In our 23-week example season (June 17 to November 18), that's 23 pickup reminders plus a missed-share text at closing time. Set a weekly reminder so you remember to send it.
Every text says their name.
Pasting this into one message with several people in To still makes a group. Send it to one person at a time.
Only for members who gave you their number for these texts. A green check here means the text and its length are fine, not that you have permission.
Send it one-by-one from your iPhone with BatchrunnerBatchrunner opens Messages; you tap Send for each person.
Free for up to 10 people per send.
The short answer
A CSA pickup reminder works best as a short text on pickup day: the time window, the place and one line about what's in the share. Send it to each member on that site's list, so members at the library lot don't get the barn's times. One farm's member guide simply tells members to "set phone alarms so you don't forget to pick up." A text from the farm does that job for them.
Not legal advice. This page is for farms texting members who signed up for pickup reminders. Selling extras (eggs, a fall share) by text is promotion; send that only to members who said yes to offers, with a STOP line.
Season texts (6, counted)
Tap a text in the writer at the top to load it, or copy one from this table and change the names, places and times to yours. Counts use an 8-letter first name ("Jonathan") and "Northwind" for {company}; "Room for a name" is the longest first name that keeps the text in one SMS. Keep straight apostrophes: a curly one from smart punctuation switches the text to Unicode, 70 characters per SMS.
| ID | Use | Text | Count (8-letter name) |
|---|---|---|---|
| csa-first | First pickup | Hi {firstName}, Elm St Farm: first CSA pickup is Wed Jun 17, 3-7pm at the barn. Bring a bag. 23 weeks of veggies start now! | 120 chars · 1 SMS · room for a 48-letter name |
| csa-pickup | Pickup day (weekly) | Hi {firstName}, CSA pickup today 3-7pm at the Elm St barn. This week: kale, beets, first squash. Forgot your bag? Grab a crate. | 124 chars · 1 SMS · room for a 44-letter name |
| csa-site | Second pickup site | Hi {firstName}, Elm St Farm: your Grove City pickup today is 4-6pm at the library lot. Same spot as last week. | 107 chars · 1 SMS · room for a 61-letter name |
| csa-missed | Missed share | Hi {firstName}, your CSA share is still at the barn! We hold it until 7pm tonight, then it goes to the food pantry. | 112 chars · 1 SMS · room for a 56-letter name |
| csa-weather | Weather change | Hi {firstName}, Elm St Farm: storms today, so pickup moves to Thu 3-7pm, same place. Your share stays cold until then. | 115 chars · 1 SMS · room for a 53-letter name |
| csa-last | Last pickup | Hi {firstName}, last CSA pickup of the season is Wed Nov 18. Thank you for eating with us! Renewal info comes in January. | 118 chars · 1 SMS · room for a 50-letter name |
A season plan, week by week
This is a worked example, not a rule: a 23-week season with Wednesday pickups from June 17 to November 18 (the dates come from one farm's 2026 member info). Change the dates to your season. Reminders stop when the season ends.
| Week | Text | List | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 (Jun 17) | First pickup | Every site, one send per site | Say what to bring |
| Weeks 1 to 23 | Pickup day | One send per site | Same text each week; change the veggie line |
| Each week at closing | Missed share | Members who didn't come | Say how long you hold it |
| When needed | Weather change | The affected site | New day and time |
| Week 23 (Nov 18) | Last pickup | Every site | Renewal comes later, by email or on signup |
How big is a CSA list? The USDA's 2014 survey, as summarized in SARE's CSA toolkit, found a median of 60 members and an average of 141 per farm. A farm near the median with two pickup sites has two lists of about 30. Your numbers may differ; that survey is now more than ten years old.
One Send tap per member. Each member gets their own text, so a list of 30 is 30 taps. That's a few minutes on pickup day. Much bigger lists may fit your CSA platform's own messaging better; Local Line, CSAware and Harvie all have member tools.
Remembering to send it. A weekly reminder on your phone at, say, 10am every Wednesday is the simplest way. The weekly text reminder page makes a calendar file for the season (start and end date included), so the alerts stop when the season does. In Batchrunner Pro, a recurring weekly reminder re-opens the same group each week; you still tap Send.
Missed shares. One template used by farms is a plain "Remember to pick up your share." Ours adds the deadline and what happens after, which saves you the replies asking "can I come tomorrow?"
Send it from your iPhone without a group chat
If you put everyone in one message, Messages starts a group: Apple says everyone in a group iMessage or group MMS sees all replies. To keep each member private, send one conversation per person.
- Free, in your browser. The text each person individually guide has a send list: paste names and numbers, and each row opens Messages for one person with the text filled in. You tap Send each time and tick them off.
- In Batchrunner, our iPhone app. In Batchrunner 2.2, include {firstName} to open one conversation per person; without a merge token, a batch can open as a group. Each member then gets their own text and replies come back only to you. A batch without a merge token opens one compose sheet for up to 40 people, and depending on Messages and carrier settings (Group Messaging, MMS), iOS may turn that into a group thread.
If someone on the list has no first name saved, add one before you send, or the text starts "Hi ,".
Before you send: permission and opt-out
The full rules are on texting customers: consent and opt-out basics. Not legal advice. For this job:
- Ask at signup: "OK to text you pickup reminders?" A member's email address on the share form isn't the same thing.
- Pickup reminders are informational. Promotions for extras or next season's share are marketing: only to members who said yes, with "Reply STOP to opt out."
- Remove anyone who opts out from every site list, today. Batchrunner doesn't read replies or process STOP.
- You're a business sender, even on your own phone. CTIA counts anyone texting on behalf of a business as a "Non-Consumer."
Ready to send to members who asked for these texts? Batchrunner, our iPhone app, opens Messages from your own number. In Batchrunner 2.2, include {firstName} to open one conversation per person; without a merge token, a batch can open as a group. You tap Send each time; a ledger marks each person sent, remaining or skipped. Free covers 10 people per send, 2 groups and 2 templates; Pro is $7.99/month or $39.99/year with a 3-day free trial. iPhone only, iOS 17 or later.
Get Batchrunner on the App StoreBatchrunner opens Messages; you tap Send for each recipient.
What Batchrunner does, and what it doesn't
You tap Send each time; it doesn't read replies or handle STOP.
| Batchrunner does | Batchrunner doesn't |
|---|---|
| Opens Messages from your own number, one person at a time when the message has {firstName} | Send by itself: you tap Send for every text |
| Fills {firstName}, {lastName} and {company} for each person | Fill other per-person details such as times, venues or amounts: split the list, or text those people yourself |
| Keeps a ledger of sent, remaining and skipped, and picks up where you stopped after a crash or lost signal | Know whether a text was delivered or read: the ledger records that you tapped Send |
| Recurring weekly or monthly reminders (Pro) that notify you at the time | Send on a schedule: when the reminder goes off, you open it and tap Send |
| Builds groups from your contacts, or from a CSV file on Pro | Read replies or handle STOP: you remove people who opt out |
Contacts stay on your phone and send through Messages from your own number; there's no Batchrunner server. Prices and limits are on Batchrunner for iPhone.
For farmers-market vendors
Market vendors usually text the night before or the morning of the market: where your stall is, what's fresh, and what time you sell out. Keep a list of customers who asked for market texts, and send the same day each week.
More texts for your job
Questions people ask
How do I remind CSA members about pickup? Text each member on pickup day with the time window, the place and what's in the share, one list per pickup site. A weekly phone reminder helps you remember to send it; you tap Send each time.
What should a missed CSA pickup message say? That the share is still there, how long you'll hold it, and what happens after. Example: "Your CSA share is still at the barn! We hold it until 7pm tonight, then it goes to the food pantry."
How do I tell members about different CSA pickup locations? Keep one contact list per pickup site and send each site its own text with its own time and place. Members at one site never get another site's times.
Questions people ask
How do I remind CSA members about pickup?
Text each member on pickup day with the time window, the place and what's in the share, one list per pickup site. A weekly phone reminder helps you remember to send it; you tap Send each time.
What should a missed CSA pickup message say?
That the share is still there, how long you'll hold it, and what happens after. Example: "Your CSA share is still at the barn! We hold it until 7pm tonight, then it goes to the food pantry."
How do I tell members about different CSA pickup locations?
Keep one contact list per pickup site and send each site its own text with its own time and place. Members at one site never get another site's times.
Sources (5)
- SARE: CSA Toolkit (USDA 2014 CSA survey figures), checked 2026-11-06
- NWPA Growers (Local Line): 2026 CSA member info, checked 2026-11-06
- The Beet: CSA pickup template, checked 2026-11-06
- CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices (May 2023), checked 2026-11-06
- Apple Support 118236: Send a group text message on your iPhone or iPad, checked 2026-11-04