Community Supported Agriculture, A Partnership for Sustainable Living - Green Living Ideas

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Community Supported Agriculture, A Partnership for Sustainable Living

by GLI Editors in Community Supported Agriculture

Would you like to improve the quality of the food you eat, decrease your personal impact on the environment, build a stronger connection to your community, and promote the standards of fair trade products at the same time?

You can do all of these things simply by becoming part of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm in your area.

What Are CSAs?

CSA farms operate as partnerships between farmers and members of the community who buy shares in a farm’s harvest each growing season.  Each share contributes a fee to cover the farm’s yearly operating costs, and, in turn, purchases a share of the yearly harvest.  Typically, the result of each share is a weekly supply of organic produce at the peak of ripeness, though some community shared agriculture can include flowers, fruits, eggs, milk, and coffee in its weekly allotments.

This innovative model of sustainable agriculture has been steadily gaining popularity over the last twenty years.  Around 1985, the practice was first brought to the U.S.  from Europe, where it was originally inspired by the biodynamic farming methods of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner.  The first two CSA farms in the U.S.  formed independently in 1986, as the Indian Line Farm in Massachusetts, and the Temple-Wilton Community Farm in New Hampshire.  In 1990, there were around 50 CSA farms in North America.  Today’s estimations vary wildly, with reports of at least 1,300 CSA farms, and as many as 3000.

A typical CSA is a small, independent family farm.  After community members sign up to purchase shares, a yearly budget is drawn up by a core group of members, determining what the production costs will be for that year.  The budget is then divided by the number of members for which the farm will provide.  This determines what the cost of each share will be.  Then a detailed plan is devised, stating the types and varieties of produce to be planted, according to the preferences of the CSA subscribers.  Members either buy their shares up front, or arrange to pay in installments throughout the season.  The close proximity of the farm to its members strengthens local economy by keeping local food dollars circulating within the community.  This financial investment from its shareholders creates a stable market for the farm, toward which all of its time and energy can be safely spent.

In a CSA, farmers can concentrate on producing the highest quality product rather than investing their time in search of possible buyers.  In return, the community reaps the benefits of the harvest once a week, for the duration of the growing season, usually from late spring to early fall.

Distribution

As crops rotate during the season, the community produce boxes vary in size and variety.  Each week they are distributed to neighborhood locations, or for an additional fee can be delivered directly to members’ homes.  Some CSA’s offer different share sizes to accomodate smaller families and single people, and also offer the option of working on the farm in exchange of part of their share.   It is to the environment’s benefit that CSA’s are gaining in popularity.  Not only is the focus on care of preserving the immediate environment through organic and biodynamic methods reducing chemical pollution in the air and soil, the upsurge of CSA farms are also beginning to reduce the distance required to get food in the U.S. from the farm to the table.

When we rely on the conventional method of buying produce in the supermarket, we are buying food that has traveled an average of 1,300 miles to reach us.  Not only does this practice lessen the nutritional value and flavor of the food when we finally do eat it, it also contributes to global warming because of the fuel it requires to transport the food such a long distance.

More CSA Benefits…

Shortening the often long-distance relationship between yourself and the food you eat has numerous personal benefits as well. Aside from the obvious fact that your food will taste better, knowing that you are taking part in the process that creates it will make you feel better too.  By eating foods only when they are in season, you attune yourself to the seasons themselves and bring yourself closer to the rhythms of nature.  Many people who have become part of CSAs also say that they eat a much wider variety of vegetables than they did when they bought their produce solely at the grocery store.  For instance, perhaps they had always passed by the turnips when they went shopping, not really sure how to cook them into something delicious.  However, when turnips showed up in the weekly delivery of vegetables, they found themselves more motivated to figure out how to utilize them in dishes.

Most CSA farms send out weekly newsletters that keep community members abreast of distribution times and places, crop updates, and often include recipe and menu suggestions for the foods they’ll be receiving.

The degree of involvement in being a part of a CSA, while it helps to re-establish the lost connection between people and the food they eat, also provides an opportunity for individuals to connect on a local and cooperative level.  CSA’s encourage communication and foster a sense of social responsibility, while not only ensuring the survival of that endangered species, the farmer, but also providing a sustainable alternative to the destructive cycle of commercial agriculture as we know it.

Article Contributors: Julie Reid

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Posted on Dec 17, 2007

chemical pollution, energy, Europe, fair trade products, food, Indian Line Farm, Julie Reid, local food dollars, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North America, quality product, Rudolf Steiner, Temple-Wilton Community Farm, United States