CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Quite simply, you purchase a membership before the growing season. Then you pick up your weekly share of produce grown on the farm during the harvest season. On our farm, the harvest season is usually June through September. All along, you support a local farming family, enjoy wholesome nutritious food, and promote environmental stewardship.
What is Community Supported Agriculture
CSA began over 35 years ago in Europe and Japan when consumers concerned about food safety banded together to purchase food in buying groups. Today, over 500 CSAs operate in the United States and Canada, with each member and each farmer having their own reasons for participating.
At the heart of each CSA farm's mission is the partnership between food producers and food consumers. A sustainable society depends on consumers knowing where their food comes from and farmers knowing whom their hard work nurishes. This relationship has long been erroded by industrial agriculture. The environment, our nutrition, and even our spirit has suffered because of it. CSAs develop our connection to the land and our food by getting the people to the farm, meeting the farmers, helping to harvest the crops, or caring for the chickens that lay the eggs.
CSA is also good for the environment. A typical CSA farm uses sustainable farming practices, such as crop rotation, manure fertilizer, composting, and integrated pest management. This reduces our oil dependency and the amount of toxins entering the environment.
Furthermore, CSA helps the farmer. There is a certain amount of risk in growing food for a living. For example, unpredicatble weather and variable market demand can easily wreak havoc on a farmer's livelyhood. However, when a community recognizes the importance of having local wholesome food available, they can come together to support the farmer by accepting some of the risk. Becoming a member of a CSA means you buy a share of the harvest of the farm, whether it's a bumper year or a hail storm damaged the spring crops. This gives the farmer a more reliable income. He can then focus on growing food and taking care of the land, rather than worrying whether he will survive another unpredictable year.
Why is Community Supported Agriculture Important
- direct marketing gives farmers and growers the fairest return on their products
- keeps your food dollars in the maintenance and establishment of regional food production
- creates a sense of social responsibility and stewardship of local land
- puts the farmer's face on food" and increases consumer understanding of how, where, and by whom our food is grown
- encourages communication and cooperation among farmers and consumers
- with a guaranteed market for their produce, farmers can invest their time in doing the best job they can rather than looking for buyers
- supports biodiversity through the preservation of small farms producing a wide variety of crops
- creates opportunity for dialogue between farmers and consumers
Reasons to Support Organic Farming
- supports sustainable agriculture - saving the soil and the small farmer
- respects the soil, its limits, and its cycles
- fresh organic produce is more nutritious and flavorful than chemically farmed food
- keeps members in touch with the seasons, the weather, and the farmers
- promotes bioregional food concepts with fewer transportation miles and less packaging
- allows members, if so desiring, to take active roles in food production for their families
