What is Community Supported Agriculture
and How Does It Work?

Food is a basic human need. Yet for most of us in the U.S., it is merely an inexpensive commodity that we take for granted. Issues surrounding how, where, or by whom it is grown are not generally the topic of conversation around the dinner table. Considering the current situation in agriculture, perhaps they should be. Food in the U.S. travels an average of 1,300 miles from the farm to the market shelf. Almost every state in the U.S. buys 85-90% of its food from some place else. In Massachusetts, for example, this food import imbalance translates to a $4 billion leak in the state economy on an annual basis. UMass studies have determined that Massachusetts could produce closer to 35% of its food supply. This 20% increase would contribute $1 billion annually to the Commonwealth.

Increased local food production would add considerable food dollars to the economy of many other states. Meanwhile, the nation's best farm land is being lost to commercial and residential development at an accelerating rate. At the same time, the retirement of older farmers, increasing land and production costs, low food prices, competing land uses, the lack of incentive for young people to enter farming, and the fundamental restructuring of the national and global economy all combine to make farming and local food production in the U.S. an increasingly difficult task. Community Supported Agriculture represents a viable alternative to the prevailing situation and the long-distance relationship most of us have with the food we eat.

What Is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?

CSA reflects an innovative and resourceful strategy to connect local farmers with local consumers; develop a regional food supply and strong local economy; maintain a sense of community; encourage land stewardship; and honor the knowledge and experience of growers and producers working with small to medium farms. CSA is a unique model of local agriculture whose roots reach back 30 years to Japan where a group of women concerned about the increase in food imports and the corresponding decrease in the farming population initiated a direct growing and purchasing relationship between their group and local farms. This arrangement, called "teikei" in Japanese, translates to "putting the farmers' face on food." This concept traveled to Europe and was adapted to the U.S. and given the name "Community Supported Agriculture" at Indian Line Farm, Massachusetts, in 1985. As of January 1999, there are over 1000 CSA farms across the US and Canada.

CSA is a partnership of mutual commitment between a farm and a community of supporters which provides a direct link between the production and consumption of food. Supporters cover a farm's yearly operating budget by purchasing a share of the season's harvest. CSA members make a commitment to support the farm throughout the season, and assume the costs, risks and bounty of growing food along with the farmer or grower. Members help pay for seeds, fertilizer, water, equipment maintenance, labor, etc. In return, the farm provides, to the best of its ability, a healthy supply of seasonal fresh produce throughout the growing season. Becoming a member creates a responsible relationship between people and the food they eat, the land on which it is grown and those who grow it.

This mutually supportive relationship between local farmers, growers and community members helps create an economically stable farm operation in which members are assured the highest quality produce, often at below retail prices. In return, farmers and growers are guaranteed a reliable market for a diverse selection of crops.

How Does CSA Work?

A farmer or grower, often with the assistance of a core group, draws up a budget reflecting the production costs for the year. This includes all salaries, distribution costs, investments for seeds and tools, land payments, machinery maintenance, etc. The budget is then divided by the number of people for which the farm will provide and this determines the cost of each share of the harvest. One share is usually designed to provide the weekly vegetable needs for a family of four. Flowers, fruit, meat, honey, eggs and dairy products are also available through some CSA.

Community members sign up and purchase their shares, either in one lump sum before the seeds are sown in early spring, or in several installments through-out the growing season. Production expenses are thereby guaranteed and the farmer or grower starts receiving income as soon as work begins.

In return for their investment, CSA members receive a bag of fresh, locally-grown, typically organic produce once a week from late spring through early fall, and occasionally throughout the winter in northern climates and year-round in milder zones. Members prefer a wide variety of vegetables and herbs, which encourages integrated cropping and companion planting. These practices help reduce risk factors and give multiple benefits to the soil. Crops are planted in succession in order to provide a continuous weekly supply of mixed vegetables. As crops rotate throughout the season, weekly shares vary by size and types of produce, reflecting local growing seasons and conditions.

• CSA vary considerably as they are based on farm or garden location, agricultural practices, and specific farm and community goals and needs. Memberships are known to include a variety of community members including low-income families, homeless people, senior citizens, and differently-abled individuals. If provided, an extra fee typically is charged for home delivery. Most CSA invite members to visit the farm and welcome volunteer assistance. Working shares are an option in some cases, whereby a member commits to three or four hours a week to help the farm in exchange for a discount on membership cost.
• Apprenticeships are growing in popularity on many CSA. For some farms they are an integral component of a successful operation. Apprenticeships offer valuable hands-on education.
• Property arrangements tend to be quite flexible. Beyond private ownership, there is leasing of land with lease fees factored in as a regular budget item. CSA is also an excellent opportunity for holding land in some form of trust arrangement.
• Every CSA strives over time for a truly sustainable operation, both economically and environmentally. Many try to develop to their highest potential by expanding to provide additional food items such as honey, fruit, meats, eggs, etc. Networks of CSA have been forming to develop associative economies by growing and providing a greater range of products in a cooperative fashion.
• Some CSA provide produce for local restaurants, roadside stands or farmers' markets while building farm membership, or in many cases, in addition to it.

Distribution and Decision-Making

Distribution styles also vary. Once the day's produce is harvested, the entire amount is weighed and the number of pounds or items (e.g. heads of lettuce, ears of corn) to be received by each share is determined. Some CSA have members come to the farm and weigh out their own share, leave members behind any items they don't want at a surplus table and possibly find something there they could use. Other farms have a distribution crew to weigh items and pack shares to be picked up my members at the farm or at distribution points.

Several advantages to the direct marketing approach of CSA, in addition to shared risk and pre-payment of farm costs, are the minimal loss and waste of harvested farm produce, little or reduced need for long-term storage, and a willingness by members to accept produce with natural cosmetic imperfections.

A core group made up of the farmers or growers, distributors and other key administrators, and several CSA members are often the decision-making body for CSA that determines short and long-range goals, prepares the budget, conducts publicity and outreach, organizes events, etc. Annual meetings, a member newsletter, and occasional surveys are some basic means of communication between the farm and its members.

Why Is Community Supported Agriculture Important?

• CSA's direct marketing gives farmers and growers the fairest return on their products.
• CSA keeps food dollars in the local community and contributes to the maintenance and establishment of regional food production.
• CSA encourages communication and cooperation among farmers.
• With a "guaranteed market" for their produce, farmers can invest their time in doing the best job they can rather than looking for buyers.
• CSA supports the biodiversity of a given area and the diversity of agriculture through the preservation of small farms producing a wide variety of crops.
• CSA creates opportunity for dialogue between farmers and consumers.
• CSA creates a sense of social responsibility and stewardship of local land.
• CSA puts "the farmers face on food" and increases understanding of how, where, and by whom our food is grow