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A decade ago, the definition of Community Supported Agriculture was fairly
straightforward, as there were only two versions in practice. In its purest state, a CSA was
a farm that was owned by a group of community members, each of whom had purchased
a share of the business. Together they hired a farmer who raised crops which were
divided amongst the shareholders. If crops were bountiful, everyone ate especially well.
The risk of crop failure was shared as well, so the farmer was paid the same in good years
and in lean ones.
Few such projects have taken root in this country, though those that have are known for
the passion of their members. Much more common is the type of CSA wherein a farmer
offers a given number of shares to a community, typically in the spring when the farm's
cash flow needs are the highest. Members purchase a share up front, and in exchange
receive a box of vegetables each week throughout the growing season. People who have
joined CSAs often speak of the satisfaction they get from being "forced" to eat both
seasonally and more widely than they have been accustomed to doing.
Though it offers many advantages to both farmers and consumers, CSAs are not for
everyone. Some people find the quantity of produce overwhelming; others balk at the
idea of having to deal with veggies they don't care for or know about, while perhaps
having to go to the market for favorite items not offered by their CSA.
In response, farmers all across the country are coming up with creative variations on the
CSA theme. Some address the quantity issue while offering consumers greater choice,
and others take the idea beyond produce to other farm products.
Many farms on the East Coast (and gradually elsewhere in the country) have taken to
offering a "mix and match" style CSA, where members fill their own baskets with
produce, thus deciding for themselves what's for dinner this week. Bob Muth, of
Muth Family Farm in Williamstown, NJ has followed this
practice for several years and found it to be successful. "Pre-boxing was a disaster,"
he says, because so many customers requested customized boxes, which proved to be
impossible. Now, all his CSA members come to the farm and fill their own basket -
available in three sizes - with whatever they want off the harvest tables. Their
choices are often wide open, limited only when there is a small quantity of some
item. Bob raves about this system, "It saves me money in labor, saves me time,
and helps the members feel like part of the family, which they are."
In another move to meet members' needs, some small-scale farms have joined together to
create a single CSA. This allows each farm to focus on the crops it grows best, while still
offering members the variety they expect. "Two Small Farms" CSA is one such project,
representing the joint effort of two family farms in the Monterey Bay region of
California. With the coastal microclimates being what they are, though located only a few
miles apart, Mariquita Farm is able to produce heat loving
crops while High Ground Organics focuses on cool weather
vegetables and berries. Their customers get the best of both!
CSAs have also branched out to offer much more than produce. Meat and eggs are
featured in some CSAs, with or without vegetables. At VanCalcar Acres,
in Fort Plain, NY, CSA members beef, pork and lamb cuts, an assortment of vegetables, and two loaves
of homemade bread each week. And for those who need a regular dose of beauty as much
as they need food, 'flower CSAs' offer members a bouquet of fresh flowers every week.
In a bit more liberal application of the term, 'CSA' is also used in conjunction with a
monthly subscription service for coffee beans shipped
to customers from a farm in Hawaii.
The most controversial twist on the CSA idea are the programs whose managers purchase
food from other businesses and offer the collective goods to subscribers. These may be
run by farmers or by third parties. For a time, LocalHarvest.org did not allow such
businesses to list themselves in our directory because we felt that practices such as
purchasing tropical fruit to round out a CSA box in, say, the Pacific Northwest made the
program more of a "buying club" than a CSA. As with so many things, however, it has
become difficult to draw a definitive line.
There is some gray area. Consider, for example, "Eating with the
Seasons," a San Francisco Bay Area CSA run by Becky Herbert, the daughter of a Central
Coast produce farmer. The 'CSA' offers produce from her dad's farm and one other local farmer,
along with locally raised grassfed beef, organic eggs and chicken - and imported, locally
roasted organic fair trade coffee. Becky uses the term 'CSA' with some hesitance, but
says, "There isn't really a word for what we do." Her business grew out of the traditional
CSA on her dad's farm. When he simplified his crop plan and stopped growing the wide
variety of vegetables expected from a CSA, the group of community members that had
been part of the farm wanted to find a way to continuing their relationship with it. Becky
approached other farms in order to keep the CSA going for the community. "We see our
business as a channel for the farmers in the community to get their food to the people. It's
more like a network thing now," she says. Making the model more flexible allowed for a
new dialogue with the members. "We ask them what they're looking for, and then we try
to find those products in the county," she says. "Working with new farmers is fun for me,
and our members get introduced to a number of the local growers instead of just one."
Recognizing that "CSA" is becoming a malleable term, this month LocalHarvest updated
the forms that farmers use to create their on-line listing for our directory. We now ask
new CSAs to describe how their program is managed: by a single farmer, a group of
neighboring farms, or a third party. We also ask them to describe their order and delivery
mechanisms and whether the share is customizable. We hope that these changes will be
helpful as our users locate - and define - CSA programs in their area.
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