What is CSA?

CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, 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. The largest cooperative network in Japan is called the Seikatsu Club. Local chapters of this club can involve thousands of people and support up to 15 farms. Seikatsu members speak of "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 were 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.

In North America, there are four types of CSAs.

1. Subscription or farmer-driven. The farmer organizes the CSA and makes most of the management decisions. The shareholder or subscriber is not very involved in the farm. This kind of CSA is quickly becoming the most common.
2. Shareholder or consumer-driven. Consumers organize the CSA and hire the farmer to grow what they want. Most of the decisions are made by the consumers. This model is often used in the Northeast and this is the model of the Poughkeepsie Farm Project.
3. Farmer cooperative. A kind of farmer-driven CSA in which two or more farms pool their resources to supply customers. This may allow the CSA to offer a wider variety of products (e.g., fruit, eggs, meat, milk). "With such an arrangement a small farmer wouldn't have to devote space to land-extensive, low-value crops such as pumpkins or sweet corn and a larger farm wouldn't have to dedicate time to labor intensive crops like carrots or herbs" (3).
4. Farmer-consumer cooperative. The farmer and consumer co-own land and other resources and work together to produce food.

• Learn more: CSA Resources Online

[Adapted from "What is Community Supported Agriculture and How Does It Work? from the UMass Agriculture Extension, Research Brief #21 from the U-Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, and "Community Supported Agriculture" by Jane Greer of Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas ]