May-June, 2006

Volume 14, Number 3

Newsletter of ATTRA - National Sustainable Agricultural Information Service: A project of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT).

Community Supported Agriculture: A Secure Market, A Local Food Supply

Community Supported Agriculture programs, known as CSAs, began in Europe and Japan as a way for urban people to rally around a local farm and secure a safe, fresh food supply for their families. Consumers hire a farmer, paying in advance for a share of the harvest. When things go well, shareholders have an overflowing abundance of local food. If the season brings drought or floods, pickings may be slim.

The CSA concept has evolved into many forms. Today CSAs are often led by farmers creating a market for their produce. The level of consumer involvement can vary tremendously. This issue of ATTRAnews looks at some unusual types of CSAs and what they offer to sustainable agriculture.

Much of the information in this issue of ATTRAnews is adapted from ATTRA's newly updated publication, Community Supported Agriculture, by NCAT Agriculture Specialist Katherine Adam.

In this issue:

• Community Supported Agriculture Grows in America
• Spread the Word and Keep Members in the Loop
• Resources for Community Supported Agriculture
• ATTRA Publications about Community Supported Agriculture and Direct Marketing
• CSA at the Workplace
• Shareholder Dairies
• The Take it or Leave it Model
• Hardin's River Mercantile Cooperative, Little Rock, Arkansas
• Food Bank Farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), Hadley, Mass.
• Nonprofit CSAs Create Food Security
• New and Updated ATTRA Publications from ATTRA

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Community Supported Agriculture Grows in America

Photo courtesy of the Hartford Food Project. © www.holcombfarmcsa.org

Twenty-five years ago, many young professionals left jobs in northeastern cities to revitalize abandoned New England farms. They found a dying local agricultural scene. Production of dairy, fruit, poultry, and vegetables was being squeezed out of local markets as the food industry consolidated. Direct farmer-to-consumer arrangements seemed to offer an answer. The CSA concept was born in America.

Over time, two distinct types of CSA emerged:

• Shareholder CSAs (consumer-driven): A “core group” organizes subscribers and hires the farmer. The core group may be a not-for-profit organization. Land may be purchased, leased, or rented. Most key decisions are made by core group personnel.
• Subscription CSAs (farmer-driven): The farmers organize the CSA, often as one of several ways they market their products. They make most of the management decisions. Farm work is not required of subscribers. Sometimes farmers cooperate to supply a variety of products for the CSA baskets. Subscription CSAs now constitute more than 75 percent of all CSAs.

Some CSAs have “add-on” options to the basic basket. Subscribers may selfharvest intensive-labor crops like snow peas and berries. In some arrangements, tree fruits and berries are available as a “fruit share.” Other CSAs offer bread, preserves, eggs, flowers, or other products to subscribers for an extra fee.

The success of any type of CSA depends on highly developed organizational and communication skills. Organizers must enjoy the complex scheduling and task management that go with CSAs. Computer literacy is a plus.

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