Growing food for the marketplace can be a risky undertaking. In the traditional farming model, the farmer takes all the risks and if the crops fail, for whatever reason, it is the grower who suffers most. If the financial damage experienced by the crops failing is severe enough, the farmer may go out of business. This can have repercussions throughout the community which the farm serves.
There is another way to organize the relationship between the farmer and the food buyer. Community Supported Agriculture, sometimes called Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) is a partnership between grower and consumer.
The relationship embodies a shared or mutual commitment between the grower and the buyer of what the grower sells.
The CSA establishes a direct link between the production and consumption of food. The buyers or community supporters pay the grower or farmer for a growing season’s worth of produce before any product is even planted. Thus, the consumers agree in advance to support the farmer and help the farmer financially right at the beginning of the relationship.
For example, the fees the members pay cover the costs of seeds, fertilizer, water, equipment maintenance, and labor
In return for their assistance and trust, the farm provides a healthy supply of seasonal fresh produce throughout the growing season. If the year is one of drought or too much rain, for example, the return on the investment will reflect this, thereby tying both the farmer and the consumer into the realities of growing food
This way when a person or family join a CSA, a relationship, based upon mutual responsibility, is established and 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.
A CSA can operate in an urban setting as well as in the countryside, perhaps, even better as an urban CSA makes it easier for the consumers to travel to the farm. It also brings producer and consumer closer together so food share pickups involve less travel.
Some CSAs have days set aside when the members come out to the farm and lend a hand. Children are welcome and the work takes on a festive atmosphere. This arrangement also provides a great opportunity for children and their parents to learn where their food really comes from.
Growing food for the marketplace can be a risky undertaking. In the traditional farming model, the farmer takes all the risks and if the crops fail, for whatever reason, it is the grower who suffers most. If the financial damage experienced by the crops failing is severe enough, the farmer may go out of business. This can have repercussions throughout the community which the farm serves.
There is another way to organize the relationship between the farmer and the food buyer. Community Supported Agriculture, sometimes called Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) is a partnership between grower and consumer.
The relationship embodies a shared or mutual commitment between the grower and the buyer of what the grower sells.
The CSA establishes a direct link between the production and consumption of food. The buyers or community supporters pay the grower or farmer for a growing season’s worth of produce before any product is even planted. Thus, the consumers agree in advance to support the farmer and help the farmer financially right at the beginning of the relationship.
For example, the fees the members pay cover the costs of seeds, fertilizer, water, equipment maintenance, and labor
In return for their assistance and trust, the farm provides a healthy supply of seasonal fresh produce throughout the growing season. If the year is one of drought or too much rain, for example, the return on the investment will reflect this, thereby tying both the farmer and the consumer into the realities of growing food
This way when a person or family join a CSA, a relationship, based upon mutual responsibility, is established and 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.
A CSA can operate in an urban setting as well as in the countryside, perhaps, even better as an urban CSA makes it easier for the consumers to travel to the farm. It also brings producer and consumer closer together so food share pickups involve less travel.
Some CSAs have days set aside when the members come out to the farm and lend a hand. Children are welcome and the work takes on a festive atmosphere. This arrangement also provides a great opportunity for children and their parents to learn where their food really comes from.
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