What is CSA?
It’s Relationship.
Community Supported Agriculture, CSA for short, is a model of seasonal food production and distribution that brings farmers and customers into a relationship.
It’s Sharing.
CSA members purchase a “share” of a farm’s annual harvest up front, helping the farm establish a solid financial foundation for the season. As a member, you receive a regular selection of freshly harvested food. Shares can include vegetables, fruit, flowers, herbs, grains, dairy, or a combination of all. With a range of styles and sizes, there is a share to suit your particular household, pocketbook, and appetite.
It’s Investment.
CSA keeps farms thriving. Farming is a challenging and risky endeavor, and your CSA investment helps farmers to plan the season, without depending on the whims of the marketplace. CSA allows farms to purchase early-season supplies like seeds, pay for labor, and makes the work of producing food more meaningful. CSA gives farmers the peace of mind of a committed customer base and the knowledge that the food they produce is nourishing their neighbors. You know exactly where your food comes from, and you know that your food dollar directly supports the farm.
It’s Community.
In joining a CSA, you’ll find kindred spirits and make new friends. You’ll know the farmers, and get to know fellow members at pick-up/visit to farms. Many farms offer volunteer opportunities as another way of supporting the work and deepening camaraderie. Some provide newsletters and recipes, workshops, or other on-farm events. Whether you pick-up your share, or get it delivered to your home, you’re joining in fellowship with others who prize good food from well-tended land. Everyone is welcome in CSA.
It’s Value.
Not only does CSA make sense for farmers, it makes sense for members too. There are many ways to procure food, but few are as direct and economically transparent as CSA. The investment you make in joining a CSA is an investment in a healthy local food system. When you pick up your share, you’re getting little waste or packaging, low food mileage, and beneficial agricultural practices. CSA is believing in something and acting on that belief. You receive genuine local food plus a lot of added value!
It’s Nourishing.
When you join a CSA, you’re going to get cooking! Creating healthy, satisfying meals with the superior ingredients is a highlight for many members. Although it can take some getting used to, utilizing what is in your share is a rewarding learning experience. Members often find that what is in the week’s share can help define what is on their home menus in a way that’s quite liberating. Your farmers and fellow members are happy to share their favorite recipes and before long you’ll know the tastiest thing to do with the seasonal vegetables. Whatever you cook up, CSA makes farm-to-table eating a meaningful everyday practice.
It’s Consuming Something Awesome!
- Chest-thumping pride in supporting a small farm
- Immeasurable joy when picking juicy tomatoes from the vine
- Fizzy giddiness at watching children run through the fields
- Deep satisfaction when cooking colorful, flavorful meals
- The nutrient rush from ingesting vitamin-packed veggies
- A return to good health from medicinal salves and tinctures
- Contentment from consuming ethically raised dairy
- Jubilation when surveying the abundance in your weekly share
- Pervasive peace listening to bees buzzing through the flowers
- Curiosity and delight when trying unfamiliar fruits and veggies
- True exhilaration pulling up to the farm
- A strange desire to start pickling and canning
- Strong connection to the earth and all living things
It’s Simple.
Become a CSA member today by signing up today and claiming your share of this year’s harvest. Discover what CSA means to you.
CSA Terminology Defined
Dairy Share
Dairy shares are often offered as add-ons to your main share. Yogurt, milk, and/or butter, ghee, cheese are typical elements of a dairy share.
Variety Share
A “full plate” or “whole diet” share will include a range of ingredients one would need to create a complete meal. In addition to a range of vegetables and proteins, you might also receive bread and/or grains, honey, herbs, flowers, maple syrup, and cheese.
Small Size
A small size share (also called half, biweekly, or mini) is one that typically feeds one or two individuals. Some farms offer a half-size weekly share, others a regular size share on a biweekly basis. Please ask the farmer how they define and disburse their small shares.
Payment Plans
If it is impossible or inconvenient to pay for your entire share in advance, many farms offer a variety of flexible payment options.
Winter Shares
A share of cold weather and/or frozen produce offered as a bridge between the end of fall harvest and the beginning of the next growing season.
Working Shares
In exchange for volunteer effort, some farms offer a reduced price share.
Specialty Shares
Less common share varieties may include early / late season produce, frozen vegetables, prepared foods, bread, coffee, or holiday pick-ups, among other things. A specialty share might also offer unique sizing options (XL, medium), scheduling flexibility, or a custom-designed collection of produce / products. Please ask the farmer what types of specialty shares they offer.
More information of our Unique CSA customizations available.
Subsidized Shares
Some farms offer shares paid in part or in full by other CSA members or the farm business itself for those in need of assistance. Please ask the farmer how their subsidy program work..
