CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. In it’s simplest form, it’s a partnership between farmers and their local community where both parties share the benefits and support of sustainable, local agriculture.
CSA works great for members because there is a price discount from retail prices (members save money!), shares are often brought to more convenient locations for pick-up, and members have access to a host of added benefits like visiting the farm, meeting other local folks interested in supporting farms, getting newsletters with tailored recipes, and lots more.
CSA farm customers (“members” or “shareholders”) commit early in the year to buy a farm’s harvest by purchasing a farm “share.” Over the growing season, CSA members receive a weekly box or selection of the farm’s harvest.
CSA newsletters are sent out by email a couple days before the pick-up... so, yes, you will have a sense in advance what vegetables are coming each week. Newsletters will also contain recipes to help plan out meals/shopping around the vegetables in the share. However, since we are somewhat on nature’s schedule, we aren’t always correct in our estimates—so there can always be some surprise element to the share! We do post pictures of our shares mid-day on Tuesdays, so you will have an idea of what is in your boxes a few hours in advance! It is important that if there is something that you are allergic to that you let us know so that we don't put it in your box.
Shares each week contain a range of different herbs, fruit, and vegetables, with the variety depending on the season.
We strive to provide members with a balanced mix each week of salad greens, root vegetables, fruit vegetables, cooking greens, herbs, and unique/fun vegetables, but the beginning of the season tends to be heavier on salad vegetables and leafy greens, while the summer weeks and fall shares have more fruiting veggies and root crops. Some staples we try to have most weeks (like lettuce) or every other week (like carrots or potatoes), while other crops just make one or two appearances each season. We also have a whole page on the website where you can check out pictures of what past shares looked like and read some newsletters to get a feel of the seasonal flow!
Working is NOT a requirement of our members.
There is an important concept woven into the CSA model that takes the arrangement beyond the usual commercial transaction. That is the notion of shared risk: in most CSAs, members pay up front for the whole season and the farmers do their best to provide an abundant box of produce each week. If things are slim, members are not typically reimbursed. The result is a feeling of "we're in this together". On some farms the idea of shared risk is stronger than others, and CSA members may be asked to sign a policy form indicating that they agree to accept without complaint whatever the farm can produce.
Many times, the idea of shared risk is part of what creates a sense of community among members, and between members and the farmers. If a hailstorm takes out all the peppers, everyone is disappointed together, and together cheer on the winter squash and broccoli. Most CSA farmers feel a great sense of responsibility to their members, and when certain crops are scarce, they make sure the CSA gets served first.