What is a CSA

CSA is short for Community Supported Agriculture

Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically, the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season. This arrangement creates several rewards for both the farmer and the consumer.

In brief...

Advantages for consumers:

• Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
• Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
• Visit the farm at least once a season
• Kids typically favor food from "their" farm
• Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows your food
• Learn more about how food is grown
• Follow your food from the ground to your table

Advantages for farmers:

• Get acquainted with the people who eat their food
• Pre-orders assist the farmer in planning volume and crop varieties
• They market their crops early in the year before the busy growing season

It's a simple enough idea, but it's impact has been profound. Tens of thousands of families have joined CSA's, and in some areas of the country there is more demand than there are CSA farms to fill it. The government does not track CSA's, so there is no official count for how many CSA's that exist in the U.S.. LocalHarvest has the most comprehensive directory of CSA farms, with over 4,000 listed in their grassroots database.