A Live Green, Live Smart™ Briefing 
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Everybody eats, but few of us know how many hundreds of miles most of the food we consume travels from the farms where it originates to the supermarket carts we load. In almost every state in the US, more than 80% of the food residents eat comes from somewhere else. This makes sense if you’re eating rice in North Dakota – but why should your apples come from Michigan if you live in Minnesota? As transportation costs rise and farm land is lost to commercial and residential development, people have reason to ask where the local farmers and fresh foods have gone. Those fortunate enough to live near one of the more-than 1500 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms across America will tell you that if you want good food and good farms, you may need to pitch in yourself.
When post-WWII development and the Interstate Highway System made Americans more mobile than we’d been since territorial settlement days, farming and food production became more industrial in nature, and marketing of products was no longer regional. By the 1980s, most regional and local brands of flour and dairy had become absorbed into national brands, or faded away as farmers and producers retired – the cost of land and of entry into food distribution and processing reduced incentives for younger generations to enter these sectors on their own, and quantity, price, and portability became the standards for most foodstuffs.
The back-to-the-land movement of the 1970s took young people to small acreages unsuited for large-scale production. A strategy arose among first a handful, and now thousands of individuals, to protect land and preserve it by growing seasonal produce and products on a small scale – from this effort farmers markets, nearly gone by the 1980s, revived and grew, and new schemes for creating links between growers and consumers proliferated. One of the most durable is the Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, model, in which a partnership is developed between local farmers and growers and community members committed to a mutually supportive interdependence.
CSA farms sell shares to members whose annual or monthly subscription covers a farm’s operating budget. Subscribers receive for their investment a share of whatever fruits, vegetables, flowers or other products – eggs, honey, meat, depending on the particular farm – are produced in a growing season. Many of the shareholder members actually help harvest these foods, and on most farms any excess is sold to pay staff, improve the facilities, or return support to a land trust or other owner.
Most CSA farms have an advisory or governing board that manages the budget and determines what crops to produce, conditions for membership and the price of shares. Typical prices nationwide range from $300 - $600 per year, and many variables will influence both cost and availability of produce. Members receive produce weekly for a specific period of time as crops rotate through the seasons. In some climates and on farms with greenhouses, members buy a “winter share” for those products appropriate for that region. Members' investment exposes them to the risks of the growing season, weather, and variety choice -- but far from being a deterrent to participation, many CSA farm associations are formed even before a farmer has been found to work the land.
Most CSA farms work to keep their products, land, and members healthy by using sustainable practices, foregoing as much artificial chemical application as possible, growing multiple (often commercially unavailable) varieties and heirloom breeds of plants. The relationship between grower, consumer, and the environment fosters a respectful regard for all.
While CSA farmers and members come from all walks of life and all political persuasions, they have in common a commitment to shared responsibility, good food, and an almost evangelical commitment to bringing others into an appreciation of local growing and local land. Many collaborate with schools, homeless shelters, low-income support organizations, and elder service organizations to ensure that access to healthy food, land, and living aren’t limited to a small elite.
For much more information about Community Supported Agriculture, including newsletters, periodicals, and videos, go to this internet link on the University of Massachusetts – Amherst Vegetable Project website:
http://www.umassvegetable.org/food_farming_systems/csa/resources.html#organizationsGetting familiar with the people who grow your dinner can help the earth – and be a lot of fun, too.