A Guide to
Community Supported Agriculture
Serving the San Francisco Bay Area

From the Institute for Food and Development Policy and CSA West (Food First)

WHAT IS CSA?

These days it's unlikely that we have any idea where our food is grown, let alone who grows it. Over the past ten years an alternative to our "anonymous" food supply system has emerged-Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

CSA is based on the concept of making business more community oriented-it's a mutually supportive arrangement in which members are supplied with a diverse supply of fresh, in-season produce and farms have committed and familiar customers.

Members pay a seasonal, monthly, or weekly fee to receive weekly shipments of fresh produce, which vary in content according to the season. The fruits and vegetables are harvested no more than a day before they are delivered to members so they're much fresher and more nutritious than what you will find in a supermarket.

A major benefit to CSA is that the transaction is direct between farmer and consumer, eliminating the extra costs necessitated by a middle person. The arrangement is more secure for the farmer who then does not have to constantly seek new markets. Most CSAs send out a newsletter with their boxes of produce and some also include recipes and serving suggestions. Farms are usually open to having members come and visit to see where their food comes from as well as hosting special events during the year, such as work-days, potlucks, and harvest festivals.

What are the benefits of CSAs?

Produce is fresh

The average "fresh" produce in a grocery store is 7-14 days old, has been selected for ease of picking and shelf-life, and has traveled approximately 1500 environmentally expensive miles, losing nutrition and taste along the way.

You an be introduced to new varieties of produce

Most supermarkets only offer 1-2 different varieties of fruits and vegetables in their stores. Through a CSA you will be introduced to many different varieties of fruits and vegetables, including produce grown from heirloom seeds.

Your food dollar goes directly to family farms

Since 1981, more then 620,000 productive farms (20% of the total) have been forced to sell out because they were unable to compete with large scale conventional farms that dominate the market. In a conventional market system, only 25 cents of every food dollar goes to farmers, where with a CSA the entire dollar goes to the farmer.

You gain a better understanding of where your food comes from

Knowing where your food is grown and by whom can reconnect you with your food source. Eating locally and seasonally frees you from depending on imported produce from other countries.

Assures your food dollar is having a positive effect on local ecologically sound agriculture

Large scale conventional agriculture of the 1990's is highly energy-intensive, degrades non-renewable resources like topsoil, contributes to lowering water tables and ground water pollution.

Provides you with affordable high quality produce

With supermarkets leaving the urban areas many residents have been left without an accessible major neighborhood grocery store. CSAs vest us with a new consumer choice.

Produce is organic

Shareholders can be assured that all produce is grown organically, which means without the use of fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides that are synthetically produced. People concerned about the health dangers of conventional produce can feel good about the food they are eating from their CSA.

Here is a sample of the seasonal produce you might find in your weekly box from a Bay Area CSA:

• February May
  • 1 lb broccoli 1 bunch beets
  • 1 red cabbage 2 lb broccoli
  • 1 bunch collards 1 bunch carrots
  • 1 bunch fresh garlic 1 head lettuce
  • 1 bunch red kale 1 lb potatoes
  • 1 bunch leeks 1 bunch spinach
  • 1/2 lb walnuts 1bunch green onions
  • 1/2 lb salad mix 1/2 lb sugar snap peas
  • >4 oranges
• August November
  • 1 bunch basil 1 lb walnuts
  • 1 bunch long beans 1 bunch turnips
  • 3 cucumbers 1 bunch beets
  • 1 bulb garlic 2 heads lettuce
  • 1 passport melon 1 bunch green onions
  • 1 yellow watermelon 1 butternut squash
  • 1 lb tomatoes 2 lbs potatoes
  • 1 lb zucchini 1 bunch red kale
  • 1 napa cabbage

GETTING INVOLVED

How can I get involved?

• Most people's involvement with their CSA is simply to support the farm economically and to pick up a weekly box of produce. However, there are usually a "core-group" of people who find many ways to get involved in the farm, such as:
  • organizing a potluck
  • helping with the newsletter
  • fundraising for improvements
• Ask your farmers or CSA organizers what ways they can use your volunteer energy
• Supporting small-scale organic farming systems is one of the easiest and most important steps one could take in taking care of both ourselves and the earth.

How can I start a pick-up site?

CSAs usually drop off their weekly boxes of food at a "pick-up site." These pick-ups are in private residences, workplaces, and schools. Usually the farm needs to have from five to fifteen shares in that area in order to start delivering to a designated pick-up site.
If you find a CSA that doesn't have a pick-up site near you don't let that stop you from participating! Call the farm to find out how many shares they need in order to establish a new pick-up site and gather a group from your work, neighborhood, or place of worship. Often the CSA will offer a free box to a household if they volunteer to coordinate a new pick-up site.

Your commitment to supporting the farm on a consistent basis is what makes CSA an economically viable alternative to large-scale industrial agriculture.

Resources

CSA West is a resource center for people interested in Community Supported Agriculture CSA). Our efforts are aimed at strengthening existing CSAs, as well as assisting new CSA projects get off to a good start.

• We provide information that we have on hand or we make referrals to those with knowledge on such topics as crop planning, community involvement, budget formation, record keeping, and alternative land tenure and loan programs.
• We write articles or contribute to publications that broaden the information base on CSA-related activity.

Workshops and Conferences

• We organized a Western Region CSA conference in November '95 which drew over 460 people to learn about CSAs.
• We have three workshops scheduled for '96: a Spring workshop on CSA land tenure, a summer workshop on CSA community development, and a fall workshop on Long-term CSA business planning.

• We developed a 60 member CSA with the staff of the Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture, on UCSC's 25 acre organic farm, that serves as a training ground for the group of 40 annual apprentices.
• We sponsor students who are researching CSAs.

CSA West's mission is to serve farmers and community members in their efforts to develop sound regional food systems.

A FEW QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT ASK WHEN CHOOSING A CSA:

How are prices set?

The price of membership for most CSAs is determined by a number of factors, such as:

• what the farm needs to earn in order to be economically viable
• quantity and diversity of the food items provided
• fair market value for such items

Since all farms are unique, with each growing different crops in different ways suited to their climate and ability, each CSA's harvest box is going to be different. For example, one CSA might have an established fruit orchard or a raspberry patch, while others are growing only vegetables. Some farms that are right along the coast might not be able to grow the best summer melons due to the fog, but will have great cooler-weather crops such as lettuce and broccoli; whereas the opposite would be true for farms in the hotter Central Valley.
Most CSAs determine the price by calculating the market value of the produce in the box and charging accordingly, while others develop a yearly budget for the farm and divide it by the number of people the farm can provide for sustainably.

What are the farming practices?

The farming practices of each CSA vary as well. One CSA may cultivate and till the soil without the use of fossil fuel energy by utilizing horses. Another may choose to do all the work by hand. Others see the need to grow as much food as possible with use of tractors and other moderate-scale farm technologies. Some farm under organic and biodynamic certification, while others rely on the community to judge their stewardship efforts. The more you learn about different farming practices, the more you can determine what kind of farming you wish to support.