What is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

20 May 2009 08:39 AM

Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA is a great way to have your household become connected with your community, while enjoying fresh food and even some great savings.

In today's modern form of CSA, community members buy shares in a farm or from a farming community. In turn, these members get to share in the bounty of the farm's harvest. Members get local, seasonal produce and other farm products. There are a lot of rewards in this system for both the farmer and the member.

Benefits to CSA

Some of the benefits that you will experience when you are part of a CSA make it well worth joining. You'll be able to eat ultra-fresh food, sometimes all organic, depending on the farm. You'll be able to try out new types of produce and even learn different cooking techniques in some cases. Knowing where your food comes from can be a great life lesson for your kids, and kids may tend to eat more vegetables when they come from "their farm." You will foster a relationship with the farmer and learn so much about how food is grown. You will also be supporting a local business, and this greatly benefits your overall community and maybe even your property values.

How does a CSA work?

There are several different models for a CSA. Some farmers pack up standard boxes for their members and fill them with whatever bounty is available for that week. Other farmers set up a stand and allow their members to choose how to fill their boxes from all of the bounty that the farmer brings with certain limitations (leave some blueberries for the next family). Other farmers include the option of homemade bread, milk, eggs and even chicken and flowers.

To learn more about finding a local CSA in your community, log on to http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog and caring for little ones in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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