Why CSA?
Community supported agriculture (CSA) is a partnership between farmers and the local community, providing mutual benefits and reconnecting the people to the land where their food is grown. Here are just some of the key benefits to be gained from this new approach:
Benefits to the local communities
- consumers benefit from receiving fresh food from a known source
- the environmental benefits of fewer 'food miles', less packaging and ecologically sensitive farming with improved animal welfare
- a local economy enhanced by higher employment, more local processing, local consumption and a re-circulation of money through 'local spend'
- educating people about varieties of food, it's production methods and costs
- having an influence over the local landscape and encouraging more sustainable farming
Benefits to the farmers
- a more secure income which improves business planning and time to concentrate on farming
- a higher and fairer return for their products by selling direct to the public
- increased involvement in the local community; the opportunity to respond directly to consumers' needs
- receive help with labour and planning initiatives for the future
How CSA can work for you
There is no fixed way of organising CSA, it's a framework to inspire communities to work together with their local farmers, so it's up to you how this works best for you and your local community. Here are some examples of initiatives that have come out of the CSA project:
- receiving a weekly box of vegetables throughout the year
- help with the running of an organic farm and supporting a farm shop
- sponsor an apple tree and harvest its fruit
- rent a plot of farmland and have vegetables grown on your behalf
- buy shares in a cow and receive interest in cheese
- rent-a-vine from one of Britain's few vineyards
The Soil Association is in a partnership project called Making Local Food Work funded by the Big Lottery Fund; see 'The project' page for more details.
