CSAs: the basics + opportunities for social justice

As part of Rogue Farm Corps, each intern is required to do an independent project.  This project is a chance for us to learn more about a specific aspect of agriculture; other than that stipulation the independent project is pretty open for us to decide what we want to do.  When I first started thinking about my project, I really wanted to do something related to my passion of making fresh, organic, culturally-specific produce available to all communities, not just a select few.  Before I could narrow the topic down, however, I began learning more about the Siskiyou Sustainable Cooperative, a CSA of which DBF is a founding member and has successfully operated in the Rogue Valley for a number of years.  I was intrigued by this model of food distribution and decided to learn more about CSAs for my independent project.

“CSA” stands for Community Supported Agriculture and is just one model of agriculture that has become quite popular in the United States’ alternative agriculture and local food movements.  The basic CSA model is as follows: consumers (let’s call them CSA members) pay a sum of money upfront to the farmer in order to receive weekly boxes of produce throughout the growing season.  The money from the CSA members provides the farmer with important upfront funds; the farmer also doesn’t have to worry so much about marketing the produce later in the year (it’s already been sold to the members).  CSA members can experience eating seasonally, eating locally, and eating new foods (typically the member does not decide which veggies are in the weekly box).  They also have the chance to get to know their farmer, either through weekly box pick-ups or by helping out on the farm. 

CSA members receive a weekly box of produce like this one
(from the Sisikiyou Sustainable Cooperative earlier this season).

These shares are nearly ready for delivery.

According to Local Harvest, there are over 4000 CSAs in the US today.  Sizes of CSAs vary.  Some farms provide just a few CSA shares, yet some CSAs have grown to provide over a thousand shares.  Additionally, many variations on the CSA model that I described above have been adopted.  What is amazing is how quickly the CSA movement has spread and evolved- the CSA model didn’t really exist in the United States until the mid 1980s.  

While I took a bit of a divergence from my original goals of studying food access, the world of CSAs is not devoid of people who are working to make good food available to people from all backgrounds.  Yes, CSAs are often criticized for their inability to be inclusive for a number of reasons.  Members normally have to pay a very large sum of money at the start of the season (hundreds of dollars) for produce that costs more than conventional grocery store stuff.  It also requires having time to retrieve the weekly box of produce and to prepare the wide variety of produce that a member might receive in a weekly box.  Such aspects of the CSA model make it a commitment that only people from privileged (white, educated) backgrounds will make.

While CSAs do get criticized often, many CSAs are committed to social justice and have devised programs that target food insecurity.  Thus, CSAs do have the potential to be part the larger movement to make the food system more just and equitable.  For example, some CSAs provide discounted shares for low-income individuals and families.  These can be funded through revolving loan programs, donations from other members, or special grants.  Other farms have tried to make their CSAs more accessible by offering working shares (a share in exchange for farm work) and by accepting food stamps (there is a list of CSAs which accept SNAP throughout Oregon at this website).  Some CSAs also decide to donate shares and excess produce to community-based organizations such as women’s shelters or food banks.  Lastly, some CSAs are actually social enterprises.  Adelante Mujeres, the organization I interned with last summer in Forest Grove, Oregon, is one example- they just started a CSA which provides beginning Latin@ farmers with an additional marketing outlet.  It’s neat to see some projects that are implementing not only temporary but also more sustainable, empowerment-focused solutions to food insecurity.

I’ll be writing more about the Siskiyou Sustainable Cooperative as I shadow various parts of their operation and learn what strengths and challenges they face as a CSA here in the Rogue Valley.