Community Supported Agriculture
By: Marilyn Dunbar
What is Community Supported Agriculture?
History of Community Supported Agriculture:
Then Jan Vander Tuin brought the idea of a community supported agriculture to North America by introducing the concept to Robyn Van En at the Indian Line Farm in Massachusetts. In 1986, the Indian Line Farm in Massachusetts and the Temple-Wilton Community Farm in New Hampshire were established and became the beginnings of the community supported agriculture in North America.
Today, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there were a total of 12,617 farms in the United States that were marketing through CSAs in 2012; which was a 0.5% increase from the amount in 2007.
The Benefits and Risks:
- Supports local farmers
- Provides a way of eating well and being healthy
- Protects the environment by lessening the carbon footprint of how far the produce must travel
Risks of Community Supported Agriculture:
- There's always a chance of a poor crop yield or failure due to horrible weather or pests
Resources:
Community Supported Agriculture. (2014, December 12). Retrieved from United States Department of Agriculture: National Agricultural Library: http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml
DeMuth, S. (1993, September). Defining Community Supported Agriculture. Retrieved from United States Department of Agriculture: National Agricultural Library: http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csadef.shtml
Why Join a CSA? (n.d.). Retrieved from Just Food: http://www.justfood.org/csa/why-join-csa