Community Supported Agriculture
The benefits of CSAs
What is a CSA?
CSAs are independent groups of people who work together to get clean, natural, locally grown food. How it works is there are three groups of people involved in a CSA: the farmers, the core group, and the consumers. The farmers grow and harvest crops that will be distributed to out to the people. It is there job to control and work the farm. The core group are the people who distribute the food, pay the farmers, and deal with all of the legalization aspects that go into running a CSA. The core group will typically include 5-12 people. The consumers are of course those that commit to buying the crops from the farmers and eating the food.
How It All Started
Biodynamic gardeners brought the whole idea of CSA to the states in the mid 1980's. They started their first official CSA in 1986. From then on the idea spread and now there are over 6,500 CSAs in America. It is all about the idea of shareholding and getting fresh natural food without any pesticides or fertilizers. They are committed to healthy eating and living, even though this might not necessarily be the cheapest way to get food.
Why You Should Join
Being apart of a CSA not only offers you fresh locally grown food free from any unnatural pesticides or fertilizers, but it also offers a chance to get involved within your community and meet new people. There is a great community within CSAs and many ways you can learn about food and farming from others. It allows you a chance to chose your own food and how it is grown as well as contributing to bettering the environment.