Community Supported Agriculture: Why I Bought a Share

—by Pat Owen

I just bought a share in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm! Many of you reading this probably have already taken this leap. But I’ve been sitting on the fence for the past couple of years and finally decided to go for it. So, like any good convert to a new enterprise, I want to tell the world about it and increase numbers for the cause.

CSA projects are partnerships between small local farms and the community. People in the community buy “shares” ahead of time for a season and in return get weekly boxes of produce. What you get depends on what the farmer plants and what’s ripe. Both sides benefit; the farmer gets an input of cash to get the season started, and community members get a regular supply of food fresh from the farm. Farmers don’t have to market or get loans from a bank; community members don’t have to shop. And, community members get the incomparable reward of knowing they are helping to keep small farms alive in this era of big industrial farming.

In the United States, CSAs started in the mid-1980s in New Hampshire and Connecticut. At the very beginning, a CSA was set up at one farm in anticipation of the next fall’s harvest of apples and apple cider. The following spring the same people bought shares in the upcoming vegetable crop.

Now, there are an estimated 1,500 CSAs across the country. The movement is established in other countries, including Australia, Hungary, India, Hong Kong, Holland, England, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, France, Denmark, Germany, and Japan (<www.newfarm.org>).

While some of my friends have been into the CSA movement, I’ve hesitated. I had rational reasons for not buying a CSA share: friends give me veggies from their garden; I started my own vegetable garden last summer with some success; I like to go to the farmers' market in St. Paul; and, I wonder if a box every week will be too much food.

The biggest “push” for me was meeting the farmer—Matthew Aamot and his family, who was one of the featured speakers at the Hampden Park Foods annual meeting last November. Listening to him describe his commitment to their organic farm in Gilmanton, Wisconsin, nestled among Amish farmers, I knew he was a farmer to cheer for, someone who was working hard to do things right

Meeting Matthew reminded me of farmers I knew in Senegal, West Africa, where I worked as a sustainable agriculture extension agent with the Peace Corps (2003– 2005). Senegal was where I learned to eat locally. There wasn’t a “movement”; this was just what everyone did to survive. Everybody knew exactly where his or her food was from.

One day a little boy skipped next to me, pointing to the growing bank of dark clouds in the sky ahead of us and said, “Look! I hope it rains! If it rains, the crops will grow, and if the crops grow, we’ll have food!” This was the first time I’d heard a kid make a spontaneous connection between weather and food.

Another day I rode my bicycle into my village and saw a small headless crocodile propped up on the rock by the cooking fire, and knew immediately what was for supper that night. No doubt he was swimming in the nearby river just a few hours earlier. Rice, millet, corn, and beans from the fields surrounding the village formed the basis for everyday meals. Mangos, papayas, and bananas from the trees between the huts filled in the gaps.

I’ll admit, I got great care packages from home so the American power bars and other treats disqualified me from being a true locavore in Africa. But at least I got to live among people who truly were. Now I have another chance, right here in Minnesota!

After hearing Matt speak at the annual meeting, I read his handout “Turtle Creek Farm 2008 CSA” (available in the Hampden Park Co-op entryway), with photos of his farm. I learned that he’ll be dropping off CSA boxes of food on Tuesdays and Thursdays at HPC. I also learned what the share options were, and decided to buy a half share for the summer (probably starting with salad greens already in May!) as well as a Winter Harvest share, which will be delivered all the way into January!

Matt asked for a deposit and a letter— and it was exciting to get a handwritten reply. In it he writes, “We are really looking forward to this summer… we are planning to have a wide variety of vegetables with an emphasis on heirloom varieties. If there are any personal favorites, please let us know. We are trying to customize our shares as much as possible.…” How fun is that?! I can hardly wait to see what I’ll be getting. And, each share comes with a cookbook called From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm Fresh Seasonal Produce [seasonally available at the co-op] which I am counting on for great recipes and inspiration.

So here is my list of why I decided tobe part of a CSA:

• I’ll be more consistent in my buying and eating of local and organic food.
• I’ll be trying out new foods that I might not buy, like different varieties of squash
• I’ll be trying out new recipes.
• I can still garden, but might specialize more in herbs to go with all the great recipes, or try growing more unusual vegetables.
• Somewhere I’ve been saving a pamphlet on food storage. I can finally use it! And, a neighbor already promised to show me how to can foods.
• If I have too much food, I can give some to my friends and neighbors. If I need to go out of town, a friend can pick up the share and eat it that week.
• I’ll spend less time shopping.
• I’ll be able to go to the farm and see how the food I am eating is grown.
• I feel good about putting my money where my mouth is, supporting a farmer who is committed to sustainable, organic practices.

If you'd like to learn more, pick up a description of Turtle Creek Farm CSA in the Hampden Park Co-op entryway. For a description of CSAs in our region, check out the Land Stewardship Project.

[Pat Owen is an Ace Beverage Stocker, Nut Counter, and Window Painter at Hampden Park Co-op.]