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Community Supported Agriculture
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is considered both a marketing strategy as well as a philosophy.
CSA is an arrangement between a farmer and consumers to share the risks and the bounty of the growing season. A farmer sells shares in the next season's produce before the season begins. Each week of the season, the shareholder receives a share of fresh produce from the farm. A typical CSA might provide 4 to 15 pounds of vegetables to a family from June through November, for less than it costs to buy the same conventional produce in supermarkets. In some CSAs, the shareholders help decide which crops and varieties are planted. CSAs can be diverse; including flowers, meats, breads, dairy products and prepared goods, in addition to their fresh produce. An added attraction or bonus of CSAs is the opportunity for involvement in the farm's production, enjoying farm community events and learning about the farm's place in a local community's economy, stability and sustainability. CSA's bring together community members, farmers, and agricultural land in a relationship of mutual support based on annual commitment to one another - a commitment that ensures the survival of local agriculture today and for future generations.
New York State CSA Network
A New Project to Build Support and Networking Opportunities for CSA Programs in New York State
The goal of the NYS CSA Network is to provide farmers and CSA members with support and opportunities to share information and collaborate with one another. This is a new project and is still in the development phase.
As a first step in developing a CSA support network, in April of 2007 NOFA-NY conducted a telephone survey of 75 CSA farmers across the state. The survey provides background information about the size, scale, marketing strategies and geographical distribution of CSA farms in New York. We also asked farmers directly about the challenges they face and what type of support they would like NOFA-NY to provide. Survey results indicate that many CSA farmers are interested in increasing both the number of members and members' participation in their CSA programs. Farmers are also interested in educating consumers about the CSA concept, the real cost of producing food, and other issues surrounding organic agriculture. Follow this link for a summary of the NOFA-NY CSA Survey
As a next step in developing a New York State CSA Network, NOFA-NY will be hosting five regional meetings from January through March of 2008. Meetings will take place in the Capital Region, Western New York, the North Country, Central NY, and Long Island. These gatherings will provide an opportunity to network with other CSA farmers and active members and to discuss the regional and statewide themes identified in the surveys. NOFA-NY will also solicit additional feedback about how to proceed in developing the statewide network. We hope that all New York State CSAs will attend one of these meetings! Follow this link for meeting dates and registration information: 2008 CSA Regional Gatherings
~~ NYS CSA Directory ~~
