What is Community Supported Agriculture?
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or in spirit, the community’s farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. It is a system that connects producers and consumers within the food system more closely by allowing the consumer to subscribe to the harvest of a certain farm or group of farms.
Unlike conventional retail models where farmers bear full production risk and consumers make no commitment, CSA members pay an agreed amount at the beginning of the growing season, either in one lump sum or in installments. This upfront payment helps buy the seed and other inputs needed for the season and provides the farmer an immediate income to begin the season. By paying at the beginning of the season, CSA members share in the risk of production and relieve the farmer of much of the time needed for marketing.
The annual cost, generally ranging from $400-$700, depends on the length of the harvest season and the variety and quantity of products provided. In return for their membership fee, consumers receive a variety of freshly picked vegetables (usually organic) every week. Some CSAs also offer fruits, herbs, meats, eggs, dairy, cut flowers, and other products.
Origins & Lineage
The CSA concept originated in Japan in the 1960s by a group of women concerned with the use of pesticides, the increase in processed and imported food, and the loss of farmers and farmland. In 1965, a group of Japanese women founded the Teikei system. Emphasizing mutually supportive, producer-consumer relationships, Teikei built off of Japan’s long history of economic cooperatives. A philosopher and leader of agriculture cooperatives named Teruo Ichiraku initiated the organic movement by talking to people about the dangers of chemicals used in farming. Many concerned consumers, especially mothers, partnered with farmers to form the first Teikei, or partnership, projects.
In parallel, European developments shaped the model that reached North America. The ideas that informed the first two American CSAs were articulated in the 1920s by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), and then actively cultivated in post-WW II Europe in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Community-supported agriculture in America was influenced by the ideas of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher. He developed the concepts of anthroposophy and biodynamic agriculture.
Two European farmers, Jan Vander Tuin from Switzerland and Trauger Groh from Germany, brought European biodynamic farming ideas to the United States in the mid-1980s. Vander Tuin had co-founded a community-supported agricultural project named Topinambur located near Zurich, Switzerland. Coinage of the term “community-supported agriculture” stems from Vander Tuin.
This influence led to the separate and simultaneous creation of two CSAs in 1986. The CSA Garden at Great Barrington was created in Massachusetts by Jan Vander Tuin, Susan Witt, and Robyn Van En. The Temple-Wilton Community Farm was created in New Hampshire by Anthony Graham, Trauger Groh, and Lincoln Geiger. The ideas crossed the Atlantic and came to life simultaneously but independently in a new form, CSA, in 1986 at both Indian Line Farm in Massachusetts and Temple-Wilton Community Farm in New Hampshire.
A less-known lineage exists. Booker T. Whatley, a Black author, horticulturist, and professor at Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, AL), identified 10 commandments he considered essential for successful farming in the 1960s and 1970s. Included in these commandments was the concept of a “Clientele Membership Club,” in which club members paid an upfront fee to pick their own produce all season long. Whatley’s work predated the 1986 Massachusetts and New Hampshire farms but received less recognition in mainstream CSA histories.
One of the original founders, Robyn Van En, became incredibly influential in the CSA movement in America and founded CSA North America in 1992. Robyn went on to write the pamphlet “Basic Formula to Create Community Supported Agriculture,” produce the video “It’s not just About Vegetables,” and in 1992, found CSA North America (CSANA), a nonprofit clearinghouse to support CSA development. In 1997 at age 49, Robyn died of an asthma attack. Her contributions were later recognized in the naming of a national clearinghouse of information, the Robyn Van En Center for CSA Resources.
How It’s Practiced
In return for subscribing to a harvest, subscribers receive either a weekly or bi-weekly box of produce or other farm goods. This includes in-season fruits, vegetables, and can expand to dried goods, eggs, milk, meat, etc. Typically, farmers try to cultivate a relationship with subscribers by sending weekly letters of what is happening on the farm, inviting them for harvest, or holding open-farm events such as garden festivals, workshops, and potlucks. Some CSAs offer labor contribution in lieu of a portion of subscription costs.
CSAs vary structurally. While original CSAs and some more current CSAs are still philosophically oriented, most CSAs today are commercially oriented and community-supported agriculture is predominantly seen as a beneficial marketing strategy. The first type is instrumental, the CSA is considered a market in the traditional sense, instead of an alternative form of economy and relationship. The second type is functional; there is a relationship of solidarity between the farmer and the subscribers, but this extends mostly to social functions, not managerial or administrative functions. This is the most common type of CSA. The final type is collaborative; this is the closest to the original aims of CSAs where the relationship between the farmer and the subscribers is seen as a partnership.
Distribution methods differ. Shares are distributed in several different ways. Shares are most often distributed weekly. Most CSAs allow share pick up at the farm. Shares are also distributed through regional dropoff, direct home or office dropoff, farmers’ markets, and community center/church dropoff.
Community Supported Agriculture Today
Data collected in 2020 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates that 7,244 farms in the United States sold products directly to consumers through a community supported agriculture (CSA) arrangement. CSAs accounted for $225 million (about 7.75 percent) of the $2.9 billion in direct-to-consumer sales by farms.
Today’s seekers encounter CSA through online directories, farmers’ markets, food co-ops, and word-of-mouth. In recent years, farmers have made efforts to make CSAs adaptable to customer needs. Farms may offer shares in various sizes, offer flexible pickup or delivery schedules, allow you to make choices about what is put in your share, or partner with other local producers to offer high quality add-ons.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs boomed during the Covid pandemic as city dwellers and suburbanites across the country found themselves avoiding grocery stores and restaurants and spending a lot more time cooking at home, as well as looking for ways to support struggling small businesses, including local farms.
CSA has spread globally. The UK’s first CSA was established in Findhorn, Scotland in 1994. The national umbrella organisation, set up in 2013, is the Community Supported Agriculture Network. In Switzerland, community farming is often referred to as Solidarische Landwirtschaft (lit. ‘solidarity agriculture’, abbreviated to Solawi). The CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) model in Italy is a relatively young movement that began to gain traction in 2011. The first CSA established in Italy was the C.A.P.S. (Agrarian Community of Social Promotion) in Pisa, while the largest CSA is Arvaia in Bologna, boasting 220 active members and 500 associates.
Common Misconceptions
CSA is not a farmers’ market. Members commit in advance and share harvest risk—if drought destroys the tomato crop, no refund is issued. By paying for food prior to planting, CSA members essentially assume the risk of crop failure or pest or disease problems and understand that a refund will not be issued in the event that no crops are harvested.
CSA does not guarantee choice. Traditional CSAs deliver what the season yields. While some now offer customization, the original ethos is eating what grows, not ordering a menu. Subscribers report children refusing unfamiliar vegetables and adults overwhelmed by kale abundance.
CSA is not always cheaper. While the consumer takes a larger financial risk by joining a CSA than they would by going the more traditional route of purchasing food from a grocery or retail store, involvement in a CSA may be more cost-effective for a consumer. However, a member is putting a large sum of money upfront to receive fresh produce or fruit for several weeks, and it could be more cost-effective than purchasing the same amount of fresh foods weekly. Per-pound pricing may exceed grocery equivalents depending on market conditions.
CSA does not require farm labor. While some offer work-share models, most operate as subscription services. The collaborative ideal persists in rhetoric more than practice.
CSA is not inherently organic. Though many farms use organic or biodynamic methods, certification is neither required nor universal. Consumers should ask growers directly about practices.
How to Begin
Search the USDA National Agricultural Library’s CSA directory or LocalHarvest.org to find farms near you. Visit farms during open-house events before committing—observe growing practices, meet farmers, taste produce. Ask:
- What growing methods do you use?
- What is the share size and season length?
- Where and when are pickup locations?
- What happens if I miss a week?
- Do you offer payment plans or subsidized shares?
- Can I volunteer in exchange for reduced cost?
Start with a half-share or split a full share with a friend to test fit. Expect adjustment: CSA demands flexibility, recipe creativity, and tolerance for abundance and scarcity in turn. Read Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen’s Guide to Community Supported Agriculture by Elizabeth Henderson and Robyn Van En for deeper context.
For those drawn to CSA’s philosophical roots in land stewardship and economic solidarity, investigate biodynamic agriculture, food sovereignty movements, and cooperative economics. CSA sits at the intersection of conscious consumption, ecological reciprocity, and community resilience—a practice of mutual aid through the medium of food.