Community Supported Agriculture in California, Oregon and Washington: Challenges and Opportunities

Excerpts from the Executive Summary: In an era of disappearing family farms, consolidation of the food industry and food that travels an estimated 1,500 miles “from farm to table,” consumers are increasingly seeking alternatives to what many see as an impersonal food system. An increasing number are wondering how their produce is grown, where it came from, and how it got to the supermarket. At the same time, small farmers are increasingly exploring a broad range of “alternative” marketing mechanisms, such as direct marketing, as a means of increasing their viability by capturing a larger percentage of consumer food dollars. An increasingly popular means of creating direct linkages between small farmers and local consumers is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). The CSA movement has resonated with American consumers seeking a more direct connection with local food and family farmers. The number of CSA farms in the U.S. has grown from approximately 60 farms in 1990 to an estimated 1,700 in 2004. CSAs are now located in all 50 states, with the largest concentrations in California, New York, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Washington. The research set out to gain an in-depth understanding of CSA in terms of a range of issues, including production, labor, marketing, finances, collaboration, competition and community relations. The research identifies a number of challenges facing CSA and how farmers have addressed those challenges. Finally, the report offers recommendations for increasing the viability of CSA, based on the research.