In today’s Grand Rapids Press, an article highlighted a survey conducted by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service that focused on business and marketing practices among 205 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) producers in nine states (IL, IN, OH, MI, PA, WV, KY, MO, TN).
Findings reveal that CSAs have emerged “as a direct farm marketing channel
during the past 25 years. During the past decade, increased consumer interest in local and organic fruit and vegetables has contributed to the CSA’s growing popularity and an increase in the number of CSA operations.”
Bill and I have contributed to those statistics because we just joined a CSA for the first time last fall–and we love it. Mud Lake Farm has been supplying us with fresh greens every other week all through the winter.
The Press article notes that a documentary produced in Michigan called “Eating in Place: A conversation on food, agriculture, and Michigan’s future” examined the area’s local food movement “and found six forces driving it: social justice, taste, health, economy, environment, and community.”
But I agree with Anja Mast, from Trillium Haven Farm: “People want to know who is growing their food.” It’s all about farm to table eating.
Want to find a CSA where you live? Check out LocalHarvest.org.
And, check out this month’s issue of Bon Appetit magazine. “The Conscious Cook” shares a new trend in CSA called a “whole diet” share. For about $50 per person per week you can get raw milk, organic grains, meat, poultry, eggs, syrup, pickles and vegetables. If you live near Lake Champlain, New York, you can get a whole diet share at Kristin and Mark Kimball’s Essex Farm in Essex, NY.
Life Is Fare 