CSA = Affordable Organic Produce

CSA = Affordable Organic Produce + Support for Farmers

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a mutually beneficial partnership between farmers and consumers. In the winter and early spring, you buy a “share” of their produce, providing farms with financial support to purchase, cultivate, and ultimately harvest their crops. 

Shareholders can sign up for the entire peak season, or individual seasons. The weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly produce boxes encourage members to eat seasonally and sustainably, and can include meat, eggs, dairy products, herbs, flowers, and coffee depending on the farm’s offerings. 

Benefits:

• Introduction to new fruits and vegetables and access to more nutrient-dense foods.
• Local foods travel shorter distances, and are harvested only days before you get them: it lasts so much longer!
• Increased fruit and vegetable intake (FVI).
• Increased knowledge of nutrition. 
• Improved cooking skills. (Many farms offer cooking classes and recipe suggestions for the produce each week.)
• Access to organic produce at a lower cost. 
• Events at the farm to meet the farmers and interact with the earth!
• Electronic benefit transfer (EBT) dollars go further at a farmer’s market or CSA.

Access to a CSA increases FVI for both adults and children, often exceeding averages for United States FVI. In these studies, changes in diet and practices were temporary, and resonated more with adults than children. However, when nutrition education classes and delivery were offered in combination with a CSA membership, more participants continued with the program after the study’s conclusion. 

This service can lead to lasting changes in your diet, reduce your time at the supermarket, and the strain on your wallet to get access to high quality produce. 

Electronic benefit transfer (EBT) dollars go further at a farmer’s market or CSA

While cost may be a barrier to participation, many CSAs offer need-based discounts, work trade options, and accept payment via Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). As an example, select farmers markets in Oregon and Michigan have also worked to stretch SNAP dollars by offering EBT matching programs like Double Up Food Bucks so it pays to eat healthier and support local. These are just a few examples. 

Double Up Food Bucks Michigan  

People’s Co-op. (Portland, Oregon)

CSA cost per week vs. average cost of weekly grocery run 

 According to the USDA 2023 food plan, the average family of four (Two adults and two children ages 9-11) spends about $245 a week on groceries. We must adjust that for cities with a high cost of living, but this is a starting point. Each CSA will be different in the produce they can supply, and offer benefits like nutrition courses, or not. 

Examples (2024 prices):

Wild Roots Farm in Portland, OR offers a “Full Season” share with delivery for $1,125. The weekly boxes supply produce for 12-18 meals, and cost the consumer $45/week for 6 months. 

To give an example from a city with a lower cost of living, Redfearn Farm in Kansas City, MO offers a weekly “family sized” CSA box for just $35/ week. Retrieved from: https://redfearnfarm.com/ 

Your grocery list probably includes non-produce and non-perishable items as well. But spending only $35-45/week on 12-18 meals should free up the extra funds for those items. 

References

Hanson KL, Kolodinsky J, Wang W, et al. Adults and Children in Low-Income Households that Participate in Cost-Offset Community Supported Agriculture Have High Fruit and Vegetable Consumption. Nutrients. 2017;9(7):726. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9070726

Lu I, Hanson KL, Jilcott Pitts SB, et al. Perceptions of nutrition education classes offered in conjunction with a community-supported agriculture intervention among low-income families. Public Health Nutrition. Published online August 24, 2020:1-9. doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980020002773

https://doubleupfoodbucks.org/about-us/

https://www.peoples.coop/farmers-market

CostofFoodJan2023LowModLib.pdf (azureedge.us) 

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