Research & reports

Emily Holmes · · Global

This chapter explores the potential of community-based agriculture as a practice of peace and active non-violence. Community-based agriculture encompasses various methods of growing food for local communities, including urban community gardens, urban farms, and small, biodiverse rural farms. These forms of agriculture are distinguished from conventional, industrial, or monocultural practices by their commitment to sustainable and organic growing methods, and their dedication to local communities.

Marta Sylla, Julia Olszewska, Małgorzata Świąder · Journal of Agribusiness and Rural Development · Poland

This article analyzes the current state of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Poland, focusing on farm characteristics, spatial distribution of producers and consumers, and operational principles of CSA groups. Based on survey data from telephone interviews, the analysis indicates a rapid increase in CSA groups, which primarily operate in large cities. A common operational principle is that consumers prepay for organic, high-quality produce at the beginning of the growing season.

Kelsey Hall, Roslynn Brain · Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) · United States (Utah)

This curriculum consists of seven modules aimed at fostering Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Utah. It covers the fundamentals of CSA, marketing and outreach, management, pricing, crop planning, legal concerns for CSA operations, and additional resources.

Lisa M. Butler Harrington · Geographical Review · United States

This study in the United States identified connections to ideals of rurality in popular culture, despite the shrinking rural population. Based on literature, field observation, computer searches, and U.S. Census of Agriculture data, manifestations include rural tourism, small-scale farming, urban agriculture, farmers’ markets, and housing developments centered on farm activities. These idealized relationships with rurality are linked to health, well-being, nature connection, aesthetics, privacy, and nostalgia.

Leigh Adcock · Iowa State University Digital Repository (Iowa State University) · United States

This directory lists 105 Iowa farms operating Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) enterprises. For each farm, contact information, website links, available produce, and distribution range are provided.

Karla L. Hanson, Jane Kolodinsky, Weiwei Wang, Emily H. Morgan, Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, Alice S. Ammerman, Marilyn Sitaker, Rebecca A. Seguin‐Fowler · Nutrients · United States

This study surveyed 41 adults and children (2-12 years) in August 2015 and 23 in February 2016 from low-income households participating in a 50% subsidized Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in the United States. Participants' fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) was higher than US averages, and they more frequently met vegetable recommendations. While some seasonal produce was consumed more often when locally in-season, causality between CO-CSA participation and FVI could not be inferred due to potential self-selection bias.

Sophia E. Hagolani‐Albov, Sarah J. Halvorson · CABI eBooks · Finland

This chapter examines grassroots food distribution networks in Finland, focusing on their role in creating farmer-consumer linkages for urban foodsheds. It discusses and compares two networks: Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), exemplified by the Herttoniemi Food Cooperative, and REKO Circles, which are based on the principle of 'fair consumption'.

Nóra Gombkötő, Judit Vincze, Judit Hegyi, Károly Kacz, Gombkötő, Nóra, Vincze, Judit, Hegyi, Judit, Kacz, Károly · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Hungary

A questionnaire survey was conducted among producers and consumers regarding Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) systems in Hungary's West Transdanubian region. The study found that CSA is not mature in Hungary and requires broader support. Producers were predominantly over 45 years old, with few engaged in animal product production, and primarily used traditional markets, missing out on other sales opportunities. Consumer awareness of CSA types was low, with only 25% preferring buyer communities and 3% each for subscription/box systems and share farming.

Nicolas Brulard, Van‐Dat Cung, Nicolas Catusse · IFAC-PapersOnLine · Global

This paper addresses the problem of selecting the most profitable client combination for a vegetable farm's perishable production. Farmers pre-qualify potential clients with varying product mixes, prices, contract durations, and labor requirements. A Mixed Integer Linear Programming model is presented to maximize farm sales profit, considering production and workforce capacities, and submodels describe demand characteristics for four client categories: farmers’ market, community supported agriculture, contract demand, and wholesalers.

Maria Luiza de Andrade Benini · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (Campinas)

This study examined how place and space influence the consolidation and configuration of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) group, using the example of a group in Barão Geraldo, Campinas, Brazil. CSA is a consumer group where consumers finance agricultural production and share benefits like food health, as well as risks like production losses. Field research, using observation and open interviews, showed that the configuration and appropriation of a space are essential for strengthening the CSA group.

Kenna McMurray, Kelsey Hall, Roslynn Brain · Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) · Global

This fact sheet explains that successful crop planning is a key component for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operations. Effective crop planning, which considers seasonality, planting schedules, and appropriate crops, can significantly improve CSA performance. The document aims to educate readers on the elements of an effective crop plan and its application in CSA.

Edina Vadovics, Matthew Hayes · · Hungary

A case study of the Open Garden Foundation, a local organic producer-consumer network in Hungary, was conducted. The foundation developed within a Central Eastern European socioeconomic context not supportive of radical solutions for the agricultural sector and rural communities. The study focused on the development of organic agriculture in Hungary, food consumption trends, opportunities for purchasing local organic products, and people's awareness of organic products. The Open Garden's management transitioned from the not-for-profit to the for-profit sector, while the main actors remained consistent.

Gavin Schneider, Victoria Fast · Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l alimentation · Canada (Calgary)

This study assessed the potential of urban land to grow "climate smart food," a term proposed to examine the environmental impact of urban food production. Using the Bowness neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta, as a case study, a geospatial constraint mapping process analyzed suitable private land for conversion from lawns to gardens. In 2016, six urban farms in Calgary produced approximately 8,200 pounds of food from private gardens, while 42% of Bowness's private turf grass land produced only about 800 pounds, quantifying underutilized urban land for food production.

Dan McKanan · · Global

Rudolf Steiner's economic teachings and "threefolding" social theory influenced the development of green banking and community-supported agriculture (CSA) starting in the 1970s. Steiner advocated for "fraternal" cooperation within the economic sphere, inspiring cooperative enterprises and later contributing to social entrepreneurship and B-corps. This philosophy also led biodynamic farmers to establish CSAs, where consumers share farm costs and risks.

Catherine Villar · Scholarship@Western (Western University) · Canada

This ethnographic study, conducted from August 2013 to August 2014, examined Orchard Hill Farm, an organic, draft-horse powered Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm in Sparta, Ontario, Canada. It found that the farm's management approach resulted in a financially viable small-scale farm. The study highlighted that CSA members experience a "re-enchantment" through closeness to food and the farm, while farmers and apprentices demonstrate a commitment to sustainable practices.

Jim Leap, Darryl Wong, Orin Martin, Kirstin Yogg Comerchero · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)

A guide for small-scale specialty crop growers on organic potato production on California's Central Coast. The region's climate is described as well suited to potatoes, with yields reaching up to 10 tons per acre. It covers mechanized weed management, hilling and harvest equipment, the growth habits of "new" and "creamer" potatoes, recommended varieties, and suitability for direct sales through CSAs, farmers' markets, specialty markets and restaurants.

Jairus Rossi, Timothy A. Woods, James E. Allen · Sustainability · United States

A controlled pilot study offered 95 first-time shareholders drawn from a university wellness program a $200 voucher to join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, surveying food lifestyle behaviors before and after participation and comparing changes against an 82-person control group using econometric analysis. Changes were found in four categories — fresh versus processed food consumption, food prepared at home versus away, food purchasing behavior and interest in nutrition, and self-reported health outcomes — and these changes were more strongly realized among shareholders who reported lower-than-average health prior to the CSA.

Brian J. Shaw · Cambridge University Press eBooks · Europe

An entry on ØsterGRO, a rooftop farm located in the center of Copenhagen that operates as a form of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

Kenna McMrrray, Kelsey Hall, Roslynn Brain · Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) · United States

This descriptive piece from Utah, United States, explains Community Supported Agriculture as a farming arrangement providing a direct link between the community and the grower, in which shareholders purchase a share of the CSA and receive produce at regular intervals, typically weekly. It lists potential benefits — access to local, fresh produce free of preservatives and added hormones, and support for diversified agriculture — alongside potential barriers, including the seasonality of production, a smaller variety of products and the upfront cost of a share.

Emily Heying, Kendra M. Butkowski · The FASEB Journal · United States

This study surveyed 22 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members receiving weekly vegetable shares in central Minnesota, USA, administering a demographic and anthropometric survey at the season's start and four follow-up surveys on vegetable consumption and food waste, each 10 days after a share pickup. Average BMI was 26.1 ± 4.3 kg/m², average family size was 3.1 ± 1.2 persons, and average distance traveled to pickup was 3.4 ± 5.8 miles; the percentage of vegetables consumed depended on vegetable type and family size but not BMI. Leafy greens were both the most frequently included vegetable and the most frequently discarded; 80% of participants reported increased awareness of food waste from taking part in the study, but only 53% believed their food waste had actually decreased, and awareness showed no correlation with vegetable consumption or discarding behavior.

Kenna McMurray, Kelsey Hall, Roslynn Brain · Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) · United States

A 2017 fact sheet from Utah State University explains what community supported agriculture (CSA) is, outlines types of CSA models along with their benefits and barriers, and lists CSAs operating in Utah.

Philippe Robert-Demontrond, Vanessa Beaudouin, Isabelle Dabadie · Recherche et Applications en Marketing (English Edition) · Global

This article examines consumer engagement in community-supported agriculture (CSA) programmes, an alternative direct-selling model, using ethnographic fieldwork and cultural theory as an anthropological analytical framework. It finds that CSA programmes function as "community enclaves" operating outside of and against the conventional market, and that different cultures coexist within the broader CSA movement. This diversity of worldviews generates tensions, but their complementarity is described as proving positive for the movement.

Libby Christensen, Ryan E. Galt, Alissa Kendall · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States (California)

This case study assessed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from five Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operations in the Sacramento Valley, California, collecting input, production and distribution data from each farm and reporting emissions in CO2e per 1 kg of CSA produce at the pickup location. Total emissions varied widely, ranging from 1.72 to 6.69 kg CO2e per kg of produce with an average of 3.94 kg CO2e, and electricity was the largest emissions source, contributing over 70% of total CO2e on average. Despite apparent similarities among the operations in production site, acreage, customer base and practices, there was still substantial variability in total GHG emissions. The study argues that the complexity of production and distribution systems means food systems cannot be reduced to a simple binary of local being better than conventional, or vice versa, though localized production systems that use less electricity (or renewable energy) and efficiently produced compost had lower GHG emissions than those that did not.

Alastair Fuad‐Luke · Estudos em Comunicação · Global

This theoretical essay spans agriculture, art, digital media, design and philosophy to reframe Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) as part of an "expanded field" of agri-culture. Tracing experimentation in alternative production systems from medieval times through the rise of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) from the 1980s onward, it applies Felix Guattari's concept of ecosophy to ask how AFNs mediate their activities online and how they might construct new producer-consumer relations. It is an exploratory conceptual paper examining design's potential contribution to scaling AFNs, and presents no empirical data.

Melanie Bedore · Social & Cultural Geography · Canada

Drawing on mail-in surveys and interviews with participants in the Good Food Box (GFB) community food program in south-eastern Ontario, Canada, this qualitative study used Foucault's later work to examine socio-spatial relations of care for self and proximate others in food provisioning. GFB participation was found to be predominantly a self-caring act motivated by frugality and physical health; where care for others was expressed, the dominant themes were helping less economically fortunate others, local farmers and family.