Research & reports

N. Delille · WORLD OF ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT · Global

This article examines the concept of ecological citizenship -- which positions citizens as agents of change and sources of progress, in contrast to environmental policy's long-standing treatment of citizens as passive actors -- against the backdrop of the rise of community-supported agriculture (CSA). It argues that this new form of sustainable consumption can be considered tangible evidence for Dobson's theory of ecological citizenship, but states that the scientific literature needs to take more interest in the topic to understand its implications for public policy, which it says has not yet been done.

Christine Hvitsand · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Norway

This article explores why Norwegian producers and consumers engage in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), identifying distinct values and motivations related to environmental protection, justice, health, participation, and communication. While CSA demonstrates transformational power in the agri-food system through sustainable practices and power reallocation, the challenge remains to upscale these actions and prevent the dilution of core values and agroecological practices.

Piroska Nagy · Repository of the Academy's Library (Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) · Global

This study provides an overview of the development, geographical emergence, and key values of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) globally and in Hungary, using secondary research methods. The roots of CSA trace back to Rudolf Steiner's ideas in the 1920s, forming the basis for CSA movements in Germany, Switzerland, and the Americas. In contrast, the French AMAP and Hungarian CSA are based on the teikei communities that emerged in the 1970s. Both models were found to be motivated by consumers' desire for access to healthy food, with consumers initiating their establishment.

Zachary Schrank, Katrina Running · Journal of Consumer Culture · United States

This study analyzed consumer motivations in Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs using interview data from 58 members in a large southwestern US city. Researchers investigated whether members were primarily motivated by individual interests (e.g., nutritional benefits, taste) or collective concerns (e.g., environmental, economic). Findings indicated that CSA members pursued individualist and collectivist goals equally, emphasizing environmental issues and sustainability through local organic consumption as a pathway to individual health.

Irene Antoni-Komar · HiBiFo – Haushalt in Bildung & Forschung · Global

This study evaluated how new food-related economic forms, such as urban gardening, food coops, and community-supported agriculture, contribute to reshaping consumption practices and market relationships to foster a sustainable food economy. Based on empirical data, the research elucidated the specific characteristics and transformative potentials of these initiatives. The question is whether these initiatives can transform the prevailing food system from the bottom up.

Michael Carolan · Rural Sociology · United States (Colorado)

Researchers in Colorado studied individuals participating in alternative food practices (CSA, farmers' markets, food cooperatives) and conventional eaters. Participants were surveyed and re-surveyed two years later, with 119 qualitative interviews conducted, and a phone survey of 106 conventional eaters. The study aimed to understand how alternative foodscape engagement compares to conventional eating, how responses change after exposure to alternative foodscapes, and why individuals might think and behave differently.

Michael Carolan · · Global

This chapter examines how gender, race, and ethnicity are theorized and studied within agri-food scholarship. It notes that Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) schemes and farmers' markets, even when intended for low-income minority groups, often serve affluent, educated European American consumers. Additionally, women in rural Ethiopia face significant problems in food security due to their social status and higher dependence on agriculture for survival compared to men.

Emma Björkqvist · · Sweden

This study investigated the prevalence of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA, "andelsjordbruk" in Swedish) in Sweden and the motivations, drivers, and goals behind decisions to start them. Based on interviews with four CSA farmers in Sweden, it showed that they share several common motives, goals, and values in their respective operations. The study concluded that CSA appears to be part of a new social movement contributing to self-sufficiency and locally produced food.

Emma Stigson · · Sweden

A qualitative study investigating the development of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Sweden utilized literature reviews, interviews, participant observations, and digital media tracking. The findings indicate that CSA is relatively new in Sweden but is becoming more common, with the number of farms increasing over the past 3-4 years and now spread across the country. CSA contributes to ecological, economic, and social sustainable development in Swedish rural areas.

Angie Vasquez, Nancy E. Sherwood, Nicole Larson, Mary Story · Public Health Nutrition · United States

This quasi-experimental study in Minnesota investigated employer-based Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) as a health promotion intervention, involving 324 CSA participants and a matched control group. Participants reported increased vegetables in the household, more frequent family meals, and decreased eating out, along with increased produce consumption. However, health assessment data showed no significant changes in dietary intake, health status, or BMI.

Marie Wellner, Ludwig Theuvsen · · Global

This paper provides an overview of the current state of research on Alternative Food Networks (ALN) and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) through a literature analysis. It aims to clearly define the research area by differentiating individual ALNs and presents the core elements of the CSA concept in the context of regional marketing.

Binod Khanal · Lincoln (University of Nebraska) · United States

A hedonic model was developed to estimate consumer valuations of attributes for 466 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms across seven Midwestern US states: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The most statistically valued CSA attributes were home delivery, commanding an approximately $18 premium, and belonging to the fifth quintile of CSA membership size ($15.00). Increased vegetable variety (between $0.80 and $1.20) and USDA organic certification (about $10) were also valued, but farming practices like integrated pest management and distance to the nearest metropolitan area were not statistically significant.

J. Dominique Gumirakiza, Laura J. Hopper, Gumirakiza, J. Dominique, Hopper, Laura · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Global

An exploratory study of existing literature on locally grown food systems identified common findings, recommendations, and proposed priorities, key variables, and relationships for future research. Findings indicate that local food marketing through farmers' markets and Community Supported Agriculture, along with the benefits of local food systems to local economies (an ongoing debate), heavily dominate the literature. Prior studies commonly reported enthusiasm for locally grown fresh produce but presented diverging results regarding significant consumer characteristics.

Rosie Cox, Moya Kneafsey, Lewis Holloway, Elizabeth Dowler, Laura Venn · · United Kingdom

This chapter introduces the concept of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and positions it within the literature on local food, moral economies, and ethics of care. Using the case of EarthShare, the longest-running CSA in Britain, founded in Forres, Scotland in 1994, it argues that by exposing differences in members' priorities, local food systems can be seen as sites of political potential despite not being perfect or free from conflict. CSAs are presented as offering opportunities to strengthen place-based community relationships between growers and eaters, characterized as a form of caring practice in food production and consumption.

Savanna M. Lyons, Alice Topaloff · Iowa State University Digital Repository (Iowa State University) · United States (Iowa)

This directory lists 79 community supported agriculture (CSA) enterprises serving Iowa. These enterprises are shown by county and the 20 regions within ISU Extension and Outreach.

Annika Voltan · International Journal of Work Innovation · Canada (Nova Scotia)

This paper develops a conceptual network-based model for scaling grassroots social innovations. It reviews existing theoretical work on social innovation and entrepreneurship, constructing a model with four main elements: the role of agency, relationship density, relationship diversity, and network structure. The model is applied to a case study of nine community-supported agriculture (CSA) food producers in Nova Scotia, Canada, with findings supporting the particular importance of relationship diversity and network structures for scaling social innovations.

Kévin Bernard, Aurélie Bonein, Douadia Bougherara · 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts · Global

This study investigated consumers' preferences for attributes of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) contracts, focusing on risk and fairness preferences. Two incentivized field experiments were combined with a stated choice survey, interviewing 162 CSA members face-to-face. Consumers were found to be averse to advantageous inequality (AI) towards CSA and non-CSA farmers, and to disadvantageous inequality (DI) towards non-CSA farmers, but also showed evidence of DI seeking towards CSA farmers. Consumers preferred longer contracts, driven by risk rather than fairness, and exhibited a dislike for losses and share price increases.

Daniel Orlins Trigg · ScholarWorks -A service of University of Vermont Libraries (University of Vermont) · United States

This study investigated food insecurity screening among clinicians in Vermont, where 76% of residents experience some level of food insecurity. It found that physicians and physician assistants prefer using an established two-item screen for food insecurity. However, these clinicians tend to underestimate the actual prevalence of food insecurity in their practice communities.

Catherine Wong, Kathryn Geoffrion Scannell · University of New Hampshire Scholars Repository (University of New Hampshire at Manchester) · United States

McQuade Library partnered with a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation to become a distributor of local foods, providing fresh produce to Merrimack College and the surrounding community. The library collaborated with Farmer Dave’s CSA, recruiting over fifty members to facilitate weekly food drop-offs for twenty weeks. Unclaimed food shares were distributed to a nearby food pantry, senior center, and an emergency shelter, supporting sustainable agriculture and hunger relief efforts.

Sara L. Lyons · DigitalCommons (California Polytechnic State University) · United States

The University of Maine Black Bear Food Guild is an entirely student-run Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation that offers student learning and work opportunities. Despite providing various benefits, the Black Bear Food Guild requires financial support to expand its program and ensure its sustained success, indicating a critical need for funding to maintain its future viability.

Andrew E. G. Jonas · · United Kingdom

This chapter explores the notion of "the alternative" as relatively unexamined. Empirical work over three years involved six food businesses and initiatives facilitating direct contact between producers and consumers. Earth Share Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Nairn, North East Scotland, provides vegetables to approximately 200 households weekly. The chapter suggests that diversity within the "alternative" food sector is not necessarily problematic, and consumers' contingent, accidental, and partial commitment has not undermined the success of these schemes.

Marjorie Freedman, Juliana K. King · Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · Global

This research surveyed 536 current and former J&P Organics farm CSA subscribers, categorizing them into four groups based on ordering frequency. Findings strongly indicate that a flexible pay-as-you-go CSA subscription model could increase subscriber membership and possibly ordering frequency, especially for those likely to order less frequently than weekly but who are otherwise similar to traditional pay-up-front subscribers in demographics, motivations, satisfaction, and subscription length.

Chieh-Fu Cheng, Simon Chen-Tsang Tsai, Bin-Min Sung · · Taiwan

This study in Hualien, Taiwan, applied social capital theory to investigate how social capital dimensions facilitate the development of community-based organic agriculture, focusing on an experimental green restaurant. Participant observations and in-depth interviews with 7 local organic farmers were conducted. Results revealed that the experimental green restaurant must continually fulfill various social functions (e.g., educator, information platform, resource distributor) and accumulate social capital to extend its internal ties with local farmers into relationships based on mutual trust and reciprocity.

Kimberley Curtis · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Global

This book review covers Steven McFadden's "Awakening Community Intelligence," presenting his argument for the exponential expansion of Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs). McFadden believes CSAs have the potential to become "community cornerstones" and function as a "network of light-giving impulses" through digital networking, addressing 21st-century challenges.

Renée Johnson · University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas) · United States

This report provides background information on various types of operations involved in the U.S. local and regional food system. These include direct-to-consumer marketing, farmers' markets, farm-to-school programs, community-supported agriculture, community gardens, and school gardens. The report also highlights available resources within existing federal programs administered by the USDA and other agencies.